by TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men’s basketball team picked up a 90-80 victory over Southwest Baptist Saturday afternoon inside the NSU Event Center.
The RiverHawks (5-12, 4-9 MIAA) halted a brief three-game losing skid, while handing the Bearcats (8-10, 3-9) their fourth loss in a row.
Senior forward Dakota Caudill entered the weekend with one career double-double on his resume, but he has now doubled up twice in the past two games. He tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds on Thursday and finished with 18 points and 10 boards in Saturday’s victory. He also added two blocks and career highs in both assists (3) and steals (3).
Senior guard Trey Mohair landed one assist shy of his first career double-double, as he registered 16 points and nine dimes. Sophomore guard Montre’ Williams added 12 points and junior guard Braxton Williams chipped in 11 points. True freshman guards Tanner Mouse and Peyton Pratt (Choctaw/Lakota) added nine points each.
NSU connected on 50.8 percent (30-for-59) of shot attempts, while making 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from behind the arc and 82.6 percent (19-for-23) at the free-throw line. SBU shot 59.1 percent (26-for-44) overall, 50 percent (8-for-16) from deep range and 71.4 (20-for-28) at the line.
After the two teams played to a 14-14 tie in the early going, the RiverHawks were the first to build up any distance as they went on a mini-run to take a 23-15 lead at the midway point of the opening half.
NSU was able to hold the Bearcats at bay momentarily, but the visitors were able to turn a five-point deficit (30-25) into a four-point lead (34-30) with four minutes left in the opening stanza thanks to a 9-0 run.
Northeastern State regained the lead with 2:28 left (37-34), but SBU closed the half on a 9-1 run to take a 43-38 edge into intermission.
The home team exploded out of the gates in the second half and scored the first eight of the first 10 points to take a one-point lead and force a timeout.
The Bearcats fended off NSU for as long as they could, but the green and white proved too much as they built a 75-64 lead with seven minutes to play and never looked back.
The RiverHawks outscored Southwest Baptist 52-37 in the second half, which marked just the third time this season that NSU erupted for at least 50 points in one half.
Northeastern State led in assists (22-17), blocks (6-2), steals (7-4), points in the paint (34-30), points off turnovers (24-11), second-chance points (11-7), fast-break points (10-8), bench points (34-20), and fewer turnovers (6-17). SBU led in rebounding (28-26).
NSU will remain home for a pair of contests next weekend. First on the docket will be a 7:30 p.m. game Jan. 28 against Lindenwood.
