MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Truman State University men's basketball team took on the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday for the first time in over 18 years in the form of its oldest rival, Northwest Missouri State. In their first meeting since November of 2013, the defending National Champion Bearcats defeated the Bulldogs, 90-70.

After winning three in a row to begin the season, Truman has dropped its last two while Northwest Missouri State improved to 4-0. After taking the two teams' 196th all-time meeting, the Bearcats now lead the Bulldogs by eight in that department, 102-94.

Saturday, the Purple and White were led by a quartet of scorers in double-figures including Taurin Hughes (pictured/20 points), Jack Green (16), Nathan Messer (11), and Zach Fischer (10). Fischer also paced the team in rebounds with five, three different players had a pair of assists and Connor Lusso blocked two shots.

Truman got just the start it wanted and led Northwest by seven, 15-8, just under four minutes into the game. The Bulldogs made all six of their first six field goal attempts including three of them from behind the arc. After four ties and a 27-11 run in favor of the Bearcats, they led their visitors by nine, 35-26, with six minutes and change to play in the half. Truman cut the deficit to five, 36-31, with a quick 5-1 run, but the home team ended the half with an 11-5 spurt to lead by 11, 47-36, at the break. After the intermission, the margin was never smaller than 11, 49-38, and grew to as big as 27, 84-57.

Next up, the Bulldogs have a 10-day Thanksgiving break before hosting Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 28 in Pershing Arena with the start time set for 7 p.m.

#BewareOfDog