Bolivar, Mo. - Behind the strong play of seniors Ryan Dougherty and Robson Memnon, the Bearcats took down the #16 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 91-77 Tuesday night in Bolivar. The Bearcats provided a balanced offense, with five different players scoring in double-figures, on route to scoring the highest point total allowed by Northwest Missouri this season.

"Northwest Missouri is at the top of the conference and we did not let them come in here and solidify the conference championship tonight," Dougherty stated after the game. "It was a great win for us. We came out there shooting and it seemed as if every pass I gave to somebody they were hitting the shot. That is a great feeling. Everybody came out and busted thier butt and really played hard."

The battle of the Bearcats remained tight throughout a majority of the first half, with Northwest Missouri boasting the largest first half lead by either team, 7, with 7:56 to go in the opening half. The Bearcats would respond by slowly cutting into the lead, and eventually taking a 32-28 lead going into the locker room. SBU continued their strong play to open up the second half, and quickly pushed the lead to double-digits. Southwest Baptist would hold a 10+ lead for the final 10 minutes of the game, and go on to the 91-77 victory.

Ryan Dougherty had an outstanding final game in the Meyer Sports Center, scoring a game high 24 points and dishing out 7 assists in the win. Dougherty shot 67% from the field and 90% from the free throw line. Robson Memnon had an equally impressive final game at home, scoring 14 points down low and grabbing 6 rebounds.

"We want to come out and finish our careers on a good note," Memnon stated after the game. "Last time we slipped up and they beat us, but we knew we could have gotten the victory. This time we came out and played a great game and got the win."

Daveion Zellner also provided a strong presence down low, scoring 14 points off of 7 of 9 shooting from the field. Kyle Sloan was perfect from the field, scoring 16 points for SBU, and Jake Littrel 13 points while both Littrel and Sloan went 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.

As a team, the Bearcats shot a season high 61.9% from the field, 69.2% from beyond the arc, and 83.3% from the free throw line. SBU forced 17 turnovers and dished out 16 assists in the victory.

"It was a special night and one of the bigger wins of the season," head coach Jeff Guiot commented. "I am really happy for our seniors. Ryan Dougherty has done so much for our program over the last four years, and it is good to see him play so well. Robson [Memnon] played outstanding and led us in rebounding tonight. Abner [Kamps] gave us some good minutes as well. I'm really proud of our seniors.

Offensively we moved the ball really well. When you move the ball well, you get good looks. When you get good looks, your chances of making the shot are drastically improved. We stepped up late in the game and hit our free throws. We shot the ball well and our passing and moving was really good."

SBU will close out regular season play on Saturday, February 25 when they travel to Missouri Southern with a match-up against the Griffons. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. from St. Joseph, Missouri.