TYLER, Texas – Northeastern State (3-1) pieced together a strong offensive performance to secure a 76-63 win over Texas-Tyler (0-2) inside the Louise Herrington Patriot Center Saturday, the program's first win in Texas since the 2009-10 season.
Anthony Allen continued his explosive start to the season with a team-best 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting. It is his third performance with at least 19 points across his first four, while the sophomore added five rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal.
Three other NSU players made it to double figures, as
Jaxon Jones netted three converted triples en route to a 13-point day alongside seven boards and six assists.
Trey Quartlebaum shot five-of-eight overall to provide 12, while
Keon Edwards led the team's second unit with 11 points off the bench.
The RiverHawks controlled the opening half shooting 53.6 percent (15-28) while sinking nine treys on the Patriots. NSU hit three consecutive triples in the final two minutes of the half finishing the period on a run of nine consecutive unanswered points. Allen was already in double-figures with ten points with UT Tyler shooting a stone-cold 27.6 percent to trail 40-23 at the intermission.
Both sides traded baskets over the opening minutes of the second half, but Northeastern State connected on consecutive possessions just over two minutes in to extend their lead to twenty points (47-27) with 17:36 to play.
The NSU advantage soared to as much as 25 (56-31, 13:57) before UT Tyler worked to close the gap. Over the remaining time, the Patriots outscored NSU 32-20, but the visiting side's lead never went back to single digits in the closing stanza.
The RiverHawks finished the day with makes on a majority of their shots, shooting 29-of-53 (54.7%) while holding the opposition to under 40% on the day (24-of-65, 36.9%). The long ball was kind to NSU shooters, with 12-of-25 (48.0%) deep attempts connecting while the Patriots struggled to 6-of-24 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.
The RiverHawks return home on Monday where they will face Ozarks (Ark.) at 7 p.m. in continued non-conference action.
