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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team defeated Missouri Western State 73-70 Thursday night inside the NSU Event Center in a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association battle.
 
The RiverHawks (8-2, 3-0 MIAA) closed the game on a 15-5 run to stay on top of the conference standings, while the hot-shooting Griffons (6-4, 1-1 MIAA) suffered their first league loss of the year.
 
Senior guard Bryton Hobbs led all scorers with 20 points despite playing only 25 minutes due to foul trouble. He did most of his damage on the free-throw line, finishing 9 of 12 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Keon Littleton added a season-high 17 points and eight rebounds, senior forward Marcus Sheppard finished with 14 points and nine boards, and junior forward Curtis Evans chipped in 12 points and eight boards.
 
The RiverHawks shot 50 percent (21-for-42) from the field, 54 percent (7-for-13) from downtown and 80 percent (24-for-30) at the line. Missouri Western State shot at a 43-percent clip (23-for-54), while converting 50 percent (12-for-24) from downtown and 75 percent (12-for-16) from the free-throw line.
 
Ryan Devers paced the Griffons with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Adarius Fulton added 12 points, and both Hans Thun and Dareon Jones contributed 11.
 
The two teams combined for just 13 turnovers, and NSU outrebounded MWSU 32-26.
 
Missouri Western State led 35-33 at halftime, and the two teams exchanged the lead five times in the second half.
 
The visitors pulled ahead 65-58 with 6:01 left following a fast-break dunk from Dareon Jones, but the RiverHawks stayed composed and found themselves in a 65-65 deadlock a little more than three minutes later.
 
Hobbs made a free throw at the 1:40 mark to give NSU a lead, but a Devers layup at 1:18 following an offensive rebound swung the favor right back in the other direction.
 
Sheppard drained a three-point basket with 51 seconds remaining, and Evans and Hobbs combined for four free throws late as Northeastern State was able to squeak by MWSU. NSU closed on a 15-5 run to come from behind and take down the Griffons.
 
The RiverHawks will next play host to Central Missouri at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 21.
 
Scoring Summary
Missouri Western     35      35        70
Northeastern State   33      40        73
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"I'm exceedingly happy that we won tonight. We played 15 minutes without Bryton Hobbs, and I thought the guys that were in the game at that point and time did a tremendous job. This was a big win for us coming back the way we did. We had a long layoff after our last game. We were in massive foul trouble for a time. We just kept hanging in there and battling. This was a typical MIAA game. It was down to the wire, which is usually how games in this league go."
 
On Missouri Western State…
"Missouri Western State is very much improved since last year. (MWSU coach) Brett Weiberg is an Oklahoma guy. He's doing a great job with their team. We haven't seen perimeter shooting and scoring like that all year. We try to tell our guys how they play, but they were far better tonight than I've seen on film. I think they are going to have a heck of a basketball team.
 
On MWSU's 12 three-point baskets...
"I thought early in the game we were lax and let them get some open looks. You have problems at that point because they were able to get into rhythm. If I had one point of emphasis that I would like to have with my team tomorrow, it's that they have to come out ready to defend early in the game. You can't pick up your defensive intensity as the game goes on. You need to have it early on."
 
On Central Missouri…
"They are the exact opposite (of Missouri Western). They're a big, physical team with a 6-foot-9 player that's a powerhouse. They're equally as skilled and bigger and more physical. We're going to have our work cut out for us."
 
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