Northeastern State at Newman Saturday, Jan. 8 | 3:30 p.m. | Fugate Gymnasium
Records	Northeastern State (8-6, 3-5 MIAA) • Newman (3-10, 0-8 MIAA)
Game Notes	Northeastern State • Newman
Listen	Bill Huddleston (play-by-play) NSU Digital Network
Watch	The MIAA Network
Live Stats	NSU Live Stats
Tickets	Tickets Available at Gate | Newman Ticketing
Social Media	@RiverHawksMBB  | @RiverHawksMBB  | Facebook

The Setup

• The RiverHawks will make their fourth trek to face Newman Saturday afternoon in Wichita.  On Thursday evening, both teams suffered setbacks, with Northeastern State looking to its third consecutive MIAA weekly split of games.

Last Time Out

Central Oklahoma 80, Northeastern State 65 | Jan. 6, 2022 | Edmond, Okla.

• Northeastern State couldn't carry the momentum of a hot finish to the first half and dropped an 80-65 contest to rivals Central Oklahoma Thursday evening in Hamilton Field House. 
• Northeastern State would commit 18 turnovers which UCO cashed in for 23 points.  The RiverHawks finished the night as the better shooting team overall, edging UCO with 49.0-percent to their 48.3-percent.  Central had 11 extra possessions, thanks to the NSU miscues. 
• Christian Cook turned in his sixth career 20-point game with 20 to lead NSU.  Rashad Perkins scored 19 off the bench, and Emeka Obukwelu was a rebound short of a double-double with nine boards and 16 points.

Storylines

• Emeka Obukwelu has scored at least ten points in the last 12 games and is sixth overall in the MIAA, averaging 17.2 points per game.  Nationally speaking, Obukwelu is among the top-100 in six statistical categories.  The graduate student holds the sixth-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 14.1 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 67 times, which is third most in the MIAA.
• Christian Cook has scored in double-figures in the last ten games for NSU, and has scored over 20 in three of the last five games.    He has scored at least ten in 18 of the previous 19 contests, going back to last season. 
• Tylor Arnold has two double-double games this season for NSU and is fourth in points (8.7), second in rebounding (6.1), and tied for first 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 110 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 Newman

• This season, the Jets are winless against NCAA competition, with their eight-game skid being all MIAA setbacks.  When playing teams out of the MIAA, Newman is being out-scored by 14 a game.   
• Israel Barnes has accounted for one-third of the Jets offense with 21.6 points per game against MIAA foes which land him third overall among association scorers.  Barnes is a Wichita native, playing two seasons at Weber State; he transferred to Texas-Permian Basin for the 2020-21 season but did not play.  He missed the first four games of the season and three in December. 
• True-freshman Stevie Strong has five 20-point games this season, averaging 14.6 points per game.  Strong was Missouri's 3A Player of the Year and is ranked 11th nationally, sinking 93.3-percent of his free throws this season.
• Newman is last in the MIAA, shooting 39.7-percent from the field, bottom 20 nationally.

Last Time They Met

Newman 74, Northeastern State 66 | Feb. 18, 2021 | Wichita, Kan.

•  In a night that featured 12 ties, Newman finished on a 13-1 run to down Northeastern State.
• The contest opened a marathon finish to the regular season, with the RiverHawks playing six games in ten days. 
• The Jets missed their first 11 three-pointers of the night but made them when they counted, making three of their final four.  Newman's final trey with 51 seconds remaining proved to be the dagger for the RiverHawks, with the Jets breaking a 66-66 tie. 

Series Notes

Northeastern State leads  7-2 | 1-2 in Wichita | 6-0 in Tahlequah | 0-0 neutral 

• Among MIAA programs, Newman has one of the shorter histories with the NSU men's basketball program.
• NSU has played neutral site contests hosted by Newman in 1984 and 1985 where they went 2-2. One of those contests was against current MIAA foe Fort Hays State.
• In Tahlequah, Northeastern State is 6-0 when facing the Jets.