Box Score

Box score (HTML)  I  Box score (PDF)

EMPORIA, Kan. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team lost 73-65 to Emporia State Wednesday evening inside White Auditorium.
 
The RiverHawks (11-10, 6-8 MIAA) dropped their sixth-straight game and have now lost eight of their last nine games. The Hornets improved to 15-10 overall and 8-7 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
 
Senior guard Bryton Hobbs led NSU with 16 points and crossed the 1,000-point threshold for his career despite a 4-for-19 outing. The MIAA's leading scorer made just 1 of 7 from downtown, and he now has 1,010 points in his two-year career. Hobbs also had seven assists, seven rebounds and five turnovers in 39 minutes.
 
Senior forward Marcus Sheppard added 13 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Michael Harmon chipped in 10 points. Junior forward Jeremy McDonald posted nine points and eight boards.
 
Northeastern State shot 35 percent (21-for-60) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-for-22) from beyond the arc and 76.2 percent (16-for-21) at the free-throw line. The Hornets shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field, 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from downtown and 70 percent (14-for-20) from the line.
 
ESU also dominated NSU in rebounds (45-32), points in the paint (42-24) and second-chance points (17-6). Kaleb Wright paced Emporia State with 25 points. Paul Bunch added 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Gavin Brown contributed 13 points for the home side.
 
The RiverHawks led 32-26 at halftime and even took a 58-57 advantage into the final media timeout with just 4:57 remaining in regulation, but the Hornets closed the game on a 16-7 run to earn the eight-point victory.
 
NSU returns home for a 3:30 p.m. contest Feb. 15 against Washburn.
 
Scoring Summary
Northeastern State              32        33         65
Emporia State                      26        47         73
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
Statement…
"I thought we played very well tonight. It was one of our better efforts over the last few weeks. We haven't been playing very well lately and we are in the midst of a tough losing streak, but we did not play like a team that was down and out. We just have too many defensive lapses. You have to also give credit to Emporia State, because they made some very tough shots under pressure. I was also very pleased with the play of Marcus Sheppard. He really came to play tonight and he played hard. We just have to find a way to win a game and get some confidence. We're not that far away from putting it all together; we just need to tighten up. We forced the issue too much tonight and had too many turnovers."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-