Box Score

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SEARCY, Ark. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team saw its perfect start to the year snapped in a close 65-63 defeat to Harding University Thursday night at Rhodes Field House.
 
The RiverHawks (5-1) held the lead for the majority of the contest, but the visitors could not find a bucket late when they needed it most as the Bisons (5-0) remained undefeated.
 
NSU was led in scoring by senior guard Ethan Anderson. He dropped 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and he also added seven rebounds. Senior forward Jermaine Bransford added 12 points, eight boards and four steals in 26 minutes.
 
The RiverHawks shot a season-worst 38 percent from the field (23-61), while hitting 6 of 14 from downtown (43 percent) and 69 percent from the free-throw line (11-16).
 
Harding was led by Hayden Johnson, who led all scorers with 30 points on 10-for-12 shooting. He also added eight rebounds and four blocks. Zach Roddenberry added 12 and nine and Bradley Spencer contributed nine points and eight boards.
 
The Bisons shot 49 percent from the field (24-49), 36 percent from behind the arc (9-25) and 67 percent from the charity stripe (8-12). NSU outrebounded HU 36-35, had less turnovers (13-5) and more steals (9-3).
 
The RiverHawks will return home for a 7:30 p.m. matchup Dec. 5 with Emporia State. Northeastern State will play directly following the women's game against the Hornets.
 
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NORTHEASTERN STATE HEAD COACH LARRY GIPSON
On the biggest difference in the contest…
“I don't think there was a big difference in the game. Our execution wasn't as sharp as it needed to be to go on the road and win a game against a team like Harding with a very solid home-court advantage. We needed to tighten things up. We didn't commit a lot of turnovers late in the game, but we committed three down the stretch. We need to make free throws a little bit better. Overall, our execution needs to improve. This is a good game for us, because it really simulates what we're going to face in the MIAA when we travel.”
 
On some positives to take away…
“I think we played well in many facets of the game, but I think our defense needs to tighten up. We need to understand that we're going to have to start winning games with good defense. The first five games that we played, we really won with our offense, and that doesn't hold up when you go on the road. You have to be a really good defensive team. I think our overall execution under pressure needs to get better. You can't simulate that in practice, you need a game like this to improve on that, and I think we just need to start practicing a little better.”