Lions drop games to NSU for second time

For the second time in the span of three days, the Northeastern State University men's and women's basketball teams recorded wins over Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday, Feb. 6. A&M-Commerce came up short in both games, as the women lost 76-59 to NSU, who sit top of the Lone Star Conference North Division table. The men fell 72-65.

In the women's game, both teams started out fairly even before NSU went on an 11-5 run to put them up by 10 points with eight and a half minutes to go in the first half. An 11-0 run by the RiverHawks later in the first half ensured the visitors were up 47-27 at halftime.

The second half was a completely different story, as the Lions tightened up on defense and outscored their opponents 32-29. NSU could only manage to shoot 36 per cent from the floor in the second frame, and they were 47.5 per cent in the game overall.

The RiverHawks' junior Jasmine Webb was the overall top scorer of the night and had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, half of which were offensive boards. Webb was 9-16 from the floor and seemed unstoppable from inside the paint. Senior Jessica White also had a solid night for NSU, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds.

For A&M-Commerce, the duo of juniors Mattilyn McIntyre and Genevieve Campbell once again led the way. McIntyre had 18 points and 5 rebounds, going 5-14 from the floor, while Campbell finished with 16 points and four rebounds. The Rockwall native was uncharacteristically shut-out from beyond the arc, but did sink 7 of her 15 shots.

Before the game, A&M-Commerce women's Head Coach Nicole Anderson said she felt her team could do better the second time around against NSU. After the game, she said there was obvious improvement on the Lions' part.

"I saw tremendous improvement in the second half," she said. "We played great defense. Our team group, the five on the floor plus the subs, made a great effort today to play together, and, of course, they're upset. They want to win."

The Lions are now Anderson added the way her team played in the second half shows A&M-Commerce can still make a run at the LSC tournament, which begins in the first week of March.

Campbell also feels the women can step up their performance and book a trip to Bartlessville, Okla.

"If we play the way we did in the second half every game, both halves, I think we can do it," she said. "Everyone has the heart."

The A&M-Commerce men's team was able to keep NSU close, and they actually led a few times in the first half before falling to a 72-65 loss. After NSU took the lead early on, the Lions went on a 7-0 run to put them up 16-15 with just under nine minutes to go in the first half.

The RiverHawks always seemed to catch A&M-Commerce at just the right moment, making crucial baskets which kept the Lions at bay for most of the game. The visitors made eight three-point shots compared to only three from A&M-Commerce.

While none of those belonged to junior Dominique Gaines, he still put up 22 points for NSU. Gaines was 9-19 from the floor, and also got 8 rebounds. Senior Marlon Burnett had 21 points and six rebounds, and junior Antoine Branch scored 11 points for the RiverHawks.

Only two players for the Lions finished the game in double-digits. Junior Brian Singleton scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds, and true freshman Preston Whitley continued his impressive season by scoring 12 points. Whitley was 4-6 from the floor, and made all four of his free throw shots.

The Lions, who are now 4-3 in LSC play, had to cope with some of their top players having off nights. Seniors Ronnie Morgan and Cardell Hunter could only manage 16 points combined, while sophomore Brad Hambrick went 1-5 from the floor and was shut-out from three-point range. Head Coach Sam Walker said this had a significant effect on the game.

"At some point in time in a game like this, your big players have got to make shots," he said. "I thought we were getting good shots. They don't all have to go in, but you can't miss them all either and have a chance to beat a really good team. It just felt like, over the course of the game, they were a few points better than we were."

This is the third loss in a row for A&M-Commerce, and while they still have five games to play and are not in too much danger of losing an LSC tournament place, Walker said this is a real test for his team.

"If you can learn that how you act and react in times of adversity is the true judgment of a man, if we can put those words into action, then we'll find out a lot about our team in the next six or seven days," he said.

Morgan said he was confident A&M-Commerce would regain good form ahead of more crucial games late in the season.

"I think we'll be able to bounce back," he said. "A lot of the problems we had were small, and the majority of them we can fix. I think, with these three games coming up, we should bounce back pretty strong and get ready for the last home game against UCO. That's one we've got to win."

A&M-Commerce basketball now has a midweek trip to Ada, Okla., where they will play East Central University. They return home on Feb. 13 against Southeastern Oklahoma State University.