Game #7
Northeastern State (1-5 MIAA) vs. #1 Northwest Missouri (3-0 MIAA)
Thursday, December 31 at 1 p.m. | Tahlequah, Okla. - NSU Event Center

Game Coverage	goriverhawksgo.com/coverage.aspx
COVID-19 Protocols	NSU Guidelines
NSU Game Notes	Game Notes
NW Game Notes	Game Notes
Live Audio	NSU Digital Network
Live Video	The MIAA Network

Opening Tip 

• The final game for 2020 for both teams was intended to be the season opener, which was to be on Nov. 19 in Tahlequah.   Due to the postponement,  Thursday will be the third straight year NSU will come out of Winter Break to face Northwest. 
• For nine NSU student-athletes, it will be the first time that they will face Northwest.   Troy Locke is the leading returner to face the Bearcats and scored 11 points off the NSU bench.  Brad Davis was injured in last season's meeting and did not play. 
• After beating then ranked #21, Missouri Southern, on the road, the RiverHawks are trying to halt a four-game skid.
• NSU is looking for a starting combination and has gone with a different group in all six games this season.
• Thursday's game in the lone MIAA men's basketball contest.  Pitt State is in action but playing an exhibition against Baker College.
• Within the NCAA Central Region, the MIAA is the only one playing at the moment of the three conferences.  Both the Northeastern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Great American Conference will not start play until Jan. 2021.  
• The MIAA Coaches voted the RiverHawks to finish in 13th this season.  

NSU individual player notes are on page one of the game notes.

NSU's last five against Northwest Missouri
1/4/20    L, 65-76 (A)
1/3/19    L, 70-105 (H)
11/30/17    L, 56-99 (A)
12/17/16    L, 63-96 (H)
2/13/16    L, 66-73 (H)

The Series with Northwest Missouri 

• The RiverHawks are 0-4 in Tahlequah when facing the Bearcats and 0-2 inside the Event Center.
• Northeastern State's lone win in the series came in the 2000 NCAA Tournament (60-56).
• Fifth straight meeting with Northwest ranked in the top-2 nationally.
• Head Coach Ja Havens has not faced Northwest Missouri previously.    Havens was a graduate assistant at NSU during the 2000 and 2001 meetings.  As an assistant at Drury, Havens is 2-0 against Northwest Missouri.

About the Bearcats

• Northwest has been idle since Dec. 5 due to COVID-19 protocols and the winter break that followed. 
• Ranked number one nationally in the latest NABC Coaches' Poll, and it is the 37th time they held the top ranking in school history. 
• The Bearcats presently hold a 26 game winning streak, which is the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division II men's basketball.  Lincoln Memorial currently sits on top with a 37 game winning streak.  Northwest's last loss came to Central Missouri on Dec. 7, 2019 (72-60) in Warrensburg, and they are 72-1 since falling in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
• Ryan Hawkins and Trevor Hudgins have been named MIAA Athlete of the Week.  Hawkins has averaged 23.7 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, while Hudgins is averaging 21.3 points each game.
• Hudgins is the reigning MIAA Player of the Year in men's basketball; he was a First Time D2CCA All-American.
• Northwest Head Coach Ben McCollum was the 2020 NABC Division II Coach of the Year.

Looking Back

• The RiverHawks dug themselves out of a 37-30 halftime deficit at Nebraska Kearney but faded late. 
• Rebounding proved to be an Achilles' heel for the RiverHawks, and they were out-paced by UNK 36-to-24.  
• The RiverHawks had nine of their ten suited players scoring with four in double-digits.  Obi Agu, Daniel Dotson, and Troy Locke all had 11 points to lead the team.  Brad Davis had ten, and Trey Sampson scored nine. 
• Second consecutive double-digit game for Locke, who made his first start of the season.