EDMOND – NSU can breathe a little easier on their ride back home from Edmond on Wednesday evening. The RiverHawks fended off a second-half rally by the 'Chos for a 58-56 low scoring win. 

The triumph over UCO is the third convective, and for the first time since 2004, they won in back-to-back visits inside Hamilton Field House. 

Unlike their previous three games, NSU's offense was spread out with nine players lending a hand in the scoring effort. Kendrick Thompson paced the RiverHawks with 13, and Troy Locke added 11.  Caleb Smith had six ending a streak of 11 straight contests in double-figures. 
 
After a slow start of the game, NSU broke an 11-11 tie just before the midway mark with ten unanswered points. Thompson had the hot hand during the run with a pair of treys and a layup.  Thanks in part to seven treys, the RiverHawks maintained the double-digit 35-25 lead into the locker room. Thompson led NSU with 11 points.

Central cut down the NSU momentum with a 7-0 run in the second half. A timeout with 12:15 remaining put the RiverHawks ahead 44-36. The RiverHawks went through a stretch where they went 1-for-8 on the floor. Locke halted the 'Chos run with a trey from the right side of the arc to push NSU's lead back out to double-digits with just over 11 minutes to go.

The Bronchos continued to push the issue with NSU, and a 13-2 run pulled them even at 51-51 with 4:38 remaining.  Locke and Daniel Dotson gave the RiverHawks help with buckets in the next two minutes to extend the lead back out to six.  Central followed up with a layup, and after a missed second NSU free-throw, a trey with a minute to go pulled them back within a pair.  

NSU had two shots to ice the game with a missed trey and jumper. With just 16.2 seconds left, Central grabbed a critical rebound and had a chance to pull even at the buzzer. The shot attempt from five feet out would miss giving NSU the road win. 

Statically, NSU entered the game 0-5 when shooting worse than their opponent. They broke the trend on Wednesday and shot a 38.2-percent from the field, just 0.3 below UCO. On the glass, Central controlled the boards by eight with 39. 

The win brings NSU to 11-6 overall while Central falls to 7-11.  Both teams in MIAA play are 4-4, with NSU having the head-to-head matchup if both sides fall into a tiebreaker situation for the conference tournament at the end of February. 
 
Northeastern State returns to the floor on Saturday, where they will travel to Newman in Wichita, Kan. for a 3:30 p.m. tip.