MARYVILLE, Mo. (Dec. 31, 2022) – No. 6/4-ranked Northwest Missouri State did to Northeastern State on Saturday afternoon what it often does to opponents at Bearcat Arena.

NSU saw an early six-point lead dissolve under the weight of a 20-0 run by the Bearcats, who pulled away for a 79-58 win in the 2022 finale for both basketball teams. Northwest Missouri State (12-1, 5-1 MIAA) has beaten NSU (6-4, 3-3) in 14 straight meetings.

The Bearcats have won 134 consecutive games when the final scoring margin is 20 or more points. They entered the game 10th in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at 19.0 points.

Christian Cook scored 16 points to lead NSU, recording his eighth straight double-digit scoring game for the RiverHawks. The sophomore from Oklahoma City passed the 750-point career scoring mark during the game.

A 3-pointer by Dillon Bailey (who finished with 10 points) gave Northeastern State a 14-8 lead with 12:21 left in the first half. But the Bearcats followed with their big run and led 28-14 after a 3-pointer by Wes Dreamer at the 5:25 mark. Dreamer had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Bearcats, while Diego Bernard scored 21 points.

Northwest Missouri State led 39-23 at halftime and extended its advantage to as many as 27 points in the second half.

Rashad Perkins added 16 points for Northeastern State, which shot 47.7 percent from the field (21 of 44). Northwest Missouri State, which entered the game leading Division II in field-goal percentage at 54.6 percent for the season, shot 52.1 percent (25 of 48) against the RiverHawks.

NSU will stay on the road for its next game, on Monday at Missouri Western.