TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State's late rally came up short in a 68-63 loss on Saturday evening to Emporia State at the NSU Event Center. 

The RiverHawks dug out of a 17-point deficit with 8:32 remaining to get inside of a possession with a minute to go thanks to an 11-0 run on the Hornets.  However, NSU could not get a defensive stop and Emporia State iced the game at the free-throw line.

"They (Emporia State) got out to a 17-point point lead and that was all complements of us, just not making shots, and not defending very well," said head coach Jason Tinsley.  "We bounced back from it and I thought we competed and played hard to the end but there was middle stretch there were we couldn't get out of our own way, and it just compounded on both ends of the floor."

"We came back, battled, and competed, but at the end of the day it's about wins and losses."

Tanner Mouse paced the RiverHawks with 15 points, Juvon Turner added 13, Braxton Williams had 11, and Cameron Martin scored ten off the bench. 

Northeastern State shot 41.7-percent (20-48) on the floor and trailed by two in the rebounding margin with 26.  In turnovers, NSU forced 20, and they were able to score 18 points off of.   But on the RiverHawks side of the floor they would commit 15 against the Hornets.

"We had 15 turnovers against a team that doesn't press," added Tinsley.  "It's us dropping the ball, missing the ball, trying to make impossible passes, you can't do that."

Emporia State shot has high as 80-percent in second half before the RiverHawks held them scoreless for nearly five minutes.  The Hornets would shoot 51.1-percent with Tyler Jordan leading ESU with 17 points.

Montre' Williams scored seven points, added five rebounds, and dished out five assists for NSU.  Erick Broadnax pulled down five boards and Turner also had a matching total.

The loss for NSU will send them to 3-13 overall and 2-6 in the MIAA; Emporia State goes to 8-8, and 4-3 in league action.

Northeastern State will be off until Saturday, January 21 where they will host Central Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The RiverHawks outscored Emporia State inside the paint 30-to-28.
- Tanner Mouse has scored in double-figures for four consecutive games.
- The lead changed eight times and NSU was out in front for 7:08 in the contest.
 
NEWSPAPER BOX SCORE
EMPORIA STATE 68, NORTHEASTERN STATE 63
EMPORIA STATE (8-8, 4-3 MIAA)
Jordan,Tyler 6-8 2-2 17; Hall,Brandon 6-12 0-1 12; Morton,Brian 3-6 3-4 10; Taylor,Jevon 2-6 2-2 8; Emery,Jawan 3-5 0-0 6; Pedersen,Josh 0-4 6-6 6; Vandiver,Garin 1-2 2-2 4; Limuel,Stephaun 1-1 1-1 3; Sardin,Terrence 1-1 0-0 2; Temaat,Jay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 16-18 68.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE (3-13, 2-6 MIAA)
Mouse, Tanner 4-9 6-6 15; Turner, Juvon 5-11 3-5 13; Williams, Braxton 5-5 1-3 11; Martin, Cameron 2-6 6-6 10; Williams, Montre' 2-10 3-4 7; Wallace, Javon 1-3 1-2 3; Adderley, Romone 1-3 0-0 2; Williams, Tyler 0-1 2-2 2; Broadnax, Erick 0-0 0-0 0; Kingsley, Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 22-28 63.
 
Emporia State.................   29   39  -   68
Northeastern State............   24   39  -   63
 
3-point goals--Emporia State 6-13 (Jordan,Tyler 3-5; Taylor,Jevon 2-5; Morton,Brian 1-1; Pedersen,Josh 0-1; Hall,Brandon 0-1), Northeastern State 1-6 (Mouse, Tanner 1-2; Williams, Montre' 0-3; Williams, Tyler 0-1).
Fouled out--Emporia State-Limuel,Stephaun; Morton,Brian, Northeastern State-None.
Rebounds--Emporia State 28 (Limuel,Stephaun 8), Northeastern State 26 (Turner, Juvon 5; Williams, Montre' 5; Broadnax, Erick 5).
Assists—Emporia State 9 (Pedersen,Josh 2; Hall,Brandon 2; Limuel,Stephaun 2; Temaat,Jay 2), Northeastern State 9 (Williams, Montre' 5).
Total fouls--Emporia State 26, Northeastern State 20.
Technical fouls--Emporia State-None, Northeastern State-None.
A-696