MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The #4 SBU Bearcats clinched a share of their third MIAA regular season title in the last four years with a dominating 81-58 win over the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. The SBU Bearcats jumped out to a 20-2 lead, behind four early treys, and never trailed in the contest.

D'Ante Harris led SBU with 21 points, one of four SBU Bearcats in double figures. Harris connected on 5 treys and was 8-of-14 from the field and led the team with five assists. Tomas Brock had 13 points and Wendell Mardis added 11. Matt Rogers had another double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, along with 7 blocks.  SBU was 15-for-37 (41%) from long range and out-rebounded Northwest 37-28.

SBU (23-3, 16-3 MIAA) led by as much as 19 in the first half and was up 45-30 at the break. They extended the margin to as much as 28 points on two occasions in the second half. Northwest drops to 12-14 and 7-12 in the MIAA.

“This was a good win. We knew it was their Senior Night, and Hunter Henry is a special player, so we thought Northwest would be geared up, fighting for a spot,” said head coach Jeff Guiot. “Our players showed a lot of maturity from beginning to end and wanted to get a share of the conference title.”

“Several players have stepped in Nick's absence,” Guiot continued, speaking about his injured senior guard Nick Kovacevich. “D'Ante is a winner. He's a senior and wants to make the most of his remaining games. Several players – Wendell, Ryan, Tomas, Brandon Burgette – have all seen increased minutes and have picked up their games.”

The SBU Bearcats learned earlier in the day that they had moved up to number one in the South Central Region ranking. “We just have to keep winning games and the rankings will take care of themselves,” said Guiot. “We need to be ready to play against Missouri Western because we were fortunate to win up there. Winning the conference is tough because our league is so tough. Back-to-back (outright) titles would be very special.”

SBU hosts Missouri Western at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, looking to clinch the MIAA title outright and aiming to extend their Division II best 29-game home court winning streak. With a win, SBU would set an MIAA record for most conference wins in a season with 17. SBU will be trying to be the first MIAA school to win back-to-back regular season titles outright since Washburn (2003 & '04). Back-to-back titles would also be a first in SBU men's basketball history. It will be also Senior Night for SBU. Fans are encouraged to come support both the men's and women's SBU basketball teams for the final game of the regular season.