MARYVILLE, Missouri (January 2) – In their final non-conference game of the 2009-2010 season, the Cameron Aggie men’s basketball team (9-4) fell to the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (7-5) today in Maryville, Missouri. CU lost by the score 75-52, and the Black and Gold is now 2-4 on the road this year.
 
There were no ties and no lead changes as Cameron played from behind the entire time. The Aggies got down early and could never catch up, playing most of the game down by at least 20 points.
 
“You have to give credit to Northwest Missouri State for playing well, but we didn’t have our best game today,” Head Coach Wade Alexander said. “I was pleased with a few aspects of our game, but I’m disappointed we didn’t come away with this one. This would’ve been a nice regional win.”
 
Contrasting shooting percentages was the storyline of today’s battle as the ‘Cats shot a solid 44.9% (22-49) while the Aggies only managed a 31.0% (18-58) shooting percentage. CU was also only 6-26 (23.1%) from three-point range.
 
“You can’t miss 40 shots and expect to win many ballgames,” Coach Alexander said. “We weren’t hitting many three-pointers either and they capitalized on our misses. I was glad we were able to out-rebound them.”
 
Another factor in today’s game was trips to the foul line. Both teams managed good free throw percentages, but NWMSU was 23-29 (79.3%) at the stripe while CU was only 10-14 (71.4%). The ‘Cats saw more than double the amount of trips to the charity stripe as the Aggies.
 
Cameron also finished with 36 rebounds, 16 turnovers, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, while Northwest Missouri State finished with 35 rebounds, 12 turnovers, 1 block, and 6 steals.
 
The lone Aggie to finish with double-digit scoring numbers was sophomore guard Milton Garner who put up a team-high 18 points on 6-14 shooting. He was also 5-6 from the free throw line.
 
“Milton Garner continues to put in good games offensively for us,” Coach Alexander said. “We can always count on him to get us points. He is having a great season.”
 
Garner is currently Cameron’s scoring leader, and he is the 7th highest scorer in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Senior guard Greg Morgan led the Black and Gold under the boards with 6 rebounds.
 
“We had a lot of guys see the floor tonight,” Coach Alexander said. “There is a lot we can take away from this as we head into Lone Star Conference play. I still like where our team is at.”
 
Cameron returns home next week to host a two-game homestand. On Thursday (January 7) the Aggies host the Javelinas of Texas A&M-Kingsville at 8:00pm in the Aggie Gym. CU’s women’s team plays TAMUK at 6:00pm that evening.
 
The Aggies then open up LSC North Division play next Saturday (January 13) against the Northeastern State RiverHawks at 4:00pm, also in the Aggie Gym. Both CU teams play NSU that day as well.