MANKATO, Minn. – The Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team took its first step in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a 30-point victory over the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs, 73-43.
 
The Bearcats extended their current win streak to 17 in a row and moved to 28-4 on the season. Northwest buried 14 three-pointers and limited SMSU to only one made triple in 12 attempts from distance.

The 43 points allowed ties for the fewest points allowed by a Bearcat team in the NCAA Tournament. Northwest also allowed 43 points vs. Bentley in the 2022 Elite Eight.
 
Northwest had four players in double-figure scoring led by Daniel Abreu (17), Mitch Mascari (16), Wes Dreamer (15) and Bennett Stirtz (12).
 
The Bearcats started fast with a 9-2 spurt in the strength of a trio of three-pointers from Dreamer (two) and Abreu. The Bearcats kept sinking three-pointers and built a 21-8 advantage following a Mascari three-pointer with 11:04 to play in the half. Northwest made seven of its first 10 three-point shots after Abreu rained one in with 8:26 left in the opening half for a 25-12 lead.
 
The Mustangs trimmed the Bearcat lead to eight at 25-17, but a quick 6-0 spurt got the lead back to 14 at 31-17. Northwest was held without a field goal in the final five minutes of the first half but was able to sink eight free throws to account for its final eight points of the half and took a 37-22 advantage to intermission.
 
Northwest did not allow Southwest Minnesota State to make a three-pointer in eight attempts in the opening 20 minutes, while the Bearcats made 8-of-13 from distance. Abreu led the 'Cats with 12 first-half points as he made two three-pointers and six free throws without missing a shot.
 
The Mustangs threatened to make it a game when the Bearcats went on a four-minute scoreless and SMSU trailed by 14 at 49-35. However, Northwest found its offensive rhythm and hit the SMSU with a 14-0 run of its own to open up a 61-35 lead. The Mustangs suffered through a scoring drought of 8:46 that saw the Bearcats run away with it.
 
Northwest will take on Minnesota-Duluth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Taylor Center. The winner of that game will advance to the Central Region championship game on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Northwest has won 15 of its last 17 opening-round NCAA Tournament games … overall, Northwest has won 19 of its last 20 total NCAA Tournament contests and 25 of its last 27 in the NCAAs … head coach Ben McCollum improves to 31-6 in NCAA play … Northwest is 42-21 all-time in NCAA Tournament games … Northwest's 42 NCAA tourney wins ranks tied for fourth all-time in NCAA Div. II history (89 – Kentucky Wesleyan; 46 – Florida Southern; 46 – Virginia Union; 42 – MSU Denver) … since the 2013-14 season, Northwest is 20-5 in NCAA Div. II Central Region games … senior Wes Dreamer is 27-2 in NCAA games … Mitch Mascari has made at least four three-pointers or more in 10 contests … Mascari has drained 80 three-pointers this season, which is tied with Justin Pitts for the 11th-best single-season total in program history … under coach McCollum Northwest is 156-3 in games decided by 20 points or more … Northwest has won 154 straight games when the final margin has been 20 points or more … the all-time series between Northwest and SMSU is tied at 4-4 … the Bearcats avenged a 63-56 loss to the Mustangs on Nov. 10, 2023, in St. Joseph, Mo.