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JOPLIN, Mo. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team lost 90-54 to Missouri Southern State Saturday afternoon inside Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.

The RiverHawks dropped to 3-11 on the season and 1-6 in MIAA play, while Missouri Southern improved to 10-5 on the year and 4-2 in the MIAA.

NSU was led by senior forward Landon DeMasters, who tied his season high with 13 points and led the team in scoring for the first time this season. DeMasters was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and went 7 of 10 from the free throw line in a season-high 38 minutes. Junior forward Dakota Caudill and junior guard Demone Harrison both finished with 10 points. Caudill added eight rebounds.

NSU shot 23.6 percent (13-for-55) from the field, 20.0 percent (5-for-25) from behind the arc and 67.6 percent (23-for-34) at the line. MSSU shot 49.0 percent (25-for-51) from the field, 50 percent (11-for-22) from 3-point range and 76.3 percent (29-for-38) at the charity stripe.

Austin Wright led the Lions with 28 points on nine made 3-pointers. Charlie Brown added 17 points off the bench and Taevaunn Prince scored 11. 

NSU scored the first basket for the second-straight game. The contest was back and forth until the score was 19-18 with 7:14 to play in the first half in favor of the home team. The Lions went on a 19-0 run to end the half.

Missouri Southern State outrebounded the RiverHawks 48-29. The Lions also held the edge in points in the paint (26-15) and steals (10-3).

Northeastern State will continue its road swing when they take on Nebraska-Kearney at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in Kearney, Nebraska.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH JASON TINSLEY
Initial statement…
"We played pretty well for the first 13 minutes. We looked like a MIAA team and then we got into foul trouble. When we get into foul trouble we're in a bind. We don't have firepower coming off the bench, we don't have a lot of scoring coming off the bench. When some of our scorers get in foul trouble it is very tough for us. We had too many unforced turnovers against a team that didn't press us. We had to play some weird combinations out there with guys in spots that they aren't suited for, but we've got to what we have to do to get through a game and play basketball the best way that we can. For the first 13 minutes our effort was good and after that I thought we continued to compete for most of the game. We've got to figure out a way to get better. There's no magical solution for that. We have to coach the players we have the best that we can and try to get ready for the next one."
 
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