TAHLEQUAH (Feb. 24, 2024) – Northeastern State seemed poised to upset Central Oklahoma, but the RiverHawks managed only two baskets over the final seven minutes, allowing UCO to hang on for a 74-68 win in a battle of in-state rivals on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Event Center.
NSU (10-16, 5-15 MIAA) shot a solid 53.1% from the field and had four players reach double figures in scoring:
Anthony Allen with 17 points,
Trey Quartlebaum with 15 points,
Ethan Blackmon with 13 points and
Keon Edwards with 11 points.
But UCO (19-9, 11-9) enjoyed a decided advantage at the free-throw line, making 16 of 18 attempts compared to 8 of 9 for the RiverHawks. Only two NSU players had as many as one attempt at the line.
The RiverHawks led for more than 21 minutes, by as many as seven points. NSU was up 38-37 at halftime and took its final lead at 54-53 with 11:41 left on a jumper by
Jaxon Jones. Allen's layup with 7:04 left pulled NSU within 62-61 and Allen hit two free throws with 6:18 left to again make it a one-point game.
Allen's layup with 4:48 left cut UCO's lead to 67-65, but that was the RiverHawks' last basket until 33 seconds remained. Jaden Wells, then Danquez Dawsey, scored for UCO to extend the Bronchos' advantage to 71-65 with 3:12 left. UCO didn't score again for more than 2½ minutes but the RiverHawks proved unable to take advantage.
Wells poured in 26 points for UCO, while Luke Haasl scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Dawsey added 17 points. It was the 700th collegiate win for UCO coach Bob Hoffman, including 88 as Southern Nazarene's women's coach and 612 on the men's side with stops at Oklahoma Baptist, Texas-Pan American, Mercer and UCO.
During a Senior Day ceremony before the game, NSU recognized five seniors connected with the basketball program – managers Ryne Freeman and Cody Nguyen and players
Ryan Gendron, Shakeil Bertram and Quartlebaum.
NSU will close the regular season with a pair of road games, on Thursday at Lincoln (Mo.) and on Saturday at Central Missouri.
