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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team picked up its second-straight victory after topping Washburn 80-73 Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks improved to 5-13 overall and 3-8 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, while the Ichabods dropped to 10-11 on the year and 5-5 in the league.
 
Senior guard Keon Littleton powered NSU's offense with 23 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. He also added four assists and was 5-for-5 from downtown in the contest. Junior guard Trey Mohair made all 10 free-throw attempts en route to a 17-point outing. Junior forward Dakota Caudill tallied 12 points, while freshman forward C.J. Winzer chipped in 10.
 
Northeastern State shot 50 percent (23-for-46) from the field, 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from behind the 3-point arc and 22-for-28 (78.6 percent) at the free-throw line. All three marks were in the top four shooting performances for NSU this season. Washburn shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) overall, 45 percent (9-for-20) from behind the 3-point line and 58.8 percent (10-for-17) at the line.
 
Alex North paced the visitors with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Wiggins added 16 points before fouling out, and David Salach scored 11 off the bench.
 
Washburn jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead before the game's first media timeout, and the visitors held a 17-5 lead after a pair of free throws from Salach at the 12:42 mark. The RiverHawks then connected on four 3-point attempts across a six-minute stretch to take their first lead of the game at 18-17.
 
Following the final media timeout of the opening half, NSU came out and drained 3-point shots on four-consecutive possessions to help stretch its advantage to 32-21. Northeastern State took a 36-26 lead into halftime after making 9 of its first 13 3-point shots in the first half.
 
After staying on top by double digits in the early moments of the second half, NSU allowed Washburn to use a 14-3 run to take a 51-50 lead at the 8:21 mark.
 
Korey Fisher made a pair of free throws with 5:37 left to play to give the Ichabods a 56-55 lead, but Northeastern State went on a game-clinching 15-4 run that put the contest out of reach. The RiverHawks went 14-for-14 on free-throw attempts in the final 1:34 to keep Washburn at bay.
 
NSU was outrebounded 30-29 but led in points off turnovers (10-6) and bench points (31-17).
 
Northeastern State will look to continue its current win streak when the squad welcomes Pittsburg State to Tahlequah at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH JASON TINSLEY
Initial statement...
"The last two games have been our best two games all season. The Lindenwood game was good, but we shot 87 percent from three, and you can't rely on shooting that high of a percentage every time you step on the floor. The last two games, we've put up solid numbers. The numbers that we've put up are numbers that good teams put up. Because we've done that we've put ourselves in a position to win both games. Of course, we wish that we had been doing this since November, but its never too late to get it figured out and it seems like we've figured it out. We shot the ball well in both halves today. We shot really well from the free-throw line, especially for us. We want our rebounding margin to be a push. Today, they outrebounded us 30-29, and that's a lot closer to being a push. They had five offensive rebounds in the first half. They only had two in the second half. We did a much better job of limiting them to one shot. Washburn is third in the league in offensive rebounding, so we did a good job limiting them."
 
On individual performances...
"Keon Littleton had a double-double today. He had a heck of a game with 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. He had a solid game. We play the same every game. We try to share the basketball and emphasize getting a good shot and if your teammate has a better shot than you, pass them the basketball. Today was just Keon's day. Down the stretch we made some big free throws. Trey Mohair was 10-for-10 from the line today. Keon stepped up and made some big ones. Amir Gilliam didn't score a lot, but he had five assists and only one turnover, that's a good ratio. He made some big free throws down the stretch. You don't have to score to help us out and some of these guys have started to figure that out. C.J. Winzer only played 18 minutes, but had 10 points. Everybody is playing better and hopefully we can keep it going."
 
On moving forward...
"Pittsburg State is one of the teams that is at the top of the league. They're going to be a challenge. They're very athletic and they have some true post players. They're going to be big around the basket. We'll let our guys rest and recuperate and then be efficient in practice and get ready."
 
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