Riverhawks Clip Hornets, 63-56

The Northeastern State men's basketball team beat Emporia State 63-56 Wednesday night in Tahlequah. It was the first game the Riverhawks have played as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The RiverHawks (6-1, 1-0 MIAA) jumped on top early and never looked back to earn the win over the Hornets (4-3, 0-1 MIAA).

Senior forward Jermaine Bransford recorded his first-career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He also added three steals in 37 minutes to pace the RiverHawks.

Junior guard Bryton Hobbs contributed 18 points and six assists in 39 minutes.

Northeastern State shot 39 percent from the field (18-46) and 4 of 10 from downtown. The team continues its torrent free-throw shooting, sinking 23 of 26 (89 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Hornets shot 41 percent from the field (20-49) and also hit 40 percent from downtown (8-20). Chris Sights shot lights out to pace the road team. He recorded 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and he knocked down five triples.

Taylor Euler added 11 for the visitors. Kaleb Wright came into the contest averaging 19.2 points per game, and Northeastern State held the Hornets leading scorer to zero points.

NSU will next be in action when the team travels to Jefferson City, Mo., for a 3:07 p.m. tilt with Lincoln. The game will be broadcast live on the MIAA Network.