TAHLEQUAH – Jamir Andrews' sixth 20-point game was not enough for the RiverHawks who could not slow down Pittsburg State's hot shooting at the arc to fall 96-82 on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Event Center.  The Gorillas (13-8, 6-6 MIAA) shot 57.7 percent from three-point range knocking down 15 of their 26 attempts on NSU (6-14, 2-9 MIAA).
 
Andrews finished the contest with 23 points for the RiverHawks, Trent Cantrell was three points short of a career high with 13, and Lucas Antunez added 12 off the bench.
 
Despite the strong shooting game by Pitt State, rebounds and second chance points kept the RiverHawks in the ballgame.   NSU out-rebounded the Gorillas by 11 with 35 and on the offensive glass; the RiverHawks dominated 14-to-2.   Gordon Hill headlined the RiverHawks by matching his career mark with ten and NSU was up 16-to-2 on second chance points.
 
In the first half, Northeastern State shot the ball near 50 percent, but they could not keep pace with the Gorillas who dropped ten three-pointers to take a 54-40 advantage into the locker room.  Pitt State had three in double figures and were over 60 percent from the field and at the arc.
 
The RiverHawks pulled themselves back into the contest with an 11-1 run on the Gorillas that was spurred by nine points from Andrews.  With 13:08 left on the clock the RiverHawks cut the PSU lead from 16 down to a 59-55 ballgame.   The Gorillas returned the favor on NSU and out-scored them 13-2 in the next three minutes to take a 15-point (72-57) advantage.
 
Northeastern State mounted one last rally in the closing minutes and managed to get back within six (80-74) following a Hill free throw with 4:24 left.  A pair of steals by Pitt State in the next minute allowed them to go on a quick 6-0 run to control the rest of the contest.
 
HEAD COACH MARK DOWNEY ON SATURDAY'S GAME AGAINST PITT STATE
I thought we kept responding, we got it close a couple of times, we just couldn't get over the hump. We needed to make a couple more plays but I'm proud of them.  We turned the ball over too much, which led to them (Pitt State) to get some easy baskets, which hurt us.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
32 – The RiverHawks out-scored the Gorillas 32-to-22 inside the paint.
41 – Montre' Williams is now 41-points away from 1,000 in a NSU uniform.
 
COMING UP
The RiverHawks will be on the road next and will visit Southwest Baptist on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. tip.