MARYVILLE, Mo. - The University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers earned their first win in Bearcat Arena with a 78-70 triumph over the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball squad Saturday.

The Lopers recorded only their second overall win in the all-time series against the Bearcats by shooting 52.8% from the floor and forcing Northwest into 23 turnovers. UNK scored 31 points of Northwest turnovers, while the Bearcats scored 12 points off 11 Loper miscues.

The Bearcats put up 45 bench points led by 24 from Emorie Knox and 15 from Trey Moala. Knox knocked in 10-of-12 shots from the field, dished out six assists and nabbed four steals in 33 minutes of action. Moala netted a career scoring high with his 15-point effort on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Moala also tallied eight rebounds. 

Byron Alexander ripped down a career-high 11 rebounds to go along with six points and two steals.

The Lopers raced out to a 24-9 lead nine minutes into the contest. The Bearcats were able to bounce back with a 17-2 spurt to knot the matchup at 26-26 with 7:33 left in the opening half. Knox provided 18 points in the opening half on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. Knox buried 3-of-4 from three-point range in 15 minutes of first-half action.
 
The Lopers took a 43-42 lead to the break. Each squad hit on 16-of-27 field goals (59.3%) in the opening 20 minutes. Northwest's bench tallied 31 first-half points, while the UNK bench scored eight points.

UNK would not relinquish the lead in the second half and led by as many as eight points on four occasions including the final buzzer. Northwest narrowed the lead to two points at 46-44 on a bucket from Alexander with 18:14 to play. Northwest closed the margin to three at 61-68 with 1:38 to play after another basket from Alexander. UNK made 9-of-12 free throws in the second half to secure the eight-point win, 78-70. 

Northwest shot 55.1% from the field on 27-of-49 shooting - the second-best single-game total this season. 

Northwest will hit the road this week with games at Central Missouri (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) and at Washburn (Saturday, 3 p.m.).
 
NOTES: Northwest scored 42 first-half points after scoring 39 points overall in a 58-39 loss to Fort Hays State on Thursday in Bearcat Arena … Northwest dominated the rebounding battle, 35-21 ... Northwest collected 10 offensive rebounds, while UNK snared only four on the offensive end ... it is Northwest's first double-digit loss season since the Bearcats lost 10 games in the 2012-13 season ... Northwest leads the all-time series, 16-2.