MAGNOLA, Ark. — Northeastern State used a 13-0 run midway the second half and 29-of-39 free throw shooting to defeat Southern Arkansas University 61-53 at W.T. Watson Athletic Center on Monday night.

The Riverhawks, behind the double-digit scoring of Morlon Burnett’s 22 points, Jason Jones’s 19, and Antonie Branch’s 10, improved to 2-1 for the season. The Muleriders fall to 2-1.

“It was a hard fought game, but we were able to persevere down the stretch,” said Northeastern State head coach Larry Gipson “We had too many turnoves (21) and we missed some shots, but our defense was really, really good and we did a great job on the boards.

“We made free throws down the stretch when we needed them,” said Gipson. “We were good at the line. To gon on the road and win in front of a hostile crowd, against an athletic, scrambling basketball team was a good win.”

Northeastern State held a 30-26 lead at the half as Burnett scored 13 of his game-high 22 points. Southern Arkansas tied the game at 30-all on a Justin Stuart jumper and a pair of free throws by Tony James with 18:02 remaining in the second half.

Burnett broke the tie when hit a trey and Grice slammed home two more points for a 40-35 RiverHawks lead with 12-minutes remaining. Following three missed Southern Arkansas shots, Scott Draughon scored on a layup to make it 42-35 at the 10:06 mark.

The RiverHawks sank 13 of 16 free throws over the final 3:52 to get the victory. The closest the Muleriders got after that was 53-48 with 1:28 remaining.

Northeastern State hosts Southern Arkansas in a return match Nov. 30 at Jack Dobbins Field House. Tipoff is 7 p.m.