TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team picked up a 90-80 victory over Southwest Baptist Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The RiverHawks (5-12, 4-9 MIAA) halted a brief three-game losing skid, while handing the Bearcats (8-10, 3-9) their fourth loss in a row.
 
Senior forward Dakota Caudill entered the weekend with one career double-double on his resume, but he has now doubled up twice in the past two games. He tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday and finished with 18 points and 10 boards in Saturday's victory. He also added two blocks and career highs in both assists (3) and steals (3).
 
Senior guard Trey Mohair landed one assist shy of his first career double-double, as he registered 16 points and nine dimes. Sophomore guard Montre' Williams added 12 points and junior guard Braxton Williams chipped in 11 points. True freshman guards Tanner Mouse and Peyton Pratt added nine points each.
 
NSU connected on 50.8 percent (30-for-59) of shot attempts, while making 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from behind the arc and 82.6 percent (19-for-23) at the free-throw line. SBU shot 59.1 percent (26-for-44) overall, 50 percent (8-for-16) from deep range and 71.4 (20-for-28) at the line.
 
After the two teams played to a 14-14 tie in the early going, the RiverHawks were the first to build up any distance as they went on a mini-run to take a 23-15 lead at the midway point of the opening half.
 
NSU was able to hold the Bearcats at bay momentarily, but the visitors were able to turn a five-point deficit (30-25) into a four-point lead (34-30) with four minutes left in the opening stanza thanks to a 9-0 run.
 
Northeastern State regained the lead with 2:28 left (37-34), but SBU closed the half on a 9-1 run to take a 43-38 edge into intermission.
 
The home team exploded out of the gates in the second half and scored the first eight of the first 10 points to take a one-point lead and force a timeout.
 
The Bearcats fended off NSU for as long as they could, but the green and white proved too much as they built a 75-64 lead with seven minutes to play and never looked back.
 
The RiverHawks outscored Southwest Baptist 52-37 in the second half, which marked just the third time this season that NSU erupted for at least 50 points in one half.
 
Northeastern State led in assists (22-17), blocks (6-2), steals (7-4), points in the paint (34-30), points off turnovers (24-11), second-chance points (11-7), fast-break points (10-8), bench points (34-20), and fewer turnovers (6-17). SBU led in rebounding (28-26).
 
NSU will remain home for a pair of contests next weekend. First on the docket will be a 7:30 p.m. game Jan. 28 against Lindenwood.

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH JASON TINSLEY
Opening Statement…
"I thought we made some adjustments at halftime. We went into the locker room and reminded them about some stuff we had talked about in the scouting report. We were not guarding (SBU's) five-man motion in the first half. I didn't think we played awful in the first half. We were doing some good things, but for every good thing we did, we turned around and did a bad thing. (Southwest Baptist) made some shots in the first half, and we made some shots in the second half. We started switching everything on the floor except the five man. It made a world of difference when we did that. I was proud of the fact that we had 22 assists. We did a really good job of sharing the ball. We showed more poise on offense than we have. Southwest Baptist is first in the league in rebounding, and we were able to hold them below their average. We did a good job battling them on the boards. Coach (Clark) Sheehy is a heck of a coach. We shot it really well the second half, but also we were a lot more efficient. It was an overall good game."
 
On getting a win and ending a short losing streak…
"As I always say, I'm not into moral victories. We have had a couple of games where we laid an egg, but we have had opportunities to win almost every game we've been in. We just haven't been able to close it out. We did a good job with that tonight. SBU made a little run, but then we would stretch it back out to 10 or 12. They cut it to eight late, but we didn't let them get any closer. Winning sure makes your Saturday evening and Sunday a lot nicer."
 
On having six players score at least nine points…
"We strive to have five players in double figures every game. We preach sharing the ball. When you share the wealth, people can't zero in on any one person. Braxton (Williams) had 11 points and shot the ball well. Trey (Mohair) had his best game in awhile. Montre' (Williams) was 4-for-11 overall but was 4-for-6 in the second half. (Dakota Caudill) took just two bad shots, but he was able to get to 18 points. It's good when everything is getting involved with the scoring. They all play a part in it."
 
On getting Tanner Mouse back from injury…
"First of all, he gives us another ball handler and another athlete that can stay in front of the ball and guard. That's huge. His conditioning level is not where it needs to be. He was on a minutes cap in the last game, but he was able to play 25 minutes tonight. With the amount of time that he has been off, he played a quality 25 minutes. He had nine points, three rebounds, three assists and only one turnover. He also had a couple of clutch hustle plays where he got a key assist to Trey and he hit a big three late in the game. Having that other guard gives us more speed and quickness, it also allows Trey to play off the ball more."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-