In the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national semifinals, the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats punched their ticket to the national championship thanks to a 77-46 victory against No. 3-seed Flagler (Fla.). The second-seeded Bearcats win their 42nd-straight game on neutral court and now make it back to the finals for the third time in four years. Northwest won it all back in 2017 and 2019.

Northwest will now play No. 1-seed West Texas A&M Saturday at 11 a.m. CT televised nationally on CBS.

The Bearcats never trailed in the game and again flexed their collective offensive firepower tonight. A day after scoring 98 points in the quarterfinal victory, Northwest went up 7-0 in the blink of an eye. The Bearcats stretched the lead out to 38-16 at the 3:43 mark. Diego Bernard’s put-back dunk with time expiring in the first half put the Bearcats up 40-24 going into intermission. Ryan Hawkins already had 13 points and Luke Waters netted 11. As a team, Northwest shot 7-of-16 (.440) from downtown.

A lay-up from Hawkins at the 16:48 mark of the second half put Northwest up 46-24 and the Bearcats cruised to the win.

Hawkins recorded a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Waters chipped in 15 and National Player of the Year Trevor Hudgins finished with 13 points. Bernard nearly collected a triple-double with 10 points, nine boards and seven assists.

For Flagler, a team that snapped a 12-season streak of losing records with an 18-3 mark this year, Jaizec Lottie was the highlight with 15 points. Jalen Barr posted eight points and eight rebounds.

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