Lions drop regular season finale, 71-68

Northeastern State rallied from an early double-digit deficit and hit free throws late to hold off Texas A&M University-Commerce, 71-68, in the final regular season Lone Star Conference matchup for both teams on Saturday in Tahlequah, Okla.

The RiverHawks finished off a season sweep of the Lions and close the year at 11-16 overall and 6-6 in conference play. A&M-Commerce now turns to the LSC Tournament next week with a 17-10 and 8-4 mark.

With the help of 13 points from Cardell Hunter in the opening period, the Lions shot 56.0 percent from the floor and took a 33-21 lead into the intermission. NSU was held to just a 34.6 percent mark from the field.

The roles reversed in the second half as Northeastern State flew out on a 21-6 spurt to take its first lead of the contest at 42-39 on a 3 from J.C. Snead. The next 6:27 saw six ties and eight lead changes before a Ricky Branham’s free throw with 6:59 remaining put the RiverHawks up for good.

After NSU built a six-point advantage, A&M-Commerce was able to slice the lead down to one on a bucket and free throw from DeUndrae Spraggins with 7 seconds to go, but two RiverHawk free throws and a Lion turnover sealed the game.

The final 10 points from the RiverHawks came from the charity stripe, with Marlon Burnett draining five of them.

Hunter led A&M-Commerce with 16 points, followed by 15 from Spraggins, 12 from Ronnie Morgan and 10 from Rashad Brown. Brown also added eight rebounds, a steal, a block and an assist.

Burnett charged the RiverHawks with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including all five of his free throws in the clutch. Ricky Branham chipped in 11 and Ben Rovenstine and Ja’Mal Stewart each added 10.

The Lions return to action next week in the LSC Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla., but their seed and time of play are still to be determined.