All five Northwest Missouri State starters reached double figures, but Nolan Richardson’s game-high 32 points powered Midwestern State to an 84-78 win Saturday at the River City Classic hosted by University of St. Mary’s.
It’s the second consecutive 30-point effort for Richardson, who scored a career-high 34 points in a 70-67 overtime win against Texas A&M-Commerce Wednesday. He was 9-of-18 from the field Saturday and 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Hunter Henry had a team-high 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bearcats (4-5). It’s the third consecutive double-double for Henry, who has five in nine games this season and 20 in his collegiate career.
Mike Larsen made a career-best five 3-pointers and added a free throw to tie his career high of 16 points. Elijah Allen chipped in 12 points and Ben Haarman and DaJuan Harris added 10 each for Northwest.
The Bearcats led 28-18 with six minutes left in the first half, but trailed 36-33 at the break. The Mustangs rode that momentum into the second half and extended its lead to 14 with 12 minutes left. Three-pointers by Edriss Floyd and Larsen cut the deficit to 79-75 in the final minute, but Midwestern State made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.
The Mustangs shot 54 percent from the floor and were 23-of-27 from the free-throw line. The Bearcats made a season-high 10 three-pointers, forced 23 turnovers and had 16 steals.
