PRATT, Kan.- The boys had their best shooting night of the season on Saturday, as the Beavers kept the Mavericks at bay in the team's 87-77 win.

Maclolm Whitlow led the Beavers with 27 points where he was 50% from the field (7-14), and accepted all the charity afforded to him at the free throw line where he was 12-13. Whitlow also had a team-high six assists and three rebounds. Cam Morris ended his afternoon with an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double, leading all players in rebounds. Harrison Eghan came off the bench to score 10 points of his own to go with three boards. 

While the Beavers found the three-point range unfriendly (2-14), Pratt was 28-44 (63%) from inside the arc. The offensive focus near the rim also led to Pratt making and attempting 25 of 32 free throws (78%). The Beavers overall shooting percentage of 51.7% marks the team's highest rate of 2021. 

The Beavers began the game on a 9-0 over the first four minutes, but Northwest Tech found a rhythm to narrow the lead to 21-17 over the next 10 minutes. The Beavers eventually took a 37-31 lead into the halftime break. The Mavericks never led at any point over the course of the 40 minutes, as the Beavers led by as much as 16 on multiple occasions during the second half of play. 

Coach Flynn's team was 15-26 from the field over the final 20 minutes (58%), and the group's efficiency from the line over that stretch (18-23) never allowed Northwest Tech to ever get back into the game. 

Men's basketball (4-6, 3-6) will travel to Hutchinson to play the second game of 5:30 pm-7:30 pm doubleheader.