Winless Mississippi Valley State stayed with Northwestern for more than a half, but the Wildcats pulled away for a 78-48 nonconference victory Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

Senior center Alex Olah stacked up 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks as the Wildcats (9-1) won their sixth game in a row and maintained their best start since 2011-12.

Northwestern sophomore point guard Bryant McIntosh notched 14 points and eight assists, senior guard Tre Demps added 13 points, and freshman forward Aaron Falzon hit four 3-pointers to account for his 12 points.

Mississippi Valley State (0-12) was led by junior shooting guard Marcus Romain's 14 points. Junior guard Isaac Williams added 11 as the Delta Devils, who entered the night shooting 36.3 percent from the field and were limited to 29 percent shooting.

The Wildcats shot 43.3 percent from the floor.

Northwestern never trailed, but Williams hit a pair of free throws with 1:18 left in the first half to pull Mississippi Valley State within 34-27. The Delta Devils were still within 49-39 after junior guard Rashaan Surles' 3-pointer with 15:18 to play, but the Wildcats limited the visitors to nine points the rest of the way.

Northwestern enjoyed a 13-0 run -- ignited by McIntosh free throws and capped by junior forward Nathan Taphorn's 3-pointer -- to take a 73-44 lead with 4:40 to go.