The headline: Northeastern State will be on the road for their next two contests with NSU traveling to Missouri Southern and then Pittsburg State this upcoming Saturday. The RiverHawks lead the MIAA in forced turnovers and with 17 per game they are 23rd highest in the nation. Against schools in the MIAA, Northeastern State leads the field at the free-throw line by making 81.3-percent of their shots.
Montre' Williams leads NSU with 14.3 points per game and in his third season has scored 688 points.
Last time out for NSU: Montre' Williams dropped 20 points on Saturday at NSU Event Center against Central Oklahoma but Northeastern State saw a double-digit first half lead evaporate to fall 66-50.
The RiverHawks led the Bronchos 20-9 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half, and Central Oklahoma finished the period on a 21-6 run that Northeastern State could not recover from.
Northeastern State shot 35.7-percent (16-50) on the floor, while going 14-of-16 at the free throw line;
Cameron Martin was NSU's next highest scorer with nine points. Central Oklahoma had three in double-figures, while shooting 44.2-percent (19-43), and converting 21-of-32 at the free throw line.
Braxton Williams led the RiverHawks with four boards, with NSU grabbing 25 as a team; UCO had 38 on their side of the floor with 24 coming the defensive end.
Northeastern State (3-14, 2-7 MIAA) at Missouri Southern (11-8, 5-5 MIAA)
Jan. 25, 2017 | 7:30 p.m. | Joplin, Mo.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes
The series with Missouri Southern: Missouri Southern leads the series 8-6 over the RiverHawks and have won the last three contests. In Joplin, Northeastern State is 2-6 and have lost their last two meetings at MSSU. Northeastern State last won in Joplin on Jan. 26, 2013 (73-54) in their first MIAA conference clash.
Last time out for Missouri Southern: Emporia State outscored the Lions 53-46 in the second half and shot 55 percent in the game and the Missouri Southern men's basketball team couldn't overcome a cold-shooting night and fell 92-85 to the Hornets inside White Auditorium on Sunday.
Southern was led in scoring by CJ Carr with 20 points. JJ Cratit had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Elyjah Clark had a double-double with 17 points and ten rebounds. Kinzer Lambert had a career-high 18 points off the bench, playing 31 minutes.
MSSU shot 40 percent from the field and 27 percent from long range, making 74 percent of its free throws. ESU made 55 percent from the field, including 68 percent in the second half alone. The Hornets made 60 percent of their three-point attempts in the game.
The Lions out-rebounded ESU 41-40 and forced 17 Hornets' turnovers, but couldn't capitalize on the miscues, only scoring 16 points off of turnovers. The Lions had 20 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points on the night.
Scouting Missouri Southern: The Lions have dropped five of their last six contests heading into their match up with the RiverHawks. On their home floor, MSSU is 6-3 and 2-2 against MIAA programs. Missouri Southern leads the league in scoring with nearly 85 points per game and they are among the best in the nation in offensive rebounds with 13.4 a game which is 27th highest in Division II men's basketball. The Lions will take a lot of three-pointers and with 465 attempts they are 40th nationally; Elyjah Clark is second in the MIAA with 57 made treys. CJ Carr is 17th nationally with 2.9 steals per game and is forth in the MIAA in scoring at 20.7 points a game.
