ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team kicked it into a higher gear early and never looked back in a 79-42 blitzing of the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles at the Hillyard Classic on Saturday.

Northwest won its 15th consecutive game and moved to 4-0 on the season.

The Bearcats committed only four turnovers and led by as many as 39 points in winning for the 25th straight time in the city of St. Joseph.

Junior Luke Waters scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. Waters did not play in the second half after seeing action in 19 minutes in the opening half.

Freshman Bennett Stirtz reached double-figure scoring for the fourth straight game as he tallied 16 points. Stirtz played 27 minutes and handed out four assists.

Sophomore Daniel Abreu made 5-of-6 shots from the field and also reached double figures with 12 points.

Senior Diego Bernard corralled a team-best seven rebounds to go along with nine points and six assists. Bernard also swiped three steals in the victory.

Northwest scored the first 12 points of the game and held a 17-2 lead with 13:23 to play in the first half. The Bearcats built a 44-9 advantage with 3:35 left before halftime. The Bearcats would lead 48-15 at the break. Northwest hit on 57.6% of its first-half shots (19-of-33) and committed only one turnover in the first 20 minutes.

The Bearcats led 61-22 following a triple from sophomore Mitch Mascari with 14:11 left in the game. Northwest's lead did not dip below 32 points in the second half.

Northwest will return to action next Sunday (Nov. 20) to take on the Truman State Bulldogs at 3 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.