ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The No. 22-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies put up a 102-79 victory over the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Hillyard Classic.
The Bearcats answered an 18-point deficit with a nine-point run, getting a
Trey Moala layup, a
Robby Garcia 3-pointer and layup, and two
Larenz Walters free throws to cut the Huskies' lead to 41-32. SCSU kept pressure on the interior, finishing the half with a 30-16 advantage in points in the paint and an 18-9 rebounding edge. Northwest shot 14 of 28 from the field and 14 of 16 at the line but went into halftime down 60-46.
The Bearcats could not slow SCSU early in the second half, as the visitors opened with four straight made baskets before
Cody Dandridge scored for Northwest. The home side got all 33 of its second-half points from the bench and went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line, but the Huskies shot 16-for-31 in the half and won 102-79.
Garcia scored 13 points, hit two 3-pointers and added three rebounds. Moala finished with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and collected three rebounds.
Presley Ibeh posted 10 points, converting eight of nine free throws.
Jadon Cool added eight points, went 4-for-4 at the line and recorded two steals.
St. Cloud State improved to 2-1 overall, while Northwest dropped to 0-3 on the year.
Up next, Northwest hosts Univ. of Mary on Friday, Nov. 20, at 7:36 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.
