TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State controlled the second half and coasted itself to an 85-59 win Thursday night over Newman. 

The RiverHawks had five in double-figures and cleared the bench against the Jets, with the result being a far cry from the 75-66 setback NSU suffered at Newman a month ago.

Tahlequah native Jaxon Jones turned in his first career double-double with a game-high ten rebounds and had ten points.  Christian Cook scored 15, Emeka Obukwelu grabbed eight boards and scored 11, Dillon Bailey splashed four three-pointers for 12 points, Caison Hartloff landed a career-high 11 points off the bench.  

Jones and Rashad Perkins carried RiverHawks out an early funk, with the pair netting 12 of the team's final 27 points of the first half.  Northeastern State out-scored the Jets by 12 in the final 13:46 of the stanza to carry a 39-29 advantage into the locker room. 

The wheels didn't come loose completely for the Jets until the RiverHawks mounted an 18-1 run midway through the second half.  Northeastern State shot 7-for-9 during that span, with Newman missing eight straight attempts. 

Newman softened the finish going 11-2 in the final three minutes scoring on the remainder of the NSU bench. 

The RiverHawks shot 47.6-percent and landed a season-high 13 three-pointers on Newman while out-rebounded them by 16 with 46 as a team. 

Newman was led by Israel Barnes, who had 22 points.  With the loss, the Jets fall to 4-19 (1-17 MIAA). 

Thursday's win moves the RiverHawks to 13-12 (8-11 MIAA); they continue their homestand Saturday, with Central Oklahoma visiting for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff.