MARYVILLE, Missouri – The No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcat men’s basketball team thumped the visiting Central Missouri Mules, 81-47.

The Bearcats won their 13th straight game and moved to 21-1 overall. The Bearcats are now 11-1 in MIAA and have won 46 of their last 47 home league contests. Central Missouri falls to 9-12 overall and 4-8 in MIAA play.

Northwest extended its home-court win streak to 29 in a row. Northwest has won 67 of its last 69 home games overall.

Northwest made seven of its first 10 three-pointers to build a comfortable 31-14 lead over Central Missouri. Redshirt freshman Luke Waters made his first four shots from the field and tallied 11 of Northwest’s first 22 points. Waters would later find himself in foul trouble which limited him to only 13 points in 18 minutes of action.

The Bearcat scoring duo of junior Ryan Hawkins and sophomore Trevor Hudgins were spot on again. Hawkins collected his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. Hawkins went 11-of-15 from the field and was 5-of-8 from distance. Hudgins earned his 13th 20-point scoring contest on the season with 20 points and six assists. Hudgins sank 6-of-8 field goals – all from three-point land – in the 34-point triumph.

Northwest shot 60.5% from the field, which included 55.2% from three-point range. Northwest knocked in 16-of-29 three-pointers against the Mules. Northwest has drained at least 10 three-pointers in each of its last four games.

Northwest extended its defense in the second half and did not allow Central Missouri to score until a pair of free throws from Shae Wyatt with 11:18 remained on the second-half clock. UCM would not make a second-half field goal until 9:44 was left in the game.

Northwest will remain home and will take on the Lincoln Blue Tigers on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Bearcat Arena.

Monika Czinano scored 23 points and Kathleen Doyle, with a school assist record, and Amanda Ollinger had double-doubles as No. 20 Iowa avenged an early Big Ten Conference loss with a 76-60 win over Nebraska. Doyle distributed a single-game record 15 assists with 15 points; Ollinger scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The Hawkeyes (19-4, 10-2), who have won 33 straight at home, lost 78-69 at Nebraska. Their last home loss was to Nebraska on Jan. 28, 2018. Iowa outscored the Cornhuskers 22-13 in the third quarter to lead 57-45. Leigha Brown led the Cornhuskers with 20 points.

Tri @ Denison-Schleswig

Denison-Schleswig 52 Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 30
Storm Lake 53 Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 20
Storm Lake 48 Denison-Schleswig 30

Tri @ Waukee

Waukee 66 Lewis Central 10
Lewis Central 41 Ames 27

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Clarinda 53, West Nodaway 39

Western Iowa Conference

Audubon 53, CAM 45
IKM-Manning 67, Boyer Valley 29
Underwood 53, Fremont-Mills 32

Rolling Valley Conference

Ar-We-Va 54, West Harrison 53

Corner Conference

Sidney 47, Southwest Valley 35

Other Scores

Central Decatur 60, Centerville 57
Chariton 41, Wayne 35
East Union 62, Diagonal 54
Lamoni 68, Lenox 63

BOYS BASKETBALL

Western Iowa Conference

Tri-Center 58, CB Thomas Jefferson 46

Rolling Valley Conference

CAM 52, Audubon 48
Madrid 95, Glidden-Ralston 57
West Harrison 70, Ar-We-Va 47

Corner Conference

Sidney 63, Southwest Valley 59

Other Scores

Central Decatur, Leon 64, Centerville 48
Lamoni 70, Lenox 53

The CAM boys basketball team trailed much of the night against the Audubon Wheelers on Thursday but eventually made some big fourth quarter plays and free throws to pick up a 52-48 win. CAM never led in the first half but only trailed by one 25-24 at the half. The Cougars grabbed their first lead late in the third quarter and held a one point lead 34-33 heading into the final period. The Wheelers grabbed a lead early in the fourth but the Cougars went 12-14 from the free throw line in the final period to grab the victory. CAM Head Coach Nick Hodges liked the way his team finished strong.

Ethan Arp finished with 16 points and Connor McKee dropped in 15 for the Cougars. Arp went 5 for 5 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and his first make of the night was a three that he said got him going.

Arp said they finally got into a better rhythm as a team midway through the third quarter.

The Wheelers made it tough for the Cougars to find open looks for much of the night and Connor McKee said they just had to be patient.

CAM improved to 14-4 on the season and will try to avenge one of those losses on Friday night with a home game against Exira-EHK. We’ll have that game on KJAN.

Audubon was led by 14 points from Gavin Smith and 13 from Skyler Schultes. The Wheelers dropped to 8-12 on the year and will host IKM-Manning next Tuesday.

The Audubon girls basketball team picked up a big road win over the CAM Cougars on Thursday night in Anita. The Wheelers led for most of the game, and some great foul shooting helped them seal a 53-45 win.

Audubon jumped up early in the game and never trailed until late in the second quarter when CAM went ahead 24-23. The Wheelers used a 6-1 run at that point in the game to lead 29-25 at half. The Cougars would get within 4 points twice in the third quarter but never closer. Auduon led 38-34 at the end of the third and quickly pushed that lead out to as much as 10 in the fourth. The Wheelers seems to make the hustle plays down the stretch, including some strong rebounding and Audubon Head Coach Darran Miller said that was big.

Leah Subbert had a big night for Audubon with 21 points. She went 8-11 at the free throw line and knocked in a couple threes to spark the offense early. Coach Miller said they have confidence in Subbert to shoot when she gets good looks.

The Wheelers also got 15 points from Jaci Christensen and 10 from Aleah Hermensen as they improved to 13-7. The Wheelers will host IKM-Manning on Tuesday to end the regular season and then host Orient-Macksburg in their opening playoff game next Thursday.

CAM was led by 14 points from Zoey Baylor and the Cougars fall to 13-6. They have dropped four straight and face another tough test on Friday night against Exira-EHK. We’ll have that game for you on KJAN.