TAHLEQUAH – It wasn't a great shooting night for the RiverHawks, but they are 5-0 for the first time since 2012 with a 68-39 win Monday night over Langston.

The RiverHawks shot a season-low 39.4-percent from the field but allowed only four Langston buckets in the second half.

Monday's win is the fourth consecutive over 20 points, with the 38 points allowed a Mark Downey era low, and the 15 points allowed in the second half is also a low under Downey.

The last time NSU went 5-0 to start the season was 2012-13, which was also their last NCAA Tournament appearance.

Kendrick Thompson and Daniel Dotson led the RiverHawks with 15 points each. Aaron Givens led NSU with 11 rebounds and had eight points.

The RiverHawks' bench scored 32, with ten players scoring against the Lions.

"It's amazing because I didn't think we were locked in as much as we should have been," said head coach Mark Downey.  "I think they got a lot of things off scout that we didn't take away, but otherwise, the effort and energy and rebounding on the defensive end was really good."

"Guys are, on the defensive end, playing for each other and I think they help each other out, and it's fun. On the offensive end not so much.  We were really sloppy…we've gotta be better at sharing it. When we share it, we're pretty good but we didn't share it well tonight and that led to us being sloppy and taking some bad shots."

Northeastern State led as many as 16 points but finished the first half on a 1-for-9 slump from the field. Nine points from Dotson and Thompson kept the NSU lead in double-digits at 35-24.

The shooting funk continued in the second half with the RiverHawks missing on their first four attempts. Langston closed the gap to single digits before a Dotson hit a trey with 12:25 left to spark a run of 12 straight points to put away the Lions. Givens led the RiverHawks with seven points during their run.

Northeastern State out-rebounded the Lions 37-to-29 and limited themselves to 11 turnovers.

Monday's game counted as an exhibition for Langston with stats not counting for the Lions.

Northeastern State will head south of the Red River for the only time on Saturday where they will rekindle a past Lone Star Conference rival and face Tarleton State. Tip-off on Saturday has changed from its original start and will be played at 7:30 p.m.