Northwest Missouri State wins big in opening round of NCAA Division-II tourney

Part of the march through March Madness can include hearing that such-and-such-team is surely peaking at the right time.

Well, it seems hard to say otherwise for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men’s basketball team.

The Bearcats rolled straight past Southwest Minnesota State 73-43 on Saturday in a first-round game of the NCAA Division-II Tournament in Mankato, Minnesota.

It was the Bearcats’ 17th straight win, and it came by 30 points.

Daniel Abreu led Northwest Missouri State with 17 points, while Mitch Mascari added 16 and Wes Dreamer 15.

The Bearcats, who are playing in the Central Region, will take on Minnesota-Duluth in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 5 p.m.

Other area teams in the D-II tourney...

Minnesota-Duluth 59, Fort Hays State 58: Matt Thompson made a layup at the buzzer for Minnesota-Duluth for the one-point victory in the Central Region in Mankato. Elijah Nnanabu scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half for Fort Hays State, which finished the season 23-8.

Moorhead State 73, Pittsburg State 55: Deshaun English II scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Gorillas, but Pitt State played catch-up across most of the game and couldn’t get there. The Gorillas, who were playing in the Central Region in Mankato, finished 21-11 on the season.

Indianapolis 71, William Jewell 65: The Cardinals had beaten Indianapolis two out of three times this season, including in overtime in a game in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament. Saturday, Indianapolis evened the score with the opening-round victory in the Midwest Region in Indianapolis. Jordan Jermain had 20 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Cardinals, who finished the season 21-11.

This story was originally published March 16, 2024 at 9:47 PM.