ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – No. 5 Northwest Missouri State University shot nearly 60 percent from the field on Saturday night as the Bearcats cruised to an 84-59 victory over Winona State University on the final day of the Hillyard Tip-Off Classic.

The Warriors (0-2) dropped both games over the weekend while NWMS won a pair to improve to 4-0.

The Bearcats led wire-to-wire in the tilt, racing out to a 12-0 after the opening tip and led by as many as 27 in the first half en route to a 46-23 halftime advantage.

NWMS shot 59 percent in the first half of action while going 10-21 from beyond the arc. Winona State got out to a sluggish start for the second straight contest, shooting 35 percent in the first half and only 3-11 from downtown.

The Warriors improved from three-point range in the second half, going 6-12, but it was hardly enough to keep up with the high-powered Bearcat offense that provided an answer with seemingly every Winona State bucket.

A three-pointer by Devin Whitelow sparked a 13-2 Warrior run early in the second half as WSU slashed its deficit to 51-38 at the 16:01 mark, but the Warriors couldn't get any closer than that for the remainder of the evening. Whitelow knocked down a pair of threes during that stretch and Mason Domask also connected from long range.

Dalante Peyton led the Warriors with a career-best 13 points off the bench. After a disappointing outing on Friday night, Whitelow finished with 11 points and three assists on Saturday. Kevion Taylor added 10 points, three assists and three rebounds in the losing effort.

The Bearcats owned a slight 28-26 edge in rebounding, but dominated the paint in scoring with a 32-18 advantage.

The Warriors will have a week to shake off a frustrating opening weekend before returning to action in their home opener on Saturday, November 17 against Waldorf University. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.