MARYVILLE, Mo. (Feb. 17, 2024) – No. 11-ranked Northwest Missouri State extended its conference-best winning streak to 10 games and never trailed while downing Northeastern State 73-56 on Saturday afternoon at Bearcat Arena.

The loss for NSU (9-15, 4-14 MIAA), combined with an Emporia State (Kan.) win at Newman (Kan.) on Saturday, eliminated the RiverHawks from contention for a spot in the 10-team MIAA postseason tournament. The RiverHawks are 4½ games out of 10^th place with four regular-season games remaining.

Ethan Blackmon had 14 points and five rebounds to lead the RiverHawks against Northwest Missouri State (21-4, 17-2), a longtime NCAA Division II basketball power that sits atop the MIAA standings. Caison Hartloff added 11 points while Jaxon Jones scored 10. Jones played all 40 minutes, recording his ninth straight complete game for NSU.

Blackmon's hook shot with 4:49 left in the second quarter pulled NSU even with the Bearcats at 24-24 and the RiverHawks trailed only 30-27 at halftime. But Northwest Missouri State – playing without its injured leading scorer, Wes Dreamer – started the second half with a 12-6 spurt and NSU never quite recovered.

The RiverHawks came within 50-44 on a layup by Blackmon with 10:41 left but the Bearcats quickly built their lead to double digits and eventually led by as many as 20 points. Six Bearcats scored in double figures, led by Isaiah Jackson with 13 points and Daniel Abreu and Byron Alexander with 12 points each. Trey Moala had 11 points and nine rebounds for Northwest Missouri State.

The Bearcats won the rebounding battle 29-18. 

NSU will host its final two home games of the season next week, against Newman on Thursday and Central Oklahoma on Saturday, then will be back on the road for the final week of the regular season for games at Lincoln (Mo.) and Central Missouri.