EDMOND, Okla. –
Jaxon Jones led the way with 16 points and three NSU players entered double figures as Northeastern State took a 72-67 loss to #17 Central Oklahoma in Hamilton Field House Wednesday.
The RiverHawks (5-9, 0-8 MIAA) had to respond after an early 12-5 run from the Bronchos (14-3, 6-3 MIAA), but NSU held a +4 advantage over the rest of the half before a buzzer-beating three-point conversion from Jaden Wells knocked the lead back to seven in the hosting side's favor at intermission.
Northeastern State faced similar adversity thanks to another hot start from the Bronchos in the second half, as the UCO lead went to double digits off four unanswered to start the period and extended to as many as 14 before the NSU offense started firing. Down 62-48 with 8:10 left, the RiverHawks converted six of their next nine and paired it with three made free throws and a strong six minutes of defense to tie the game at 65 with two minutes to play.
UCO went on to conclude the evening on a 7-2 run, supported by five points from Wells and a pair of converted charity stripe attempts from Luke Haasl. NSU couldn't find a way to counter, being held without a field goal across the rest of the battle.
Jones paired his 16-point effort alongside seven assists, while
Anthony Allen (14 points) and
Trey Quartlebaum (12) reached double figures.
Seth Pratt and
Shakeil Bertrand each scored nine apiece and made an impact on the glass with ten and seven rebounds, respectively.
Northeastern State concludes the two-game road trip with a contest in Wichita, Kan. against Newman on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
