PITTSBURG, KS --- The Northeastern State football team went toe-to-toe with Pittsburg State at Carnie Smith Stadium Saturday night. In the end, the RiverHawks' 2-point conversion attempt in the first overtime proved to be the difference in a 38-37 setback to the Gorillas in MIAA action.

Eddie Garcia's 33-yard field goal with :39 to play in regulation tied the game at 31-all and forced the extra session. It marked the second time in as many week NSU (1-2 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA) engineered a scoring drive on its final offensive possession of regulation.

In OT, PSU (2-1 overall/2-1 MIAA) struck first when Levi Copelin hauled in his third touchdown pass of the game on a 3-yard reception from quarterback Thomas LePage. Chad Levin's PAT gave the Gorillas a 38-31 edge.

NSU countered on its overtime possession when C.J. Shavers plunged in from four yards away. The RiverHawks opted to go for two and the win on the road. However, La'More Wise was tackled in the backfield on the try, and Pitt State escaped with the home victory.

Dimonic McKinzy connected on 16-of-31 passes for 311 yards and a pair of scores with an interception. He had TD strikes of 56 yards to Gary McKnight and 76 yards to Rashawn Eubanks. Last week's MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week has not thrown an interception this season. Shavers also ran for 96 yards on 23 carries after making his first collegiate start.

The RiverHawks never trailed until the third quarter. Kenneth Davis put NSU in front in the first period after picking off LePage and returning it 21-yards for a 7-0 advantage. The two teams would trade touchdowns over the next 15 minutes before Pitt's Simanu'a Thomas tackled Deion Tidwell for a safety with a little over a minute to play in the second quarter. Still, Northeastern State led, 21-16, at the break.

PSU opened the second half when LePage and Copelin hooked up on an 11-yard score that gave the Gorillas their first lead of the contest. LePage added a 2-yard TD plunge late in the third period and Pitt held its largest lead of the game at 31-21.

NSU responded when McKinzy hit Eubanks in stride near the RiverHawks' 40 yard line and the speedy wide receiver outran the defense 76 yards to paydirt. That set the stage for the exciting Garcia field goal and overtime finish.

Northeastern State amassed 447 total yards offensively (117 on the ground and 330 through the air), while Pitt State rolled up 457 total yards. Jalen Porter had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery to lead the NSU defense.

The RiverHawks return home Sept. 24 to host Fort Hays State for Homecoming at Doc Wadley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 

NOTES
McKinzy threw for 330 yards and it was the second consecutive game the sophomore QB has thrown for 300 ... Kenneth Davis' touchdown on his INT was the first for NSU since Tony Newman's 73-yard TD interception against Washburn on Nov. 7, 2015 ... NSU had not give up a safety since Sept. 10, 2011 at Lindenwood before Pitt State's recorded one in the second quarter on the RiverHawks' offense ... In the previous five games versus PSU, the RiverHawks had scored a combined 40 points, but tallied 37 on Saturday ... there have been 2 ties in the 32-game series between NSU and Pitt ... this was the closest game since Northeastern State's 19-14 win in 1953 ... this was the time since Oct. 10, 2015 NSU had no offensive turnovers ... Rawhawn Eubanks' 73-yard TD reception was the longest of the year for the RiverHawks. The previous long TD reception was 33 yards (McKinzy to McKnight) last week against Lindenwood.