MARYVILLE, Mo. - In a tussle between a pair of top-three ranked teams, the No. 3-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball squad came away with a 10-point win over No. 2-ranked Truman State in Bearcat Arena.
Northwest (5-1 overall) defended its home court in an 86-76 victory over Truman State (4-1 overall).
"We shared the ball and played ego-less basketball," head coach
Ben McCollum said. "Truman State is really good and well coached. They can make shots. If you make a mistake, they will make shots. We got back to playing our roles."
Junior guard
Diego Bernard and
Trevor Hudgins dazzled the Bearcat Arena denizens. Bernard tallied a career-high 25 points and secured his eighth career double-double with 12 rebounds. Bernard added four steals and two assists as he shot 9-of-15 from the field. Hudgins scored 24 points and handed out five assists. Hudgins went 7-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-9 from deep as he played the entire 40 minutes.
Sophomores
Wes Dreamer and
Luke Waters also joined their teammates in double-figure scoring. Dreamer sank three triples and grabbed five rebounds as he scored 16 points. Waters drained 6-of-10 field goals for 13 points to go along with two assists and two steals.
The Bearcats opened up a 20-13 lead with 11:09 to play in the opening half. Truman State pulled to within one at 23-22 with 7:27 until half. TSU pulled even at 27-27 on a three-pointer from Keaton Mitchell with 6:10 on the first-half clock. Truman State took their largest lead of the first half at 37-34 on a bucket from Trey Shearer with 3:39 left in the half. Northwest turned it on defensively in the final 3:39. The Bearcats closed the half on a 9-2 run that forced Truman State into three turnovers and a missed shot. Northwest took a 43-39 lead at the intermission.
Northwest took an eight-point lead at 50-42 on a layup from Bernard with 16:49 to play. But Truman State responded with a 7-0 run to cut the margin to one at 50-49 with 14:17 left. Northwest extended the lead back to eight at 59-51 on a triple from Dreamer with 12:31 to play. Bernard tallied a steal and a layup with 8:55 to play that gave Northwest its first double-digit lead of the game at 67-56. Truman State would whittle the lead down to five at 69-64 with 6:46 remaining. Northwest used a 9-3 run that was capped by Hudgins' three-pointer with 2:37 to play that stemmed the tide. The Bulldogs got as close as six at 82-76 with :34 left but could get no closer and Bernard closed out the triumph by making all four of his free throw attempts in the final half minute of the contest.
Northwest will return to Bearcat Arena for a Friday matinee with Briar Cliff. The game will tip at 2 p.m. and free admission will be granted to all fans that make a non-perishable food donation.
NOTES:
Isaiah Jackson made his first career start for the Bearcats ... Northwest won the rebounding battle, 28-25 ... Truman State made more three-pointers (9) than Northwest (8) ... Northwest enjoyed a 19-8 advantage in points of turnovers ... Northwest committed six turnovers, while Truman State turned it over 14 times ... Northwest leads the all-time series with Truman State, 103-93 ... Northwest's last win over a No. 2-ranked team prior to tonight came on March 16, 2021, when the Bearcats knocked off Northern State in overtime, 91-86 ... Northwest's last win over a ranked foe at came against Missouri Southern (Feb. 20, 2020) ... Hudgins scored 20 or more points for the 56th time in his Bearcat career ... Bernard reached the 20-point mark for the 11th time in his collegiate career.
