Box Score Tahlequah, Okla. – The Southwest Baptist University men's basketball team visited the MIAA leading RiverHawks of Northeastern State on Thursday evening, falling 97-91 in a tight contest.

In the first half the Bearcats jumped out to a quick lead, fueled by a strong zone defense and timely shooting from the bigs. After tight play for the first five minutes of the game, the Bearcats started to stretch out their lead. The Bearcats used a 12-2 run to increase their lead to nine (18-9) and slowly built a 16 point lead with 5:03 left in the half. The RiverHawks went on a run of their own, cutting the Bearcat lead to three, as SBU went into the half up 43-40.

In the second half the back-and-forth battle began for the first fifteen minutes, as SBU found themselves down three (70-73) with 6:16 left in the game. Northeastern State was able to extend their lead, and hold off a Bearcat surge, as SBU fell 97-91.

Jaywuan Hill led SBU with a career high 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field while Menas Stephens also had a career high with 17 points. Preston Guiot dished out 15 assists while Rashaad Brown-Peterson added 14 points, Afam Obukwelu 10, and Desi Barmore had 9 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. As a team SBU shot 45.9% from the floor, 22.9% from beyond the arc, and 68.2% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, January 11 when they travel to Central Oklahoma. The contest against the Bronchos is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. from Edmond, Oklahoma.