Northeastern State vs. Lincoln  Saturday, Jan. 22 | 3:30 p.m. | NSU Event Center
Records	Northeastern State (8-9, 3-8 MIAA) • Lincoln (1-12, 0-8 MIAA)
Game Notes	Northeastern State • Lincoln
Listen	Nick Hampton (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 closes out its two-week homestand Saturday afternoon, hosting the Blue Tigers for the sixth time.  Both teams come into the contest looking to halt losing skids, with Lincoln dropping its last eight and NSU at four.

Last Time Out

Central Missouri 82, at Northeastern State 78 | Jan. 20, 2022 | Tahlequah

• Christian Cook's career night wasn't enough as a RiverHawks' rally came up short in the final minutes Thursday night in an 82-78 loss to Central Missouri.
• Central Missouri opened the contest with ten unanswered points, and it took until the second half for Northeastern State to turn things around using a 23-10 run out of the locker room to take a 55-46 advantage with 11:33 remaining. 
• The Mules' Gaven Pinkley took over the game though, scoring 26 of his 34 points carrying his team to the win.  In the final 3:58, Central Missouri held an 11-2 run, with the RiverHawks missing their last five buckets.
• For the first time this season, Cook came off the bench and was 9-for-15 with 29 points.  Emeka Obukwelu had 19 and six rebounds.   Tylor Arnold scored ten, with Ryan Gendron leading the team with seven rebounds. 

Storylines

• Emeka Obukwelu has scored at least ten points in the last 15 games and is seventh overall in the MIAA, averaging 16.9 points per game.  Nationally speaking, Obukwelu is among the top-100 in eight 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 8.2 boards per outing.  
• Rashad Perkins has turned into one of the top scoring threats in the MIAA off the bench this season, averaging 13.3 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 has been sent to the line 78 times, which is sixth most in the MIAA.
• Christian Cook has scored in double-figures in the last 13 games for NSU.  He has scored at least ten in 21 of the previous 22 contests, going back to last season.  In his short career at NSU so far, Cook has 453 points scored in 37 games.
• Tylor Arnold has two double-double games this season for NSU and is fourth in points (8.2), second in rebounding (5.6), and tied for first in overall assists (48). 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 113 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 Lincoln

• Lincoln comes into Saturday's contest with the RiverHawks on an eight game skid and has lost all 12 games this season against NCAA Division II programs.  In MIAA play this season, the Blue Tigers are getting outscored by 15 and averaging 63.1 points per game. 
• Ed Wilson was LU's team's top assistant coach, helping the program achieve six-straight postseason appearances.
• Lincoln is third-worst in the nation at the free throw line, holding a 59.8-percentage.
• Destan Williams is sixth in the MIAA with 3.6 assists per game and averages 8.2 points.
• Ni'Sean Rigmaiden and Derrick Woods pace Lincoln in scoring with nine points per game.  Tre'vion Crawford averaged ten but hasn't played since Dec. 18. 

Last Time They Met

at Lincoln 91, Northeastern State 76 | Jan. 23, 2021 | Jefferson City

• The Northeastern State RiverHawks were 10-24 from 3-point distance for the game but a hot shooting Lincoln Blue Tiger run was too much to overcome in a 91-76 loss to close out the Missouri road trip.
• Coming out of the locker room from halftime NSU was cold from the floor while the Blue Tigers shot 66.7 percent outscoring the RiverHawks 15-4.
• The RiverHawks, as a collective group, shot well at 49.1 percent, 10-24 from 3-point range and made a season-best 83.3 percent of their attempts at the free throw stripe.
• The Blue Tigers won the battle of the boards by 11 and had 20 fast break points.

Series Notes

Northeastern State leads 7-6 | 3-2 at home | 3-4 in Jefferson City | 1-0 neutral 

• Lincoln handed the Northeastern State its first loss following its 2003 National Championship.
• In 13 meetings, Northeastern State has averaged 72.23 points against Lincoln.
• The home team has won the previous two meetings. 
• In MIAA play the series is even at 5-5.