JOPLIN, Mo. – The No. 6-ranked Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team became the third program to win 20 MIAA games in a season with a 73-56 road victory Saturday over the Missouri Southern Lions.
 
Northwest (24-4 overall) completed its trek through the MIAA with a 20-2 mark, tying for the second-most conference wins in league history. The Bearcats won 21 MIAA games in 2020-21 and 20 league games in 2022-23. The Bearcats have combined to go 40-4 in MIAA contests over the last two seasons.
 
The Bearcats moved their winning streak to 13 straight games, which ranks as the second-longest active winning streak in NCAA Div. II men's basketball.
 
Senior Wes Dreamer tallied his 14th double-double of the season, 28th of his career, with a 20-point, eight-rebound effort against the Lions. Dreamer missed three shots as he went 8-of-11 from the floor.
 
Northwest held a slim 16-15 lead midway through the half before hitting MSSU with a 12-3 run to take a 28-18 edge. Mitch Mascari buried a triple to cap the run with 4:16 to play in the opening half. Daniel Abreu scored in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Bearcats a 38-26 advantage at the break. The Bearcats took advantage of 6-of-12 shooting from three-point land in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Mascari buried his third triple of the game with 13:31 to play which boosted the Bearcat lead to 52-28. Mascari's three capped a 19-4 run that began in the first half with Northwest on top, 33-26. Northwest held a 23-point edge at 59-36 before MSSU used a 13-2 run to slice Bearcat lead to 12 with 6:01 to play in the game. The Bearcats did not allow the Lions to get any closer and finished off the win, 73-56.
 
Northwest shot 55.8% from the floor (29-of-52 FGs). It is the 14th time this season the Bearcats have shot 50.0% or better from the field. Northwest tied a season-low with only five turnovers in the contest.
 
Junior Isaiah Jackson handed out a team-best eight assists to go along with five rebounds and four points.
 
Sophomore Bennett Stirtz scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Stirtz grabbed six boards and dished out three assists.
 
Junior Daniel Abreu was the third Bearcat in double-figure scoring with 14 points.
 
The Bearcats have secured the No. 1 seed for the 2024 MIAA Tournament set for March 6-10 in Municipal Auditorium. The Bearcats will play in the first men's quarterfinal Thursday at 6 p.m. against the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup from Wednesday evening. Northwest won the regular season title by three games with Fort Hays State finishing second at 17-5 in league play.
 
NOTES: Northwest has defeated Missouri Southern 13 consecutive times, including five straight in Joplin … head coach Ben McCollum is 21-11 vs. MSSU … Daniel Abreu has scored in double figures in six straight games … Abreu has also made at least one three-pointer in seven consecutive contests … Mitch Mascari has made three or more three-pointers 12 times this season … Northwest made 11 three-pointers, marking the ninth time this year that the Bearcats have made 10 or more triples in a game … Northwest attempted a season-low seven free throws – its previous low was eight in a 63-59 win over Emporia State (Dec. 16) … Northwest won the rebounding battle, 29-26 … Northwest has won 19 of its last 20 games … the Bearcats have won 36 of its last 38 matchups with MIAA opponents dating back to Jan. 14, 2023 … Northwest is 248-20 over the last eight seasons … McCollum moved his career mark to 389-90 and 241-63 in MIAA games.