KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team reached its eighth consecutive MIAA Tournament championship with a 63-52 win over the Emporia State University Hornets at Municipal Auditorium.

The Bearcats (29-2 overall) won their 15th straight game this season. Northwest also captured its 20th consecutive victory in the MIAA Tournament in games played in Kansas City.
 
Northwest will meet Central Oklahoma, 55-51 winners over Fort Hays State, in Sunday's MIAA Championship game. Tip is set for 1 p.m.

Northwest's defense shined again by not allowing Emporia State to make a three-pointer in the contest. ESU went 0-of-11 from three-point land. It was the first time in 417 games the Hornets were held without a three-point make. The Bearcats limited the Hornets to 8-of-21 shooting in the second half to take a two-point halftime lead and eventually push it out to a 20-point margin with 4:53 left in the game.

Northwest had four players in double-figure scoring led by junior Wes Dreamer's 15-point afternoon. Dreamer went 6-of-12 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman Bennett Stirtz notched 14 points to go along with five rebounds, three steals and an assist. Sophomore Byron Alexander led the bench effort with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Senior Diego Bernard became the program's all-time leader in rebounds in the contest. Bernard snatched five rebounds to give him 949 career bounds to surpass Ryan Hawkins's total of 948 rebounds. Bernard scored 12 points, dished out five assists and was credited with four steals.

The Bearcats took a 9-2 lead in the game's first four minutes. ESU whittled away at the margin and eventually knotted the game at 16-16 with 7:47 to play in the half. The first half would feature six ties but Northwest would not relinquish the lead in the first 20 minutes. Northwest took a 28-26 lead to the break.
 
The second half began with three more ties before ESU made it over the hump and took its first lead of the game at 31-30 with 16:29 to play in the contest. Northwest retook the lead 17 seconds later as Alexander knocked in a pair of free throws.
 
The Bearcats took control of the game in a five-minute stretch in the second half. Northwest led 39-36 with 13:59 on the clock. Northwest went on a 13-4 run to take a 52-38 advantage with 9:01 remaining in the contest.
 
The Bearcats took their largest lead of the game at 60-40 with 4:53 to play. ESU closed to within 11 in the closing seconds to fall, 63-52.
 
Northwest enjoyed a 21-12 scoring margin in points off turnovers.
 
NOTES: Northwest is 53-26 all-time in the MIAA Tournament … Northwest is 5-0 vs. Emporia State in MIAA tourney action … head coach Ben McCollum is 28-5 in the MIAA Tournament … his 28 wins rank second behind Washburn's Bob Chipman's mark of 34 conference tourney victories … Northwest is 20-5 as the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament … Bernard has scored 183 points in MIAA Tournament play to rank No. 4 on the tourney's all-time scoring chart … he is the first MIAA player to surpass 100 career rebounds in MIAA Tournament play … Bernard has 103 rebounds in 14 MIAA Tournament games … Bernard has 28 steals in MIAA Tournament play, the league's all-time leader … Bernard has played in more MIAA Tournament games than any other player in the history of the league (14) … Northwest has won 16 straight games on neutral courts … Northwest has won 61 of its last 62 games on neutral courts.