MARYVILLE, Mo. - The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team remained undefeated on the season with an 84-74 victory over the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest (9-0 overall, 3-0 MIAA) posted its 20th straight victory overall as five Bearcats reached double-figure scoring. Junior Luke Waters tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career. Waters has posted 1,005 career points in becoming the 27th Bearcat to score 1,000 points.

Northwest held a 31-15 lead with 7:37 left in the opening half. UNK sliced the lead to four on a 12-0 run that left Northwest leading 31-27 with 4:58 to play. The Lopers could close to within three at 34-31 with 3:00 left in the half. The Bearcats shot 57.7% in the first half but only held a 44-38 lead at the break. The Lopers knocked in 64.0% of their first-half shots on 16-of-25 shooting, including 5-of-10 from deep.

Northwest extended its lead back to 16 in the second half at 71-55 and would eventually open up a 20-point advantage at 84-64 with 3:04 to play. UNK closed the game on a 10-0 run.

The Bearcats shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field in the game. The Lopers shot 58.5% (31-of-53) from the floor. The Bearcats drained 11 three-pointers, while the Lopers made six from distance. Northwest held UNK in check in the second half as the Lopers made only 1-of-7 from deep in the final 20 minutes. Northwest out-rebounded UNK, 31-28. Northwest turned it over eight times, while UNK committed 16 turnovers.

Northwest will be back in action at home Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against Fort Hays State. The Tigers are 7-1 overall and 2-0 in MIAA play.

NOTES: Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Northwest has compiled a home record of 151-13, including a mark of 100-10 in MIAA play ... since Jan. 14, 2015, Northwest has compiled a home record of 108-6 with a mark of 74-4 in home MIAA contests ... Northwest is 140-8 over the last five seasons combined ... Northwest is 202-13 over the last seven seasons overall ... Northwest owns a 13-1 lead in the all-time series vs. Nebraska-Kearney ... Northwest is 7-0 at home all-time vs. UNK ... Diego Bernard moved past Victor Coleman on Northwest's all-time scoring list ... Bernard has posted 1,805 points to rank No. 4 in Bearcat history ... Coleman scored 1,795 points from 1980-1984 ... Bernard trails only Trevor Hudgins (2,829), Justin Pitts (2,459) and Ryan Hawkins (2,098) on Northwest's all-time scoring chart.