Box Score Overcoming a 12-point deficit midway through the first half, Northeastern A&M's Golden Norsemen used a solid inside game to earn an 86-73 victory Monday night over Eastern State College before a boisterous crowd in the NEO Fieldhouse.


While winning their third game in a row, coach Dustin Grover's Golden Norse are 5-3 in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference and 12-8 on the season.
“We allowed them too many open looks early in the game and they hit them which sometimes happen with a team that shoots a lot of three's,” Grover said. “But, once we got a lead, our team has the confidence right now to extend that lead and we did just that.”
In a game that started out with four technical fouls in the first 13 minutes, the defending Region II Champion Mountaineers (5-3 and 13-6) built a 22-10 cushion with 15:07 left in the opening half. Two 3-pointers by guard Ryan Devers and one try each by Donald Marshall, Kymer Levy and Rodnerius Lewis fueled the outburst.
Eight points each inside the paint by Frederico Santos and Nkosi Ali and a 3-pointer by Terrance Clemens rallied NEO to a 29-28 lead with 7:04 before halftime.
Five straight points by Jeff Newberry along with four each by Santos and Ali enabled the Norse to build a 42-35 lead at halftime which they never relinquished in the second half.
Although Newberry led NEO with 21 total points, Santos contributed his 15th double-double of the season with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Ali added 15 points and 14 rebounds while Ja'mill Powell scored 15 points.
Devers tallied 21 of his game-high 31 points in the final 10 minutes of the game to lead all scorers. Lewis added 10 points as the Mountaineers went 10 of 39 from 3-point range.