Box Score

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EDMOND, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team defeated Central Oklahoma 80-71 Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
The RiverHawks (11-4, 4-3 MIAA) snapped a three-game losing skid, while also halting the Bronchos (6-9, 4-3 MIAA) recent three-game win streak. Northeastern State also ended a six-game losing streak to UCO, and the team earned its first win over Central Oklahoma in Edmond since Feb. 4, 2009.
 
Senior forward Jermaine Bransford paced NSU with 22 points and nine rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes. He was 8-for-10 from the field and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line.
 
Junior forward Marcus Sheppard made four shots from distance and recorded a career-best 20 points. Junior guard Bryton Hobbs was 13-for-13 from the free-throw line and finished with 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Senior guard Ethan Anderson added 10 points.
 
NSU shot 48 percent from the field (22-for-46), 28 percent from behind the arc (5-for-18) and 86 percent from the charity stripe (31-for-36). The 31 made free throws was the most in a game by Northeastern State since Jan. 13, 2010 against Cameron.
 
The Bronchos were led by Josh Gibbs, who scored 18 points. Spencer Smith contributed 12 and Christian Huffman came off the bench to add 11.
 
UCO shot 49 percent from the field (25-for-51), 22 percent from downtown (4-for-18) and 74 percent from the line (17-for-23).
 
The RiverHawks outrebounded their opponents 30-23, and both teams recorded 11 turnovers and nine assists.
 
Northeastern State is set to return to the friendly confines of Jack Dobbins Field House at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 19, when the team plays host to No. 10 Washburn.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
On snapping the three-game win streak…
“I think winning tonight was huge. It's very fragile at this level. It's hard to win a game, especially on the road. Central Oklahoma is coming off a three-game win streak. We proved that we're a good basketball team. This should give us a boost of confidence. We can enjoy it until we get back home, and then we have to turn around and get ready for Washburn.”
 
On Marcus Sheppard recording a career-high 20 points…
“Earlier this week, I challenged our three wing players (Marcus, Ethan Anderson, Jon Miller) to step up. They hadn't been contributing a lot in the losing streak. I thought Marcus did an excellent job tonight. He's been in the gym getting some shots up this week. I'm really happy for him and happy for our team.”
 
On making 31 of 36 free throws…
“We put ourselves in situations to get fouled. We attacked them both inside and outside. We were able to penetrate. Their scheme is to switch up the defenses, and I thought that would give us some advantages. They have some quicker players in spots, especially when they were in a zone. We're normally a good free-throw shooting team, but it was certainly an improvement over the last couple games.”
 
On the overall performance…
“Overall, our defense was spotty, but down the stretch it was really good. We didn't give them any easy baskets in the last five minutes of the game. We had a series of three possessions after the last media timeout where we were able to stop them. That was a big key.”
 
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