EDMOND, Okla. - Trey Phipps paced Northeastern State for the second consecutive day and a 29-point effort helped give the RiverHawks an 86-71 victory over the University of Mary (N.D.) on Saturday.  In his first career start, Ethan Blackmon recorded his first career double-double with 12 rebounds and 24 points as the RiverHawks move to 1-1 overall. 

Blackmon shot 11-for-16 and had a pair of blocks as the sophomore was a point away from matching his career-high. 

Unlike the night prior, where the RiverHawks surrendered an 18-point second-half lead to Northwestern Oklahoma they pulled away from the Marauders.  Northeastern State used a 21-10 run during a seven-minute span that lasted until the 6:23 mark to take a 71-54 advantage.  The RiverHawks led as many as 23 points with UMary finishing the final three minutes on a 10-2 run.

Taven Washington had 12 points off the bench and Bryson Smith scored 10 while adding seven assists and six rebounds. 

The RiverHawks only trailed twice and led the game for over 37 minutes as they shot 51.7 percent (30-58). 

UMary (1-4) was led by Jeremiah Jones who had 18 points. 

Northeastern State returns home to host Haskell this Thursday for its Nike N7 game inside the NSU Event Center at 7:30 p.m.