TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team lost 87-82 to Nebraska-Kearney Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center.
 
The loss ended the year for the RiverHawks (8-18, 7-15 MIAA), who will miss out on the postseason for the first time since joining the MIAA in 2012-13. The Lopers (18-10, 14-8 MIAA) finished the regular season tied for second in the conference and earned a bye to the quarterfinals of the 2016 MIAA Championship.
 
Sophomore guard Montre' Williams led NSU with 23 points, marking the second time in his career he reached the 20-point plateau. Junior guard Mytaa'h Crawford registered a career-high 19 points, and senior guard Trey Mohair added 16 points, nine assists, five rebounds and three steals in his final collegiate game.
 
Northeastern State shot 46.9 percent (30-for-64) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-for-17) from behind the 3-point arc and 66.7 percent (16-for-24) at the free-throw line. Nebraska-Kearney shot 52.5 percent (32-for-61) overall, 33.3 percent (6-for-18) from deep and 81 percent (17-for-21) at the charity stripe.
 
Connor Beranek lit up the scoreboard with 34 points, while adding nine rebounds. Ethan Brozek nearly posted a triple-double after finishing with 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Trey Lansman added 21 points for the visitors.
 
NSU led in rebounding (35-34), assists (20-14), blocks (3-1), steals (9-7), points in the paint (48-46), second-chance points (14-5), fast-break points (8-2), bench points (47-5), and fewer turnovers (14-15). UNK led in points off turnovers (14-10).

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-