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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team (10-4, 3-3 MIAA) heads to Edmond, Okla., to face the red-hot Central Oklahoma Bronchos (6-8, 4-2 MIAA) at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 inside Hamilton Field House.
 
Central Oklahoma is on a three-game win streak and has won five of its last seven contests. UCO was selected in the preseason MIAA coaches poll to finish seventh, while NSU was picked 14th.
 
THE RIVALRY
NSU and UCO have met 33 times since Larry Gipson took over the helm of the RiverHawk program in 1997, and the Bronchos hold a narrow 17-16 margin over that span. Northeastern State dominated to the tune of a 12-3 record in the first seven years of the rivalry, but Central Oklahoma is 14-4 over the last eight seasons. UCO is also on a six-game win streak over Northeastern State, which includes all four meetings last year and both games in 2010-11. During the stretch, the Bronchos are winning by a margin of 72.0-56.3.
 
SCOUTING THE BRONCHOS
Central Oklahoma is 6-8 this year and 4-2 in the MIAA. The team is riding a three-game win streak, picking up triumphs over Washburn (72-67), Truman State (85-80) and Lindenwood (78-75). The two conference losses have been to Pittsburg State (81-70) and Missouri Western (78-77). Josh Gibbs leads the Bronchos in scoring and rebounding at 15.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Spencer Smith is second in both categories with averages of 12.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Seth Heckart is also scoring at a double-figure clip of 10.2 ppg.
 
THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Senior forward Jermaine Bransford entered 2012-13 with just one double-digit rebounding effort and no career double doubles. He recorded his first double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds Dec. 5 against Emporia State, and he now has reached at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in six of his last eight games. He also has near double-doubles against Arkansas Tech (eight points, 12 boards), Northwestern Oklahoma State (31 points, nine boards) and Harding (12 points, eight rebounds). Over his last 10 games, Bransford is averaging 16.8 ppg (168 total points) and 10.7 rpg (107 total rebounds). He leads the MIAA in rebounding this season with 9.4 rpg.
 
WELCOME TO THE NEW LEAGUE
Northeastern State is currently in its first season as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The RiverHawks opened league play Dec. 5 with a 63-56 victory over Emporia State at Jack Dobbins Field House. Senior forward Jermaine Bransford led the way for the home team with his first-career double-double. He recorded 22 points, 11 rebounds and three steals in 37 minutes. Junior guard Bryton Hobbs added 18 points and six assists.
 
BRANSFORD NAMED MIAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jermaine Bransford was honored as the MIAA Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week Dec. 20. The senior forward was named the Most Outstanding Player of the QU Holiday Tournament. Against Truman State in the finals, he recorded 23 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double in four games. He averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds for the tournament, and he also boasted shooting percentages of 60 percent from the field (12-for-20) and 82 percent from the free-throw line (9-for-11). He became the first member of the NSU men's basketball team to earn a weekly honor in the MIAA. The last time a RiverHawk earned a weekly laurel was Jan. 24, 2011 when Antoine Branch was named the Lone Star Conference North Division Offensive Player of the Week.
 
LEADING THE WAY
Northeastern State is led in scoring by newcomer Bryton Hobbs, who is averaging 16.8 points and 4.9 assists per game. Senior forward Jermaine Bransford is averaging 15.0 ppg and a conference-leading 9.4 rpg. Senior guard Ethan Anderson has poured in 11.7 points per contest.
 
IN THE LEAGUE
Northeastern State leads the MIAA in three statistical categories this year. The team is the league leader in free-throw percentage (.784), three point field-goal percentage (.409) and three point field-goal percentage defense (.317). The team is also second in scoring defense (61.4), field-goal percentage (.483), field-goal percentage defense (.395), and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
 
NSU's GIPSON IN 16TH SEASON
NSU's Larry Gipson (Heidelberg College, '74) is in his 16th season as the RiverHawks head coach. The long-time leader of the men's basketball program enters the year with a 255-183 record over his illustrious career at NSU. He is returning to the bench after having missed most of the 2011-12 season with an illness. Gipson is second all-time in school history behind only Jack Dobbins (314 wins) in career wins, and his .578 winning percentage is the best in school history. He reached the 100- and 200-win milestones faster than any other coach in school history. Gipson has posted eight winning seasons in his time at NSU, and those include five 20-win campaigns and a national championship in 2002-03 (32-3 record).
            Gipson was inducted into the NSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. He and Nolan Richardson are the only two head coaches ever to lead teams to a national championship at both the NCAA and NJCAA level. Gipson, Richardson and Ray Harper (NCAA D-II, NAIA) are the only three coaches in college basketball history to win national titles at two different levels. Gipson began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Tulsa under Richardson. Gipson has won three national coach of the year honors throughout his career. He was named the 2003 Division II Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), he earned the 2003 Molten/Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year award and he was also the 1989 NABC national junior college coach of the year. He was appointed by his peers as the President of the Board of the Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in April 2012.
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE CELEBRATING 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
The RiverHawks are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their historic national championship run from the 2002-03 campaign. The team posted a school-record 32 wins to just three losses that season and defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 75-64 on March 29 in Lakeland, Fla., to earn the first and only men's basketball national championship in Northeastern State history. Four different RiverHawks averaged 10 points per game that season, led by Jon Shepherd's 14.6 ppg average. Reggie Battee was the top rebounder at 6.2 rpg, and Darnell Hinson led NSU at 4.1 assists per game.
 
ONE FINAL YEAR
The 2012-13 campaign marks the last in Jack Dobbins Field House. The field house has served as the home of NSU basketball since the 1954-55 season, and Northeastern State will move into its new home beginning in 2013-14. The $14.4 million event center has yet to be named and is currently under construction. The new home of RiverHawks basketball will seat 3,000 and will be located adjacent to Doc Wadley Stadium on the north side of the NSU campus.
 
TRIVIA NIGHT PREMIERE
NSU Athletics will host “Trivia Night” on Saturday, Jan., 19, 2013, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center's Herb Rozell Ballroom. Jay Hannah, NSU alum, will serve as master of ceremonies. This fundraising event features a fun-filled evening complete with hors d'oeuvres, beverages for purchase, a silent auction and much more.
 
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