Northeastern hands Aggies 12th straight loss

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (Feb. 7) -  Defending NCAA II national champion Northeastern State led start to finish, opening up a 22-point first half lead en route to a 76-40 victory over Cameron Saturday in Lone Star Conference North Division action.

The Aggies posted just 14 points in the opening period while suffering their 12th consecutive loss to fall to 5-16 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

Cameron will look to end the streak on Tuesday, when the Aggies travel to Weatherford to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State in LSC North Division action scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m.

NSU quickly took control on Saturday, limiting the Aggies to just five first-half field goals. Cameron converted two early free throws to get on the board, but did not make a field goal until the 11:34 mark of the opening period when Kevin McConnell's jumper made it 20-4.

McConnell, a freshman guard from Central High, came off the bench to score seven of the Aggies' 14 points in the first half while adding a team-high four rebounds in the frame. But the effort was the only bright spot for the Aggies in the first half, as Cameron went to intermission trailing 32-14.

Chad Caudill warmed up early in the second half, hitting four of his game-high five three-pointers to help the Aggies stay within striking distance. Caudill's trey with 18:11 remaining made it 37-20. But Northeastern answered with a 13-5 run, getting the lead back to 25 with under eight minutes to play. Melvin Mitchell canned a three-pointer for the Aggies to get the lead down to 19 with 5:09 to play, but Cameron recorded only two points (on a layup by Trae Lister) the rest of the way as Northeastern ended the game on a 19-2 run.

Caudill led the Aggies with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from behind the arc. McConnell, who was held without a point in the second half, finished with seven.

Darnell Hinson, the LSC's leading scorer entering the week, upped his 22.5 season scoring average with a game-high 25 points for the Redmen. Northeastern State (12-9, 4-2 LSC North) also picked up 14 points from Derek Cline. The Redmen owned a 26-8 lead in points in the paint on Saturday and outscore the Aggies 10-3 from the free throw line.