(BearcatSports.com) JOPLIN, Missouri – The No. 3 -ranked Northwest Missouri State University men’s basketball team extended the nation’s longest road winning streak to 15 in a row with a 84-74 victory over the Missouri Southern Lions Tuesday at the Leggett and Platt Athletic Center. Northwest extended its overall win streak to eight and moved to 13-1 on the season. Missouri Southern drops to 8-7 overall.

The contest featured a shootout between a pair of the MIAA’s top scorers in Northwest’s Ryan Hawkins and Missouri Southern’s Cam Martin. The duo did not disappoint as Hawkins poured in a game-high 33, while Martin carried the Lions’s load with 30 points. It’s the ninth career 30-point game for Hawkins.

Hawkins went 12-of-19 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three-point range. Hawkins also tied Diego Bernard for team-high rebounding honors with seven each.

Bernard secured his ninth career 20-point game. Bernard did his usual stat staffing with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal.

The Bearcats rode the hot hand of Hawkins in the opening six minutes of the contest. Hawkins drained his first six shots from the field, including a trio from beyond the three-point arc. Hawkins scored 15 of Northwest’s first 19 points and helped the ‘Cats to an early 19-6 advantage.

Missouri Southern battled back behind Martin’s offensive attack. Martin equaled Hawkins for first-half scoring honors with 16. The Lions knotted the contest at 22-22, 24-24 and 27-27, but could not overtake the Bearcats for a lead in the opening 20 minutes.

Northwest used a 10-3 spurt to open up a 37-30 on the strength of the play of freshman Daniel Abreu. Abreu scored five of his first-half seven points in that 10-3 run. The Bearcats would close the half leading the Lions by seven, 44-37. Both teams shot the ball well in the first half with Northwest at 57.7% and Missouri Southern at 53.6%.

Hawkins helped the Bearcats extend the lead on the strength of a trio of second-half three-pointers. Senior Trevor Hudgins’s triple pushed the Bearcat advantage to 16 at 69-53 with 9:33 to play.

Missouri Southern used a 10-2 run to trim the Northwest lead to 75-69 with 3:32 to play. A Winston Dessesow three-pointer with 2:01 left cut the Bearcat advantage to five at 77-72.

The Bearcats then closed out the victory by making seven of eight free throws in the final 2:59.

Northwest shot 29-of-58 (50%) from the field, while Missouri Southern shot 28-of-52 (53.8%) for the game.

Northwest will be back action again Saturday in the friendly confines of Bearcat Arena against the Missouri Western Griffons. Tip is set for 3:30 p.m., following the women’s contest that will get underway at 1:30 p.m.