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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's basketball team will open its conference slate playing host to Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 inside the NSU Event Center. The RiverHawks (1-5) will look to snap a five-game losing streak, while the Blue Tigers (3-6) have already matched their win total from each of the last two seasons.

NSU has won its MIAA opener in both seasons since joining the league in 2012-13, and the team has defeated LU each of the last two seasons. Northeastern State was picked to finish 12th in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll, while Lincoln was projected to finish 14th.
 

Northeastern State's Probable Starters
F	32	Dakota Caudill	6-6, 220	Jr-RS	7.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg	Claremore, Okla.
F	42	Landon DeMasters	6-4, 200	Sr-2L	3.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg	Van Alstyne, Texas
G	20	Trey Mohair	6-0, 190	Jr-TR	7.7 ppg, 2.5 apg	Denton, Texas
G	22	Michael Harmon	5-11, 180	Sr-1L	19.0 ppg, 2.8 apg	Houston, Texas
G	23	Montre' Williams	5-10, 160	Fr-HS	8.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg	Copperas Cove, Texas
Lincoln's Probable Starters
F	25	Zach Schraeder	6-7, 215	Jr.	6.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg	Wichita, Kan.
F	32	Mike Smith	6-6, 210	Sr.	13.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg	Bronx, N.Y.
F	55	Blake Ralling	6-7, 212	Sr.	4.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg	Lithia Springs, Ga.
G	01	Joshua Buie	6-1, 180	Sr.	16.3 ppg, 4.7 apg	O'Fallon, Ill.
G	03	Victor Scott	6-2, 190	Jr.	10.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg	Chicago, Ill.

SCOUTING THE BLUE TIGERS
Lincoln University is located in Jefferson City, Missouri, and the team competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Blue Tigers have posted a 3-6 record, beating Philander-Smith and Concordia (Ala.) and losing to Illinois-Springfield recently. Lincoln was picked to finish 14th in the preseason MIAA poll. Joshua Buie (16.3 ppg) and Mike Smith (13.6 ppg) lead the team in scoring. Zach Schraeder (6.6 rpg) leads the squad in rebounding. Lincoln is averaging 64.3 points per game and shooting .416 as a team.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - OBU 99, NSU 87
NSU suffered a 99-87 setback to Ouachita Baptist last Saturday on the final day of the Arkansas Tech Thanksgiving Classic inside Tucker Coliseum. The RiverHawks (1-5) have now lost four in a row and are off to the worst start to a season since 2011-12, when the team began the year 0-6. The Tigers improved to 4-1. Michael Harmon carried NSU with a career-high 36 points in the losing effort. He knocked down six 3-point shots and was an efficient 11-for-20 shooting from the field. Keon Littleton added 13 points, while Montre' Williams scored 11 and Trey Mohair chipped in 10. Tirrell Brown paced the Tigers with 33 points on 13-of-14 shooting. He also pulled down eight rebounds and added four steals in 32 minutes. Justin McCleary hit five 3's to add 18 points, while Colt Fason posted 14 points and nine rebounds and Micah Delph scored 13. Northeastern State shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field, 48.5 percent (16-for-33) from behind the 3-point line and just 61.1 percent (11-for-18) at the free-throw line. Ouachita Baptist scorched the nets at a 62.5 percent scoring clip (35-for-56), which was the highest conceded by NSU this season. The Tigers were also 62.5 percent shooting (10-for-16) from downtown and 79.2 percent (19-for-24) from the charity stripe. Harmon made a layup at the 17:38 mark of the first half to give Northeastern State an 8-5 lead, but OBU went on a 16-0 run and never looked back. The RiverHawks cut the lead down to just four points midway through the second half, but Ouachita Baptist propelled its lead back out to 17 points and held on for the 12-point victory. OBU led in rebounds (31-26), steals (12-6), blocks (2-0), points in the paint (44-22), fewer turnovers (12-19) and points off turnovers (21-9). Ouachita Baptist scored 43 points in the first half and 56 points in the second half. The final 20 minutes marked the most an opponent has scored against NSU this season. The RiverHawks have also now allowed opponents to score at least 40 points in one half nine times this season (out of 12 total).
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET - NSU 87, LU 72
Northeastern State defeated Lincoln 87-72 Thursday night inside Jason Gym to open play in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association on Dec. 5, 2013. The RiverHawks had five players in double figures, while the Blue Tigers were unable to hang with the hot shooting from the visitors. NSU was led by Bryton Hobbs, who finished with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. He had some help in the contest, namely from Dalen Qualls. The transfer finished with a season-best 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also made four threes in 28 minutes. Joining Hobbs and Qualls in double figures were Jeremy McDonald (12) and Marcus Sheppard (11). Curtis Evans had his second double-double of the year after finishing with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. NSU shot 59 percent (32-for-54) from the field and 40 percent (6-for-15) from three-point land. LU posted a 42 percent shooting average (25-for-60) and converted 8 of 22 (36 percent) from distance. The RiverHawks held a 39-27 rebounding margin. Clay Crouch led the Blue Tigers with 21 points. Charles Cole added 11 and James Edmond chipped in 10. A Qualls layup at the 16:30 mark of the opening half gave NSU a 10-8 lead, and the visitors would never trail again. The green and white used a 14-3 run early in the contest to pull ahead 19-11, but the Blue Tigers kept it close for nearly the remainder of the half. Crouch knocked down a triple to bring LU to within seven at 31-24 at the 2:53 mark, but Hobbs and junior guard Keon Littleton scored every point in a 13-3 run to give Northeastern State a 44-27 halftime edge. The RiverHawks stretched their lead out to as much as 20 points in the second half and held off a pair of late surges from Lincoln to stave off the home side and earn the victory.
 
NSU SELECTED FOR NATIONAL CBS BROADCAST
Northeastern State's regular-season matchup at Central Missouri has been chosen as the NCAA Division II National TV Game of the Week. The contest will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network beginning at 10 a.m. Dec. 20 in Warrensburg, Missouri. The contest will be the first nationally-televised game for Northeastern State since the Redmen won the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championship. The RiverHawks will travel to the UCM Multi-Purpose Building to face off with the defending national champions. NSU handed the Mules two of their five losses last season, once on Dec. 21 in Tahlequah (72-71) and again on March 7 in the MIAA Championship quarterfinals (84-82). There will be five NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National TV Games of the Week this season, with the contest between the RiverHawks and Mules serving as the first in 2014-15. 
 
DROPPING 36
Michael Harmon poured in a career-high 36 points in a 99-87 loss to Ouachita Baptist on Nov. 29 inside Tucker Coliseum. The senior guard has taken over the main scoring duties this season, which was apparent against the Tigers when he connected on 11-of-20 shots from the field and 6-of-12 attempts from 3-point territory. He also hit 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. The 36-point total is the second-highest scored by a player from the MIAA this season. Harmon also has two other games with at least 20 points.
 
HARRISON PICKS UP FIRST MIAA WEEKLY ACCOLADE
Demone Harrison was named the MIAA Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced Oct. 15. The junior transfer from Houston, Texas, led Northeastern State in scoring in each of his first two games with the RiverHawks. In his second game, he poured in a game-high 30 points to lead NSU to a victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State. The point total was the highest single-game total by all MIAA players through the first week of the season. Harrison shot 55 percent (12-for-22) from the field, 67 percent (8-for-12) from downtown and 83 percent (15-for-18) at the free-throw line, while averaging 23.5 points per game. He also pulled down nine rebounds and only turned the ball over twice all weekend. He came off the bench in both games.
 
NSU's TINSLEY IN INAUGURAL CAMPAIGN
NSU's Jason Tinsley (Northwestern State, '79) is in his first season as the RiverHawks head coach. He was hired in April as the ninth head men's basketball coach in school history. Tinsley takes the reins from Larry Gipson, who retired following a 17-year run that included the only NCAA Division II National Championship in school history (2003) and five appearances in the NCAA Championship tournament (2000-03, 2013). Tinsley comes to Tahlequah following a highly-successful run as head women's basketball coach from 2010-14 at NCAA Division III Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. During his four-year stint with the Lady Cats, he led the program to an 89-25 record and three berths in the NCAA Division III Championship tournament. The team advanced to the Round of 32 in 2011, which included the first NCAA tournament victory in school history. He also led LC to three American Southwest Conference regular-season division championships and three ASC Conference Tournament finals appearances. At Louisiana College, Tinsley guided two NCAA Division III All-Americans, 11 all-conference performers, seven All-ASC Defensive Team members, two ASC Defensive Players of the Year, and two ASC Freshmen of the Year. Prior to his stint at LC, Tinsley served as head men's coach at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (NCAA D-II, Pembroke, N.C.) from 2003-08. His other head coaching stop came at Bossier Parish Community College (NJCAA D-I, Bossier City, La.) from 1999-02.
 
NSU SELECTED 12TH IN MIAA PRESEASON POLLS
The Northeastern State men's basketball team was picked to finish 12th in the MIAA by the league coaches. The RiverHawks earned 39 points and are projected to finish just inside the cut line for the MIAA Championship tournament in May. Central Missouri topped the coaches' poll with 151 points total and 10 first-place votes a year removed from winning the national championship. Northeastern State finished 16-13 last season and 9-10 in the MIAA. NSU also lost head coach Larry Gipson, who retired at the end of the season. Senior forward Landon DeMasters is the leading returning scorer at 8.1 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game last season.
 
DeMASTERS NAMED TO NABC HONORS COURT
Senior Landon DeMasters was named to the 2013-14 NABC Honors Court, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced July 21. The NABC Honors Court recognizes those men's collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the past season. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts that these men possess off the court and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. A record number 895 student-athletes from 335 colleges and universities earned NABC Honors Court Distinction. DeMasters, a Van Alstyne, Texas native, carries a 3.93 grade-point average in health and kinesiology. He was also named to the MIAA Honor Roll.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2014-15
All fans wishing to attend an NSU home basketball contest this season will be required to show a ticket prior to entering the facilities. NSU students and faculty/staff will still be allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's will no longer be accepted as a form of entry. Tickets can be purchased at NSU's ticketing Web site, goriverhawkstickets.com. NSU students and faculty/staff can access goriverhawkstickets.com and secure their free tickets (either printable or downloaded to your smart phone) through their goNSU accounts. For questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR
Northeastern State University Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online for the past two years with a one-of-a-kind online shopping site, goriverhawksgear.com. NSU fans have another avenue for acquiring Northeastern State apparel and accessories. The store is loaded with options for fans of all ages, ranging from T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts, to home office supplies, drinkware and kitchen essentials. Every item is branded with official Northeastern State athletics and university logos, and select RiverHawks gear and accessories are customizable. The new online store can be accessed by simply visiting www.goriverhawksgear.com. The shop can also be viewed by clicking on the shopping cart at the top right of www.goriverhawksgo.com, the static graphic underneath the main picture or the rotating horizontal carousel just above the video player.