TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State had their best shooting afternoon since this last January but they couldn't slow down Friends University on the floor with 72.9-percent shooting to beat the RiverHawks 89-82 on Saturday at the NSU Event Center.
 
Montre' Williams led NSU with 17 points and he added five assists for his seventh straight game in double-figures.  Cameron Martin and Tyler Williams both had 16 points and Karon Waller added ten for NSU.
 
"We didn't execute one asset of the game," said head coach Jason Tinsley.  "We shot the ball well but unfortunately when you let the other guy shoot 73-percent, chances are you aren't going to win."  
 
"We are suffering from a Stephen F. Austin and Arkansas-Fort Smith hangover that was not a very good performance [tonight].  Credit to them (Friends) they did an outstanding job but on the flip side I don't think we could have played any worse."
 
Northeastern State shot 50.8 percent (31-61) the floor and sank 12 treys in the contest against the Falcons.   In rebounding, NSU trailed 27-to-21 with Braxton Williams having four as the team high.
 
The Falcons shot above 70-percent on the for the majority of the game but NSU went the locker room holding onto a small 46-44 lead thanks to a late three by Tanner Mouse just before the horn.  In the second half, after a layup to tie the game at 46, Tyler Williams gave the RiverHawks their final lead of the night.  Friends pulled away as many as ten points with 10:28 left in the game before NSU closed the gap back down to 76-75 five minutes later on a Montre' Williams trey.   However, the NSU momentum came to a halt on a five-point swing by Friends who never relinquished the lead.
 
NSU forced 16 turnovers and had nine steals with Braxton Williams having three.
 
Friends' scoring was primarily regulated four players who all hit double-figures; Jordan Murdock led all players on the floor with 32 points on 13-for-16 shooting.
 
The loss will send NSU to 1-4 overall and Friends goes to 5-4 this year.
 
Northeastern State will stay at home in the NSU Event Center to host Missouri Western State on Wednesday in their MIAA opener at 7:30 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Northeastern State led in offensive rebounds 12-to-6 and scored 24 points off of turnovers.
- NSU's bench picked up 47 points with Friends having three.
- Friends led in points in the paint with 48-to-32.
- First time since Jan. 30, 2016 against Lincoln that the RiverHawks shot above 50-percent.
 
FRIENDS (5-4)
Jordan Murdock 13-16 4-6 32; Kyler Steadman 6-10 6-6 20; Toby Baxter 7-9 1-1 17; Kaleb Ratliff 7-9 1-2 15; Steffon Kyles 1-1 0-0 3; Zach Osborn 1-2 0-0 2; Eric Scharping 0-0 0-0 0; Breno Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0; Malik Norris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-48 12-15 89.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-4)
Williams, Montre' 6-10 0-0 17; Williams, Tyler 6-13 0-0 16; Martin, Cameron 7-13 0-0 16; Waller, Karon 4-8 2-4 10; Williams, Braxton 3-3 0-0 6; Turner, Juvon 1-3 3-3 5; Mouse, Tanner 2-9 0-2 5; Wallace, Javon 0-0 3-4 3; Broadnax, Erick 1-1 0-0 2; Cantrell, Trent 1-1 0-0 2; Hill, Gordon 0-0 0-0 0; Kingsley, Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 8-13 82.
 
Friends.......................   44   45  -   89
Northeastern State............   46   36  -   82
 
3-point goals--Friends 7-11 (Toby Baxter 2-2; Kyler Steadman 2-4; Jordan Murdock 2-4; Steffon Kyles 1-1), Northeastern State 12-28 (Williams, Montre' 5-8; Williams, Tyler 4-9; Martin, Cameron 2-5; Mouse, Tanner 1-4; Waller, Karon 0-2). Fouled out--Friends-None, Northeastern State-None.
Rebounds--Friends 27 (Jordan Murdock 9), Northeastern State 21 (Williams, Braxton 4).
Assists--Friends 22 (Kyler Steadman 8), Northeastern State 17 (Martin, Cameron 7).
Total fouls--Friends 13, Northeastern State 19.
Technical fouls--Friends-None, Northeastern State-None.
A-632