CANYON, Texas -- Northeastern State held the advantage for much of the evening but fell in the team's opener at the D2CCA Tip-off Classic to No. 19 Tampa, 65-57.
The RiverHawks (0-1) stormed to 13-of-26 (50.0%) shooting in the opening half to head into intermission with a 35-26 advantage, but were limited to just 22 points on 8-of-22 shooting (36.4%) in the second half in the loss. The Spartans (1-0) chipped away at the NSU lead, which was as high as 14 with 7:26 left in the third quarter, behind a 12-0 run and regained the advantage with 7:06 left in the matchup.
Nine different players scored for Northeastern State, highlighted by
McKenzie Smith with 17 points.
Reese Shirey reached double figures with 10 points and paced the RiverHawks on the glass with six rebounds, also collecting three steals in the loss.
Northeastern State closes the D2CCA Tip-off Classic with a matchup against New Mexico Highlands at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow.
