Hawkins records first triple-double as No. 1 Bearcats reach MIAA championship

Micaela Dea, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·3 min read

Mar. 6—MARYVILLE, Mo. — No. 1 Northwest Missouri State continued its winning ways by securing another postseason victory in dominating fashion against No. 5-seeded Central Oklahoma, routing the Bronchos 104-72 in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals Friday at Bearcat Arena.

The Bearcats (23-1) extended their win streak to 18 games, reaching the program's 16th MIAA championship game in the victory.

Northwest eclipsed the 100-point mark in its second straight MIAA tourney game, becoming the first league team to ever record back-to-back 100-point games in the MIAA Tournament.

"It's postseason energy," Northwest head coach Ben McCollum said. "We're sharing the basketball. When you share the basketball, and it moves naturally, there's a natural rhythm. When there's a natural rhythm, there's shots you typically wouldn't hit."

Northwest senior Ryan Hawkins recorded the tournament's first-ever triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Hawkins also became the MIAA's all-time tournament leader in rebounds with 74, passing Washburn's Clarence Tyson, who posted 71 from 1993-94.

Northwest junior Trevor Hudgins added 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

The Bearcats shot 60.0% (36-of-60) from the field, marking the fourth straight game they have shot 60% or better, as well as 56% (14-of-25) from deep.

"We can score like that in practice going against our own defense, and it's like, 'What do you do?' So it's nice to finally find that rhythm and that flow that we're in right now," Hawkins said.

In a similar trend to their blowout victory over Emporia State in the quarterfinals, Northwest had control early by sinking its first three three-pointers of the contest, and jumping out to a 15-4 lead.

The Bearcats made their first eight three-point shots to take commanding 46-18 lead, making 17 of their first 22 shots.

At the break, Northwest led 58-26 lead at the half. At that point, Hudgins led all scorers with 20 points and Hawkins had 13 points, with the Bearcats shooting 71.4% (20-28) from the field and 72.7% (8-11) from deep.

Central Oklahoma came out strong in the second half with an 18-5 run, but it wasn't enough as the Bearcats secured the 104-72 victory.

No. 1 seed Northwest faces No. 2-seeded Washburn in the MIAA Championship Saturday at 6 p.m. at Bearcat Arena.

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Micaela Dea can be reached at micaela.dea@newspressnow.com.

Follow her on Twitter: @NPNowDea