Northwest came out on top of a defensive battle with Central Missouri Monday afternoon 70-61 for the Bearcats' 45th consecutive home victory.
The 'Cats (15-1, 7-1 MIAA) led 34-31 at halftime, but opened up a lead as large as 16 points in the second half on the way to the win.
Justin Pitts, one game after scoring a career-low two points, finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-15 shooting, and also made six three-pointers.
Chris-Ebou Ndow scored 12 points and six rebounds in the win. Brett Dougherty had 11 points for Northwest, the fifth time in six games scoring in double-figures for the senior from Omaha.
Northwest goes on the road for a pair of games this week -- first at Nebraska Kearney on Thursday, followed by a game at Fort Hays Saturday.