Game 4: Northeastern State (1-2) vs. Ecclesia (0-7) at 3:30 p.m. | November 18, 2017
Tahlequah, Okla. | NSU Event Center
The Series
The RiverHawks have won the only meeting between the two squads in 2013.
The Coaches
Mark Downey was introduced as NSU's tenth men's basketball coach on April 11, 2017 and carries a 205-105 overall head coaching record, with four NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances, and has been named Coach of the Year six times. Downey comes to NSU after two seasons at Fort Wayne (NCAA DI) as the program's top assistant on the bench, and has helped the Mastodons to appearances in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) and the NIT, while going 44-23. Prior to Fort Wayne, Downey spent the 2014-15 season at Bowling Green where they went 20-12, and he helped direct them into the second round of the CIT.
Al McCarron is in his second year at Ecclesia College, serving his first year as Associate Head Coach. Prior to joining the Royals, McCarron was an assistant at Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas and the head frosh/soph. and assistant varsity coach at Neoga High School in Neoga, Illinois. McCarron played collegiate basketball at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and was a four year letterwinner as a point guard.
The Century Mark
Northeastern State's second highest point total in the last five seasons came against Ecclesia on Nov. 9, 2013 with a 102-65 win in Larry Gipson's final season as head coach and it was the first official contest at the NSU Event Center. Through seven contests this season teams are averaging 106.8 points against the Royals.
Guarding the Arc
After three games the RiverHawks lead the MIAA in three-point defense, holding teams to 24.1 shooting percentage (13-for-54).
The Glass
Northeastern State has had back-to-back evenings with 40+ rebounds which is something that hasn't happened since midway through the 2015-16 season. In rebounding, the RiverHawks are averaging 38.7 per game which is tied for second most in the MIAA, with
Josh Bougher leading the team with 8.3 per outing.
Building Local Support
In their home opener on Wednesday evening against Rogers State the RiverHawks had 1,503 in attendance which was the third largest crowd to visit the NSU Event Center. To date, NSU's contest on Nov. 16, 2013 against Harding (1,757) in their third ever game in the complex is the high-water mark for the program.
Chasing 1,000
NSU senior returner
Montre' Williams is the lone NSU player who has seen action in the past three seasons for the RiverHawks and was an All-MIAA selection last year. The senior from Copperas Cove, Texas led the RiverHawks in scoring with 12.3 points per game one year ago and has 812 career points in 84 games played.
New Faces
Northeastern State will start the year with 13 newcomers to its squad to complement six returners from last season. Of the group of fresh faces, four NSU players have NCAA Division I experience (
Lucas Antunez,
Jamir Andrews,
Josh Bougher, and
Zach Lee) and three who transferred from NCAA Division II programs (
Marquise Harris,
Tighe Oberg, and
Pete Okonkwo).
The Kennedy Connection
First year NSU assistant coach
Nathan Kennedy and HC Downey were on-staff together at West Alabama during the 2012-13 season. In only one season at UWA, Downey and Kennedy were able to lead the Tigers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1982. They also won a school record 14 games in Gulf South Conference and were Co-Champs of the Battle for Atlantis Mainland Classic defeating NCAA Division I opponents Abilene Christian and The Citadel.
Kennedy comes to NSU from the University of Montevallo and brought along senior transfer
Tighe Oberg.
The Chip on Your Shoulder
Despite a nearly overhauled roster and a coaching change, Northeastern State was voted in the MIAA Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll to finish 12th.
The RiverHawks finished the 2016-17 season in the same spot and qualified for the MIAA Tournament with a 5-23 record, and 4-15 mark in the MIAA.
A NSU win would…
- Keep NSU undefeated against Ecclesia.
- Move the RiverHawks back to .500.
- First home win for head coach Mark Downey.
An Ecclesia win would…
- Snap a six game road losing streak.
- First win over a NCAA Division II program.
- First win in the state of Oklahoma since Nov. 18, 2014 at Oklahoma Baptist (final year as NAIA membership).
Up next
Northeastern State will play at Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday, Nov. 21 in the first contest between the two state schools since 1994.
