Game 8: Northeastern State (3-4) at Missouri Western State (2-6) at 4 p.m. | December 2, 2017
St. Joseph, Mo. | MWSU Fieldhouse
 

Live Stats	sidearmstats.com/missouri/mbball
Live Stats for Media	sidearmstats.com/missouri/mbball/media
Live Audio	GoRiverHawksGo.com
Live Streaming Audio	portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu/
Play-by-Play	Scott Pettus
Live Streaming Video	TheMIAANetwork.com ($)
	Game Notes

The Matchup
Northeastern State has won the last two meetings, and four of their last six contests with the Griffons.  At the MWSU Fieldhouse, the RiverHawks are 2-3 overall with their last win coming on Dec. 19, 2013 (73-70).  In last season's meeting with Missouri Western, the RiverHawks has held the Griffons to a season low 41 points on the floor of the NSU Event Center.

The Coaches
Mark Downey was introduced as NSU's tenth men's basketball coach on April 11, 2017 and carries a 207-107 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.

Brett Weiberg (182-183) is in his fifth season at Missouri Western where he is 43-78 overall and 25-55 in MIAA play.  Missouri Western has qualified for the MIAA Tournament in each of Weiberg's first three seasons.  In the 2016-17 season, Missouri Western knocked off a Division I opponent for the first time in 36 years as it went on the road to beat Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Last Time Out for Northeastern State
Top ranked Northwest Missouri used a 25-point run in the first half to put away the RiverHawks 99-56 on Thursday evening in their MIAA opener.  Jamir Andrews led the RiverHawks with 20 points on five three pointers made for his third game this season surpassing 20+ points.  Lucas Antunez was NSU's second player in double figures with 13 points.

Last Time Out for Missouri Western
On Thursday evening Missouri Western, fell 65-61 to Central Oklahoma in the first conference game of the season.  Missouri Western used a 9-0 run to take 49-48 second half lead with 7:48 left in the game. However, the Bronchos countered with a 10-0 run for a nine-point lead with 3:41 left in the game to pull away.

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 845 career points in 88 games played.

The Glass
Northeastern State has had string of three straight evenings this season with 40+ rebounds which is something that hasn't happened since the end of the 2009-10 season.  In rebounding, the RiverHawks are averaging 11.9 offensive boards per game which is most in the MIAA, and they are third in the league with 38.3 rebounds an outing.

Perfection 
NSU sophomore Trent Cantrell was perfect off of the RiverHawks bench in their 91-77 win over Oklahoma Baptist on  Nov. 21 this season.  Cantrell went 6-for-6 from field and was 3-for-3 at the free throw line for a career high 16 points.

A NSU Win Would...

• Third straight win over Missouri Western State.
• First road win over the Griffons since Dec. 19, 2013
• First MIAA win of the season.

A MWSU Win Would...

• Halt a four game skid.
• Seventh program win over the RiverHawks.
• Move them to 3-3 at home this season.

Up Next
Northeastern State will be at home on Tuesday to host rivals Central Oklahoma at 4 p.m.