Northeastern State vs. Missouri Southern Tuesday, Jan. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | NSU Event Center
Records	Northeastern State (8-7, 3-6 MIAA) • Missouri Southern (7-4, 4-1 MIAA)
Game Notes	Northeastern State • Missouri Southern
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

• Northeastern State opens a scheduled four game homestand Tuesday with Missouri Southern looking to kick their road woes aside.  This season, the RiverHawks are 5-1 at home and 3-6 away from Tahlequah. 
• Both head coaches will be looking for career win 145 on Tuesday evening. 

Last Time Out

at Newman 75, Northeastern State 66 | Jan. 8, 2022 | Wichita, Kan.

• Turnovers and ten Newman three-pointers handed the RiverHawks a tough 75-66 road setback Saturday evening.
• Emeka Obukwelu turned in his third double-double of the season with ten points and 20 rebounds.  Christian Cook recorded his seventh career 20 point performance with a team-high 20 points. 
• The contest featured 12 lead changes and five ties, with the RiverHawks leading as many as nine with 9:32 left in the first half.   Northeastern State committed 18 turnovers which Newman cashed in for a 15-to-7 scoring advantage.   
• Northeastern State shot 50.9-percent (29-57) from the field and was 4-14 from the arc.  The Jets were 45.2-percent on their side of the court.

Storylines

• Emeka Obukwelu has scored at least ten points in the last 13 games and is seventh overall in the MIAA, averaging 16.6 points per game.  Nationally speaking, Obukwelu is among the top-100 in six statistical categories.  He is the only player in the Division II men's basketball with a pair of 20 rebound games this season, and is second in the MIAA with 9.3 boards per outing.  
• Rashad Perkins has turned into one of the top scoring threats in the MIAA off the bench this season, averaging 13.7 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 has been sent to the line 69 times, which is fifth most in the MIAA.
• Christian Cook has scored in double-figures in the last 11 games for NSU, and has scored over 20 in four of the last six games.  He has scored at least ten in 19 of the previous 20 contests, going back to last season.  In his short career at NSU so far, Cook has 413 points scored in 36 games.
• Tylor Arnold has two double-double games this season for NSU and is fourth in points (8.1), second in rebounding (5.7), and third in overall assists (40). 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 ninth-most in NCAA Division II basketball this season. 
• The RiverHawks has made a three-pointer in 111 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 Missouri Southern

• Due to COVID protocols for Missouri Southern and later within Pittsburg State, the Lions have not played since Dec. 18 with three games being postponed to a later date.
• R.J. Smith leads the Lions in scoring with 20.5 points per game but has been absent from the floor since Nov. 20, 2021, against Truman State.  Stan Scott has paced the Lions in MIAA play, averaging 16.5 points per game, and is 15th nationally with 2.54 steals per game.
• MIAA leader so far with 11.3 offensive rebounds per game.  Despite this, the Lions have won second-chance points in five of their 12 games and are 3-2 when they lead that stat line.  Overall, Missouri Southern averages 9.75 second-chance points per game.
• Missouri Southern allows 77.5 points per game, second highest in the MIAA this season with teams shooting 45.7-percent, good for 12th best out of 14 among Association programs. 

Last Time They Met

Missouri Southern 100, Northeastern State 83 | Jan. 30, 2021 | Tahlequah

• Northeastern State battled back from down 12 points to take the lead with 7:07 remaining in the second half but Missouri Southern closed the contest on a 24-6 run and was a perfect 8-8. 
• NSU splashed in six 3-pointers and shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. It could not sustain the effort in the second half shooting 38.9 percent and 2-15 from beyond the 3-point line while MSSU continued to find the bottom of the net.

Series Notes

Northeastern State trails 19-25 | 14-4 at home | 5-18 in Joplin | 0-3 neutral 

• The last four out of five regular season meetings have been decided within six points. 
• Northeastern State has not lost back-to-back home games to the Lions. 
• After winning 20 straight games to open the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.  Northeastern State handed the Lions its first loss on their current home court in the Nov. 28, 2000 meeting (63-55).  Current NSU head coach Ja Havens was a graduate assistant in that win. 
• Havens earned his first win as head coach at NSU against Missouri Southern (90-89 at Missouri Southern on Dec. 3, 2020)