Northeastern State vs. Pittsburg State Saturday, Dec. 11 |  3:30 p.m. | NSU Event Center
Records	Northeastern State (5-3, 0-2 MIAA) • Pittsburg State (2-7, 1-2 MIAA)
Game Notes	Northeastern State • Pittsburg State
Listen	Bill Huddleston (play-by-play) NSU Digital Network
Watch	The MIAA Network
Live Stats	NSU Live Stats
Tickets	Tickets Available at Gate | NSU Ticketing
Social Media	@RiverHawksMBB  | @RiverHawksMBB  | Facebook

The Setup

• The RiverHawks will look to rebound from back-to-back losses for the first time this season Saturday.
• Northeastern State is 3-0 at home this year and has won five straight inside the Event Center.
• Saturday is the only home game this month for the RiverHawks.

Last Time Out

• Northeastern State rallied from a 24 point deficit but ran out of time, trimming Missouri Western's lead down to five in the final seconds. 
• Rashad Perkins kept the RiverHawks alive with the team's first 40 point effort since 2014, shooting 15-for-19 on the floor.
• The RiverHawks shot the ball at 55.4-percent for the best effort since their season opener. 
• Missouri Western opened the game on a 13-1 run on the RiverHawks.

Storylines

• Emeka Obukwelu has scored at least ten points in the last six games, averaging just about a double-double per game, and is fourth overall in the MIAA, averaging 17.8 points per game.  The graduate student holds the fifth-largest points outing this season in the MIAA with 31 against Arlington Baptist and the highest rebounds in a game at 20 against Ozarks (Ark.).
• Rashad Perkins has turned into one of the top-scoring threats in the MIAA off the bench this season, averaging 14.3 points per game.  At Missouri Western, his 40 points were the most for an NSU men's basketball player since 2014 and tied for the most in the game this season in the MIAA.  Perkins is shooting 66.1-percent from the field and 52.4-percent from the arc, averaging 26.5 minutes per game this year.
• Christian Cook has seven games this with at least ten points and has scored in double-figures in the last four games for NSU.    He has scored at least ten in 12 of the previous 13 contests, going back to last season. 
• Tylor Arnold has two double-double games this season for NSU and is fourth in points (8.6), second in rebounding (5.9), and tied for third in overall assists (22). Arnold played for head coach Ja Havens for three seasons at East Central (Okla.) and was on the top-10 list for career minutes played, career steals, and career throw percentage.  
• Northeastern State men's basketball set an attendance record during Thanksgiving break, with 2,231 fans attending their game against Haskell.  The number is good for the sixth-most in NCAA Division II basketball this season. 
• The RiverHawks has made a three-pointer in 104 consecutive games.  Feb. 2, 2017 against Southwest Baptist is the last time NSU did not make a three going 0-16.
• 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 Pittsburg State

• Pitt State is 0-6 this season away from Pittsburg and has not won away from home since Jan. 30 at Rogers State nearly a year ago, a 16 game streak.   The Gorillas opened the season with five straight losses before winning back-to-back games against Baker (NAIA), and opening MIAA play with a win against Newman.
• The Gorillas were picked to finish in eighth place by the MIAA head coaches.
• From the field, the Gorillas are shooting 42.9-percent, which is 13th out of 14 MIAA teams, and they averaged 66.0 points per game, lowest in the MIAA, and ranked in the bottom 30 nationally. 
• Cameron Huefner is the lone Pitt State player to start in all nine games this season, and he leads the Gorillas with 5.2 rebounds per game and is second in points with 10.1. 
• Graduate transfer Iziah James leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game.

Last Time They Met

• Cold shooting in the first half and key turnovers were a fatal combination for NSU.
• Turnovers were the theme of the first half, where the RiverHawks committed 11, and adding on a cool shooting half spelled a bad combination through the first 20 minutes of play where they trailed 36-22. 
• Most of the damage was done after Pitt State scored 11 unanswered to break a 12-12 tie at the midway mark in the first half.

Series Notes

• Northeastern State has won once against the Gorillas in the previous 11 meetings.
• One of the oldest active series for NSU, second only to Central Oklahoma (1925).
• Dating back to 1969, Northeastern State is 11-5 when hosting Pittsburg State.  The Gorillas won 13 of the first 16 visits to NSU.
• Saturday is the first December meeting in Tahlequah between the programs since 2008 and 15th overall.