TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State men's basketball closes out its non-conference slate following the Thanksgiving holiday hosting Haskell Indian Nations Friday evening and then the University of the Ozarks.
Both games will count on the RiverHawks win-loss record while it is counted as an exhibition for NSU's foes this week. Outside of the opening bucket against Arlington Baptist, Northeastern State has led in the last 79 minutes played.
On Friday evening, Northeastern State will wear Nike's N7 Warmup Gear with RiverHawks in Cherokee syllabary. All general admission seats to the contest against Haskell will be free of charge.
The Setup
- Going back to the final five games of last season, Northeastern State is 6-3.
- The RiverHawks have won their last three games inside the NSU Event Center.
- One season ago, the RiverHawks started their season over the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Head Coach Ja Havens has not faced either Haskell or Ozarks.
Storylines
- Northeastern State has started the season with a 3-1 record in three of the last four seasons.
- Brad Davis is the RiverHawks' longest-tenured player on their roster and has played in 45 games. Between NSU and two seasons at Eastern Okla. CC, the native of Red Oak, has1,262 career points scored.
- Christian Cook has scored at-least ten points in eight of the last nine games and is averaging 15.3 points per game this season.
- Emeka Obukwelu is a graduate transfer from the University of Arkansas, where he played for two seasons for the Razorbacks. He transferred from Texas-Tyler, where he was Selected to the Small College Basketball Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award of 2018. Obukwelu is averaging nearly a double-double in four games this season with 19.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 55.7-perent from the field.
- Graduate transfer Tylor Arnold played for Head Coach Ja Havens for three seasons at East Central (Okla.) and was on the top-10 list for career minutes, career steals, and career throw percentage. Arnold has recorded two double-doubles for NSU this season averaging 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
- Rashad Perkins is leading the RiverHawks off the bench averaging 12.3 points per game this season in 24.8 minutes per game.
- Northeastern State has brothers Jake Gendron and Ryan Gendron on their roster. Jake was a 2021 All-State selection out of Bishop Kelley HS where he played for Jordan Nagel, a Northeastern State alumnus. Ryan is a transfer from the University of Tulsa, where he was a member of the men's basketball program (2019-21). He attended Oklahoma State on a baseball scholarship and redshirted the 2019 season.
- Local Tahlequah product Jaxon Jones is in his second season at NSU and was limited to three games last season after suffering a season-ending injury on New Year's Eve. Jones has played in all four games this season shooting 5-for-15 from the arc and averaging 4.8 points per game.
- In October, Northeastern State was picked to finish in 13th place in both the MIAA Coaches and Media Polls.
- The 2021-22 season is the 93rd for men's basketball at Northeastern State.
- The RiverHawks are entering their tenth season as members of the MIAA and 25th season as an NCAA Division II program.
About Haskell Indian Nations
- Haskell lost five of their last six games, with their lone win against Bacone on Nov. 13 (80-71). They also played Oral Roberts in an exhibition during that span and lost to the Golden Eagles, 89-46.
- NSU is the final NCAA program they will see this season.
- On the road so far, Haskell is 0-3.
- Stats have been reported in six games this season for Haskell, where they are averaging 62.0 points per game and shooting 33.6-percent from the field.
- Xavier Littlehead leads Haskell in scoring with 14.7 points per game and has 5.8 rebounds per game
Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 79, Haskell 53 | Jan. 7, 2008 | Tahlequah, Okla.
- Northeastern State shot 56.7-percent in Jack Dobbins Field House and led by as many as 28 points.
- Aaron Arango shot 10-for-15 and had 23 points.
Series Notes
- Northeastern State is 2-0 against Haskell.
- Only other known meeting is on Dec. 16, 2006 (NSU won 79-57).
About Ozarks (Ark.)
- Led by Red Oak's Grayson Nix who was named American Southwest Conference player of the week after scoring 37 points against Austin College. Nix and Brad Davis played high school basketball together at Red Oak, and both went to Eastern Oklahoma College.
- Lost 90-33 to UA-Fort Smith in their lone game against an NCAA Division II program.
- Opened the season with four straight losses.
- Ozarks (Ark.) went 10-3 last season, winning the ASC Tournament Championship for the first time. Due to COVID-19, the NCAA Division III Championships were not played.
- Coached by Travis Carruthers, who is in his fifth season at the University of the Ozarks.
Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 103, Ozarks (Ark.) 83 | Dec. 4, 1996 | Clarksville, Ark.
Series Notes
- First meeting in Tahlequah since Nov. 29, 1996, Northeastern State won that meeting 86-84.
- The overall series history is a best guess due to older record books not defining Ozarks (Ark.) and Ozarks (Mo.). Northeastern State should have a 28-15 series lead over the Eagles.
