Men's Basketball | 2/26/2017 6:01:00 PM
The headline: Northeastern State closed out the regular season with a 69-50 loss at Washburn but qualified for the MIAA Tournament after a one-season absence.
The RiverHawks will be the 12-seed in the tournament but have a favorable match up on Monday where they will travel to Fort Hays State. In the regular season series, NSU split the home-and-home, winning 66-60 in Tahlequah, and falling in a close 73-66 contest in Hays, Kan.
Monday's winner will advance to the second-round which will be inside the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. on March 2 at 8:30 p.m. to face Missouri Southern who has a first round bye. The men's basketball game on Monday will be aired live on the radio on Billy Country 96.3 FM and on KTLQ-AM 1350 with
Scott Pettus on the call.
Karon Waller will be NSU's player to watch heading into their contest at FHSU. The Northeastern State senior has averaged just under 13-points a game in since facing the Tigers on the road seven contests ago.
NSU in the MIAA Tournament: Monday will be the RiverHawks' fourth MIAA appearance in the MIAA postseason in five years of league membership. Northeastern State has advanced to the semifinals once in 2014, and quarterfinals in 2013 under Larry Gipson. This will NSU's second postseason showing under head coach
Jason Tinsley who qualified in 2015 but eliminated out of the tournament by Pittsburg State, 69-54.
#12 Northeastern State (5-22) at #5 Fort Hays State (17-10)
Feb. 27, 2017 | 7 p.m. | Hays, Kan.
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio | Game Notes
The series with Fort Hays State: After splitting the regular season series, Northeastern State trails 6-5, and this will be the first meeting between the two programs in the MIAA Tournament, or in the postseason. The Tigers are 3-2 overall when hosting the RiverHawks. NSU last beat Fort Hays on the road 75-72 during the 2013-14 season.
NSU's last time against Fort Hays State: Northeastern State led from coast-to-coast and stunned Fort Hays State 66-60 on Feb. 16 at the NSU Event Center.
Tyler Williams paced the RiverHawks with a career night by having 17 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting.
Montre' Williams added 13 and
Trent Cantrell provided 11 points, along with four assists.
NSU's defensive effort paved the way to success on Thursday with 19 turnovers forced, the RiverHawks scored 28 points on turnovers, 18 more than Fort Hays State.
Erick Broadnax matched his career high in blocks with four and he also grabbed a career mark in steals with three.
Northeastern State out-shot FHSU from the field on 45.1-percent (23-51) shooting. The Tigers who saw a four game winning streak halted shot 38.6-percent (22-57) on their side of the floor. Fort Hays State did win the rebounding battle 40-to-26 as they will go to 15-9 and 9-7 in the MIAA.
The win also snapped a three game skid to Fort Hays State that dated back to a close 79-77 win on Feb. 28, 2015 at the NSU Event Center.
Last time out for Fort Hays State: The Fort Hays State men's basketball team secured a home game in the first round of the MIAA Tournament after holding off Southwest Baptist in the regular season finale Thursday evening (Feb. 23), 59-55.
The Tigers finish the regular season 17-10 overall and 11-8 in the MIAA, while SBU enters its final game Saturday 14-13 this season and 7-11 in league play. The Tigers will finish tied for fourth in the regular season standings, but an early loss to Missouri Southern gives the Lions the final bye to Kansas City.
Senior Rob Davis hit a three-pointer midway through the first half, giving the Detroit, Mich. native more than 2,000 points in his collegiate career.
Hadley Gillum led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, adding a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe and a career-high four steals. JaQuan Smith contributed 16 points and two blocks, finishing a rebound shy of a double-double. Davis scored 12 on the night, reaching double-figures for the 24th time this season.
Scouting Fort Hays State: The Tigers are centered around Rob Davis and with 21.9 points per game he is second in the MIAA in scoring and makes 46.4-percent of his three-point attempts which is best in the league. At home this season FHSU is 9-5 with their last appearance in Hays being a 101-88 loss to Nebraska-Kearney. On the defense, the Tigers hold teams to a 43.5 field goal percentage which is third lowest in the MIAA. At the arc, FHSU is second in the league with a 39.3-percentage.
