The headline: Northeastern State enters in the final weekend of the regular season needing a win in hopes of making the MIAA postseason tournament. Currently, the RiverHawks and Missouri Western are tied with matching 3-14 records, and a half game ahead of Pittsburgh State who played on Tuesday night, and lost 71-64 to Missouri Southern. The RiverHawks are third the MIAA in forced turnovers and with 15.40 per game and fourth in blocks with 3.3 per game. Against schools in the MIAA, Northeastern State leads the field at the free-throw line by making 77.6-percent of their shots.
Montre' Williams paces NSU with 12.9 points per game and in his third season has scored 770 points.
Last time out for NSU: Northeastern State's late game charge came up short in their home finale falling 74-67 to the Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon.
The RiverHawks closed in, 68-65, with 36 seconds left following a pair of free-throws by
Tanner Mouse. UNK helped ice the game on free-throws and the RiverHawks missed on their next possession, where the Lopers quickly went down for a dunk to pull their lead out to 72-65 and halt NSU's comeback.
Cameron Martin,
Tanner Mouse, and
Karon Waller all led the RiverHawks with 14 points. Northeastern State started Waller for the second time this season on his senior day along with teammates:
Erick Broadnax,
Javon Wallace, and
Braxton Williams.
The RiverHawks shot 39-percent (23-59) from the field with most of their shots coming from inside after making a pair of three-pointers; Nebraska-Kearney was 43.2-perent (19-44) on their side of the floor.
Waller was a rebound short of a double-double with nine as NSU took the team edge over the Lopers 36-to-30. Northeastern State grabbed 13 on the offensive glass but was limited to ten second-chance points.
Northeastern State (4-21, 3-14 MIAA) at Emporia State (13-13, 9-8 MIAA)
Feb. 23, 2017 | 7:30 p.m. | Emporia, Kan.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes
The series with Emporia State: Northeastern State trails the overall series 9-6 against the Hornets and have won three out of the last five meetings.
Last time out for Emporia State: Emporia State began their final home stand with a 71-69 victory over Southwest Baptist on Thursday night in White Auditorium.
Brandon Hall led the Hornets with 17 points and four assists. He was joined in double figures by Josh Pedersen with 14 points and Jawan Emery with 11 points.
Scouting Emporia State: The Hornets are 9-2 this season on their home floor this season heading into Thursday's contest with the RiverHawks. Brandon Hall leads ESU in scoring with 13.6 points per game and he will take the majority of ESU's shots with 337 he is sixth overall nationally. The Hornets get called for plenty of fouls and they are in the bottom-50 nationally with 551 called this season. From the arc, teams are shooting 38.8-percent which is third to last in MIAA and 273 out of 305 in Division II men's basketball.
Northeastern State at Washburn (17-9, 9-8 MIAA)
Feb. 25, 2017 | 3:30 p.m. | Topeka, Kan.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes
The series with Washburn: In the overall series, NSU leads 7-3, with the RiverHawks winning five out of the last seven. On the road, Northeastern State has yet to lose beating the Ichabods on all four trips to Topeka.
Last time out for Washburn: The Washburn Ichabods won their ninth game in a row over Southwest Baptist in a 65-53 win over the Bearcats in Lee Arena to win its second straight game.
Randall Smith led the Ichabods with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting and Brady Skeens recorded his 22nd double-double of his career with 13 points and 19 rebounds adding four blocks. Javion Blake added 13 points.
Washburn finished 21 of 36 from the free throw line while the Bearcats were 18 of 31 overall, but 5 of 14 in the second half. Washburn shot 40 percent in the game going 21 of 52 overall holding the Bearcats to 27 percent hitting only 7 of 26 shots in the second half, with five coming from 3-point range.
Scouting Washburn: Saturday's contest with the RiverHawks will be head coach Bob Chipman's final regular season contest for the Ichabods. Chipman who has 805 wins and is in his 38th year at Washburn will be retiring at the end of the season. Presently, he is chasing Eddie Sutton on the all-time coaching win list with 806. At home this season, Washburn is 8-4, and won their last two in a row at Lee Arena. Brady Skeens leads the Ichabods in scoring and is ranked 12th in the MIAA in scoring at 13.9 points per game. Skeens also leads the league in rebounds at 11 per game. The Ichabods are sixth in the nation in blocks at 5.5 per game and third in total blocks at 144 and Skeens is fourth in the nation with 3.4 blocks per game.
