TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State made the opening bucket and never relinquished the lead Saturday and blasted Rogers State 78-57 in a one-sided contest. 

Christian Cook turned in his 12th career 20-point game, leading both teams with 21, and Dillon Bailey had 20 points and six rebounds.  Obi Agu had nine points off the bench and five boards. 

In the series history, Saturday's win is the largest margin of victory for either team as the RiverHawks improve to 6-3 (3-2 MIAA). 

Rashad Perkins led NSU with nine rebounds as the RiverHawks grabbed seven more than RSU off the glass with 40.   In second-chance points, Northeastern State held a 13-to-8 advantage.  

"I thought we did a good job of guarding together, and that's the key; they (Rogers State) are really good at spacing you out … our guys competed and stuck with it, and we did a better job on the offensive glass, which is a key because I think they do a great job of attacking it and defending on the glass," said head coach Ja Havens who won his fourth consecutive game over Rogers State Saturday.

"From a defensive side, that was a really good effort to hold them to 32 percent; that's pretty high-level defense."

The Hillcats (7-4, 3-2 MIAA) were limited to a trio of three-pointers as they suffered their worst shooting night of the season.    Joey Saracco had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. 

Northeastern State will be off until Dec. 31, when they will travel to face top-ranked Northwest Missouri.