MARYVILLE, Mo. - The No. 5-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team rolled to an 87-64 victory over the visiting Missouri Western Griffons Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

It marks the 21st straight victory for Northwest over Missouri Western on the hardwood. Northwest is 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA. Missouri Western is 7-6 overall and 3-4 in league play.

Northwest had five players in double-figure scoring led by junior Wes Dreamer's 17-point output. Dreamer connected on 5-of-8 three-pointers as the Bearcats tied a season-high with 14 made triples.

Senior Diego Bernard was 6-of-8 from the floor and tallied 16 points. Bernard added to his stat sheet with seven rebounds and five assists.

The Bearcats shot 63.3% from the floor marking the fourth time this season that Northwest has shot 60.0% or better from the floor. 

It was a nip-and-tuck affair for the first 10 minutes of the contest. Missouri Western held a 16-14 lead with 9:24 to play before suffering through a six-minute plus scoring drought. While the Bearcats were locking down on the defensive end, Northwest was still clicking offensively. Northwest hit MWSU with a 16-0 run to take command of the matchup at 30-16. Northwest shot 61.9% in the first half in building a 37-18 lead at the break. 

The Bearcats went on to shoot 64.3% from the field in the second half. Northwest knocked in eight second-half three-pointers that helped the home squad build its largest bulge of the contest at 27 points with 7:45 left in the game. 

Northwest will return to action Thursday in Edmond, Okla. The matchup will be a top-10 matchup and the winner will take over sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings. Central Oklahoma has won eight straight games and holds a record of 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the MIAA.

NOTES: Northwest won its ninth straight home game, the longest active streak among MIAA teams ... Northwest is 8-0 at home this season ... since the start of the 2011-12 season, Northwest has compiled a record of 156-13 in Bearcat Arena - a mark that includes 104-10 in MIAA home games ... since Jan. 14, 2015, Northwest has put together a home record of 113-6, including 78-4 in home MIAA matchups ... head coach Ben McCollum improved to 26-2 all-time vs. Missouri Western ... Northwest holds a 62-35 lead in the all-time series with MWSU ... Northwest has defeated MWSU 14 straight times in Bearcat Arena ... freshman Bennett Stirtz secured a steal in the second half to extend his streak of having a steal in every game he has played at Northwest ... Stirtz came into the contest leading the MIAA in assist-to-turnover ratio and kept his lead safe with five assists to go against one turnover vs. the Griffons ... junior Wes Dreamer became the eighth Bearcat to make 200 or more three-pointers in a career ... Dreamer has drained 204 career triples ... under head coach Ben McCollum, Northwest is 139-3 in games decided to 20 points or more ... Northwest has won 137 consecutive games when the final scoring margin is 20 or more points ... in Northwest's 14 wins this season that have only trailed once in the second half (vs. Fort Hays State) ... Northwest leads the nation in fewest rebounds allowed per game (24.1) ... the Bearcats limited the Griffons to 20 rebounds in the win ... Northwest has posted a spectacular mark of 145-9 over the past five seasons ... over the last seven seasons, Northwest has a mark of 207-14 ... McCollum improved his career record to 348-84, which includes a mark of 208-60 in MIAA regular season contests.