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Northwest 72, Washburn 49

Action shot of Joey Witthus vs Pittsburg State basketball
Photo courtesy Northwest Athletics

Northwest Missouri State men's basketball completed just its second unbeaten regular season in program history with a 72-49 win over Washburn Thursday evening.

The Bearcats (29-0, 19-0 MIAA) only other unbeaten regular season came during the 1929-30 campaign as Henry Iba guided the team to a 31-0 record and MIAA title.

The perfect mark in conference games is also the first time it's happened since 1967 when Missouri State went 10-0 in the MIAA.

After a difficult battle with Missouri Western Tuesday, Northwest didn't waste anytime taking control of Thursday's game.

Washburn took a 2-0 lead on a Tyas Martin layup just over a minute into the game. Ryan Hawkins rattled off the next seven points in a row to give the Bearcats a lead that they wouldn't give back.

Ryan Welty knocked down a three-pointer at the 12:03 mark in the first half to cap a 14-2 run.

Northwest led by nine points at the break, and the lead ballooned to 29 points before all was said and done.

Joey Witthus paced the 'Cats with 19 points, including 9-10 from the free throw line.

Hawkins finished the night with 18 points and nine rebounds. Ryan Welty bounced back from a tough night Tuesday by knocking down 4-6 three-pointers and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

Next up for Northwest is the MIAA Tournament. The Bearcats will play Thursday, March 7 at noon at Municipal Auditorium. They will face the winner of the 8-9 matchup in the opening round.