RiverHawks Ride past Southern Arkansas
MAGNOLA, ARK. - Northeastern State used a 13-0 run midway the second half and 29-of-39 free throw shooting to defeat Southern Arkansas University 61-53 at W.T. Watson Athletic Center Monday night.
The Riverhawks behind the double-digit scoring of Marlon Burnett, 22 points, Jason Jones's 19, who converted 15-of 17 free throws and Antoine Branch's 10 improved to 2-1 for the season. The Muleriders fall to 2-1 with the loss.
Northeastern State shot 42 percent from the field (14-of-33), 4-of-12 from behind the arc (33 percent) and out-rebounded Southern Arkansas 42-26.
"It was a hard fought game, but we were able to persevere down the stretch," said Northeastern State head coach Larry Gipson "We had too many turnovers (21) and we missed some shots, but our defense was really, really good and we did a great job on the boards.
"We made free throws down the stretch when we needed them," said Gipson. "We were good at the line. To go on the road and win in front of a hostile crowd, against an athletic, pressing, scrambling basketball team was a good win."
The River Hawks held their breath in the first half when Jones a pre-season All-American candidate went down with an ankle injury.
"We thought we had lost him," said Gipson. "But he came back in the second half and showed some courage.
"And I think Jason Jones and Marlon Burnett have willed us into winners. And Antoine (Branch) gives us a third scorer, plus we got some good play off the bench from Scott Draughon and Brent Grice," said Gipson.
Northeastern State held a 30-26 lead at the half as Burnett scored 13 of his game-high 22 points. Southern Arkansas tied the game at 30-all on a Justin Stuart jumper and a pair of free throws by Tony James with 18:02 remaining in the second half.
The Muleriders took their first lead of the game since the opening basket on a James layup following a steal by Southern Arkansas' David Noble making it 32-30. The Muleriders increased its lead to four points on a Dade Sanchez steal and layup with 16:43 left in the game.
Burnett hit a trey cutting the Muleriders lead to a point 34-33 with 15:48 left and Brent Grice gave the RiverHawks the lead on a jumper in the paint with 13:52 left to make it 35-34.
Southern Arkansas then tied the game at 35-all when Chase Spruiell was fouled by NSU's Jones. Spruiell hit the second of two free throws for the tie.
That's when the RiverHawks scored 13 straight points to take control of the game as the RiverHawks turned up the defensive intensity and went on a 13-0 run.
Burnett broke the tie when hit a trey and Grice slammed home two more points for a 40-35 RiverHawks lead with 12-minutes remaining. Following three missed Southern Arkansas shots, Scott Draughon scored on a layup to make it 42-35 at the 10:06 mark.
Neither team scored for nearly three-minutes before Jones scored on a layup and was fouled by Sanchez. Jones converted the free throw to give the RiverHawks a 46-35 lead. Jones was fouled again on the RiverHawks' next possession. Jones converted both free throws giving the RiverHawks its largest lead of the game 13 points, 48-35 with 7:11 remaining.
Northeastern State held Southern Arkansas scoreless for seven-minutes before the Muleriders' Spruiell sank two free throws, when Jones picked up his fourth foul of the game, cutting Northeastern State's lead to 11 points 48-37 with 6:07 remaining.
The RiverHawks then sank 13-of-16 free throws over the final 3:52 to get the victory. The Muleriders came no closer than five points, 53-48 with 1:28 remaining.
Sanchez led Southern Arkansas' scoring with 15 points, followed by Justin Stuart's 13. The Muleriders were held to 32 percent from the field (19-of-59) including just 5-of-21 from behind the arc. They were 10-of-16 at the line.
Northeastern State will host Southern Arkansas in a return match on Nov.30th at Jack Dobbins Field House. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
