Box Score

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team defeated Fort Hays State 76-61 Thursday night inside Jack Dobbins Field House.
 
The RiverHawks are now 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA, while the Tigers fell to 8-3 on the season and 2-1 in the league. NSU has won five in a row for the second time this season, and FHSU saw its six-game win streak snapped.
 
Senior forward Jermaine Bransford recorded 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for the fourth double-double in his last five games. Senior guard Ethan Anderson led all scorers with a season-high 20 points, and he also added eight rebounds.
 
Junior guard Bryton Hobbs scored 17, and sophomore forward Landon DeMasters added 15 points and a career-high six assists.
 
The RiverHawks shot 45 percent from the field (25-for-56) and 47 percent from downtown (9-for-19). The blistering shooting from outside included a 6-for-7 stretch in the second half. NSU also hit 17 of 22 from the free-throw line (77 percent).
 
Fort Hays State entered the contest as the second-highest scoring team in the league at 81 points a game, but the home team held the Tigers to a season-low 61 points. NSU boasts the league's top defense in terms of points allowed at just 59 ppg.
 
FHSU shot a season-worst 39 percent from the field (26-for-66) and 22 percent from downtown (4-for-18). The team was also just 5 of 11 from the charity stripe (46 percent).
 
Lance Russell scored 16 for the Tigers, and Craig Nicholson and Ben Congiusta both added 11. Dwayne Brunson hauled in 12 rebounds.
 
NSU will return home to face Nebraska Kearney at 3:30 p.m. Jan 5.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
On the overall performance…
“We did an excellent job all night defensively. Our kids really executed on that end of the floor. In the second half, we choked them off and didn't let them score for a long stretch in the middle of the half. We built a big lead and made some shots. Our kids came out ready to play.”
 
On the first game back in the second semester…
“This was an excellent effort for our first game back. I'm a little bit surprised. Our practices have been a little inconsistent, but they came to play tonight.”
 
On Ethan Anderson's hot shooting…
“He did an excellent job of getting the ball in the basket. A couple of those shots were questionable, where as a coach you're saying 'no' when he shoots it, but you're saying 'yes' once it goes in. I thought he did a good job of moving without the basketball, getting in position and setting his feet. The key to the game is we were more persistent defensively then they were offensively. We didn't let them get many easy looks. We guarded them on the post and we guarded them on the perimeter, and I think they had a hard time with that.”
 
On Jermaine Bransford's career-high 16 rebounds…
“Fort Hays State game-planned for Jermaine tonight. They double-teamed him anytime he caught the ball in the post. He did an outstanding job on the glass. Sixteen boards is man's work right there.”
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-