PITTSBURG, Kan. – Northeastern State could not recover from a 14-point halftime hole as their road woes at Pitt State continued Saturday afternoon with an 81-71 loss.
Despite the deficit, the RiverHawks would not go down without a fight and clawed their way back within two in the final five minutes.
"We had some big defensive breakdowns, especially with communication in our rotations," said head coach Ja Havens. "We didn't guard well enough to have a chance to win…then we turn the ball over 19 times. We didn't help our cause; give them (Pitt State) a lot of credit. They got up in the passing lanes, got physical with us, and I don't think we responded the way we needed to."
NSU (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) had four in double-figures, with Brad Davis leading the team in scoring for the second time this season with 16. Trey Sampson had 14 points, Kavion Hancock scored 12, and Rashad Perkins had ten. Caleb Williams, who had 36 points at Missouri Southern, was plagued by foul trouble and was limited to five points.
Saturday's loss is the tenth straight for NSU at Pitt State, who halted a two-game skid and is 3-2 in MIAA play and overall action.
Northeastern State held an early advantage over the Gorillas and lead 18-14 with 10:54 left in the first half. Turnovers plagued NSU, with 14 committed in the first 20 minutes of play. Pitt State outscored the RiverHawks 16-to-4, with 14-points being the difference at the intermission. The Gorillas took a 39-25 lead at the half, with Obi Agu leading NSU in scoring with six off the bench.
The RiverHawks warmed up in the second half, and following a Perkins trey with 13:05 left, they pulled back within five (47-42) of the Gorillas. Pitt State returned the favor with eight unanswered points. Trailing by double-digits in the final ten minutes, the RiverHawks mounted a 10-2 run on the Gorillas. A trey from Perkins with 6:08 left put NSU back within a pair, 62-60. Despite the late effort from NSU, they cooled off from the field in the final five minutes. Following a Davis trey with 5:05 remaining to make the score 65-63, the Gorillas finished the game going on a 16-8 run. The RiverHawks connected on only one of their final five shots and was 0-for-4 at the arc.
DeVonta Prince led NSU on the glass with seven, a career-high for the senior. The RiverHawks had the rebounding edge for the first time this season, 36-to-32 over the Gorillas. Pitt State shot 50-percent from the field and landed seven three-pointers in the second half. NSU was limited to six three-pointers for the night and 43.6-percent shooting.
Northeastern State (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) closes out their stretch of three games in six days and hosts Missouri Western this Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. The afternoon meeting is a makeup date due to COVID-19 protocols de-railing NSU's opening weekend. Tickets are on sale at GoRiverHawksTickets.com, with capacity in the Event Center limited to 25-percent. Face coverings and temperature checks are required for entry to the contest.
NOTABLES
- Saturday was the 77th overall meeting between the two programs and 44th at Pitt State.
- Second overall meeting with Pitt State for head coach Ja Havens, who is now 0-2 against the Gorillas.
- Hancock scored all his points at the free-throw line and has made 19 straight shots at the charity stripe.
- The RiverHawks bench was outscored 38-to-22.
