ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Senior guard Monzaigo Willliams poured in a career-high 31 points to lead No. 13-ranked Midwestern State to a 78-71 win over Northwest Missouri State Friday afternoon at the 22nd Annual Hillyard Classic at the MWSU Fieldhouse.
 
The Mustangs (3-0) battle host school Missouri Western in the finale Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.
 
Williams was nearly perfect in the opening half firing in six 3-pointers without a miss while connecting on 7-of-8 shots from the floor to score 25 points before intermission.
 
Even with the senior from Palmdale's shooting display, the Mustangs could never pull away from the Bearcats as MSU led by as many as seven points before settling on a 38-33 lead at the break.
 
Northwest Missouri came out firing in the second half using a 12-2 run to take control extending the lead to 56-46 on a pair of Dillon Starzl free throws with 11:24 to go.
 
Led by senior forward Derek Kaster, who tallied 11 of his season-high 15 points after intermission, Midwestern continued to chip away at the lead finally overtaking NWMSU after back-to-back DeJuan Plummer layups gave the Mustangs a 68-66 lead with 2:36 to play.
 
They wouldn't trail again.
 
Williams finished game with 31 points, six assists and five rebounds connecting on 7-of-13 shots from the field including six treys while going 11-of-14 from the charity stripe.
 
Plummer joined Williams and Kaster in double figures with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes off of the bench.
 
Dillon Starzl paced the Bearcats with 27 points and eight rebounds as Northwest Missouri dropped to 1-2 on the season.