HAYS, Kan. – Northeastern State made a late run to try to recover from a disastrous start to the second half, but they would fall 87-80 at Fort Hays State Saturday evening.

The RiverHawks led as many as 16 points in the first half, but it was a run of 19 unanswered points in the second half by a Fort Hays State that did NSU in.

Fort Hays entered the game in a must-win situation, trying to secure a final transfer spot to the MIAA Tournament in early March.  The RiverHawks were looking to stay in the top six in the conference standings and avoid an opening round postseason contest within the bottom four in the tournament bracket.

The loss on Saturday and a Nebraska-Kearney loss to Rogers State kept the RiverHawks a half-game ahead.  Northeastern State with a 10-8 MIAA mark closes out the regular season Thursday at Emporia State, while the Lopers play at Newman and Central Oklahoma.

Caleb Smith had his ninth game this season with over 20 in a night and paced the RiverHawks with 26 points and six assists.   Kendrick Thompson scored 16, and Brad Davis had nine off the bench.

On 60-percent shooting in the second half, the Tigers pulled out as many as 17 with just over five to-go in regulation.  NSU's defense shut down the Tigers in the final minutes on a 24-14 run with Smith scoring 11 points.  Fort Hays State went 0-for-3 at the bucket during the run as the RiverHawks chopped the lead down five.  However, NSU ran out of time on the clock with the Tigers fading.

NSU finished the night shooting 45.6-percent on the floor and were out-rebounded by three with Fort Hays State grabbing 39 off the glass. Iain McLaughlin paced both teams with ten to match his season-high.

The win pulls the Tigers to 13-13 overall and 6-11 in the MIAA.  Northeastern State is now 17-10 overall.