MARYVILLE, Mo. – A hot final 12 minutes by Northwest Missouri dropped the RiverHawks 62-40 on Saturday afternoon in their 2020 opener at Bearcat Arena. 

The Bearcats finished the game on a 28-7 run to send the RiverHawks to 4-7 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA. Northwest took their first MIAA home opener since 2012 to improve their record to 7-5 and 2-1 in league play. 

The RiverHawks' offense was limited to Shae Sanchez, who led the team on the floor with 12 points. Cielo McClain had eight and with two others with five points.

From the field, NSU shot 32.7-percent on 17-for-52 shooting, and they were out-rebounded by seven with 26. Cenia Hayes led the RiverHawks with six.

After trailing for the opening minutes of the contest, the RiverHawks used a 12-2 run to get past Northwest, who went scoreless for over four minutes to take a 14-9 lead into the second period.

The Bearcats returned the favor in the next ten minutes, and after trailing NSU 18-13 with 6:50 left on the clock, they went on a 16-2 run to overtake the RiverHawks. Northeastern State finished the half scoreless in their final five minutes and trailed the Bearcats 29-20 at the intermission.  

Northeastern State continued to trail in the second half, but they would get within three (36-33) with 1:26 left after Hayes landed the team's first and only trey of the afternoon. The Bearcats countered with 15-2 run that spanned into the fourth quarter to expand their lead into double digits and make the game out of reach for NSU.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for NSU on Northwest's home court. Both teams entered the contest inside the top-12 nationally in free-throw percentage and left the game going 14-for-14 at the line.

Northeastern State remains on the road and will face Missouri Western on Monday for a 5:30 p.m. tip.