Box Score

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team ended its six-game losing streak with a 68-59 victory over Washburn Saturday evening inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks (12-10, 7-8 MIAA) were able to keep hopes alive of hosting a first-round game in the MIAA Championship, while the Ichabods (15-8, 8-8 MIAA) were held to their lowest scoring output of the season. The point total was also the second-fewest amount NSU has allowed this year.
 
Senior forward Marcus Sheppard led Northeastern State with 16 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Dalen Qualls contributed 14 bench points and senior guard Bryton Hobbs added 11. Hobbs did not attempt a shot in the first half and finished the game 3-for-7 from the field.
 
NSU shot 48.8 percent (21-for-43) from the field, 40.7 percent (11-for-27) from behind the three-point line and 88.2 percent (15-for-17) at the free-throw line. Washburn shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from downtown and 61.1 percent (11-for-18) at the charity stripe.
 
Alex North (16 points) and Jeff Reid (15 points) paced the visitors, and Stephon Drane added 12 points off the bench.
 
Northeastern State quickly jumped out to a 14-5 lead that was capped by an offensive rebound and put-back from junior forward Jeremy McDonald.
 
The visitors battled back and took a 22-21 lead at the 4:33 mark, but NSU closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 30-24 advantage into the break.
 
Washburn tied the game at 38-38 with 11:56 remaining in regulation, but the RiverHawks never allowed the Ichabods to take the lead in the second half. NSU never led by more than six points in the second half until the team used a 7-0 run late to end the contest on top by nine.
 
The RiverHawks will compete in their final regular-season home game against Pittsburg State at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the NSU Event Center.
 
Scoring Summary
Washburn                            24        35         59
Northeastern State              30        38         68
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH LARRY GIPSON
Opening Statement…
"It's good to win. I thought we played with a more unified effort tonight. We were excellent at the defensive end of the floor. Offensively, we scored 21 field goals on 16 assists. We were sharing the basketball a lot better. Our scoring is representative of that. We had three guys in double figures and guys with eight, seven and six. That's good distribution. I like that. I thought we came out ready to go."
 
On being able to close games strong…
"We haven't played very intelligently in the last two minutes of games for most of the season. We've kicked games away that we had an opportunity to win. But give our kids credit; they played like a team tonight. They haven't given up on the season, and they have battled through some adversity."
 
On still being in the running for a first-round home game in the MIAA Championship…
"That's extremely important. We want to play another game inside our new event center. We would like to give our students and our local fans another chance to see us play. Our focus needs to be on Pittsburg State, but if we could somehow earn a home-court berth, then you're looking at a situation where you have a little better avenue to possibly get to Kansas City."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-