Box Score

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team earned a 72-71 victory over Central Missouri Saturday night inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks enter the holiday break with a 9-2 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, while the Mules fell to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA.
 
Junior forward Curtis Evans led NSU with 17 points, marking the first time all season senior guard Bryton Hobbs did not lead the squad in scoring. UCM point guard Daylen Robinson bothered Hobbs all game, as he finished with just 11 points on 1-of-14 shooting. He only got to double digits due to a 9-for-10 effort on the free-throw line. Hobbs was effective in other areas, however, as he added seven rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes.
 
Junior guard Keon Littleton poured in 16 points and added seven boards and three steals. Senior forward Marcus Sheppard finished with 13 points, and junior guard Michael Harmon came off the bench to contribute 11.
 
Northeastern State shot 35 percent (20-for-57) from the field, 33 percent (8-for-24) from downtown and 77 percent (24-for-31) at the free-throw line. Central Missouri shot 45 percent (29-for-65) overall, 38 percent (8-for-21) from downtown and was just 5 of 6 at the charity stripe. There were only 14 turnovers in a well-played contest.
 
Dillon Deck was 10-for-18 from the field and finished with a game-high 22 points for UCM. Robinson added 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
 
The game featured 26 lead changes and 15 ties, and neither team led by more than six points. Both teams exchanged four-point leads in the opening half, and it was Central Missouri who took a near-meaningless one-point edge (31-30) into the locker room.
 
The squads battled all second half, and a jumper from Sheppard with 2:42 left tied the contest at 62-62. That would be the final tie of the game.
 
After a free throw from Harmon gave NSU the lead, a three-point basket from Jon Gilliam at 1:58 put the visitors back on top 65-63. Harmon then used a rare four-point play on NSU's next possession to give the home team what would be the final lead of the night. He swished a three-point basket and made the ensuing free throw following a foul by Jordan Epps.
 
Harmon made two free throws following three empty possessions, and Hobbs connected on a pair with 26 seconds left to put the RiverHawks on top 71-65.
 
The Mules would not go quietly, however, as two Robinson trey's got UCM to within one at 72-71 with seven seconds to go. NSU turned the ball over attempting to throw it in after a timeout, but a Charles Hammork jumper at the buzzer would fall short to give the home team the narrow victory.
 
The next league battle for NSU is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at Northwest Missouri State.
 
Scoring Summary
Central Missouri        31      40        71
Northeastern State   30      42        72
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"I told our team all along that I thought Central Missouri is the most talented team in the league. They're deep, they've got explosive athletes and they have a big, strong post presence. There's not much that they lack. They've got shooters and athleticism. Kim Anderson does a great job coaching. They're going to advance and be right at the top of this league. Today's game was very meaningful for us to get a win over them. They're the premier basketball program in the conference on the men's side from a historical perspective. It was huge for us to get a win and it was huge for our program. We just need to advance from here. This certainly gives us a good feeling going into the holiday break."
 
On the team's ability to find ways to win…
"I get frustrated sometimes by our team. Our practice habits, at times, aren't where we need them to be. We have a lot of new players, so we don't always understand the importance and value of each possession. All of the guys on our team are highly competitive people. When it gets in a late game situation they play to win. They're tough minded in those situations. I would like to see that maturity transfer over into other phases of what we do. We were very sharp in the last 3.5 seconds. We didn't panic when they got the basketball back. Marcus Sheppard made a big play to get the tie up, and we did a good job of defending the inbounds pass. I like our team. I like our guys. We need this holiday break to heal up a little bit, and we'll take it from there and see what happens second semester."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-