TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State heads into the second week of the regular season with continued non-conference action, hosting Haskell on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. before making the trek to the Lone Star state to face Texas-Tyler on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.

Wednesday's matchup against Haskell is Nike N7 Indigenous Peoples' Night, sponsored by the Cherokee Nation, at the NSU Event Center. All tribal citizens with a CDIB or tribal ID card will receive free admission. At 5 p.m. there will be a free and open to the public beans and cornbread meal in the NSU Event Center Community Room sponsored by The Muscogee Nation. 

The RiverHawks enter the week coming off of two matchups to start the season against Northwestern Oklahoma State and Mary. After taking a commanding 73-52 win against the Rangers on Friday, the RiverHawks were dealt their first defeat of the campaign by Mary due to a buzzer-beating deuce from the Marauders in a 63-61 outcome. 

The Setup
- Ja Havens is in his fourth season as the head men's basketball coach at Northeastern State and his eleventh season overall as a head coach. Last Friday's win over NWOSU was his 165th of his head coaching career. 
- The RiverHawks are in their 12th season as members of the MIAA and 27th season as an NCAA Division II program.  
- This week marks the middle third of NSU's six-game non-conference schedule, as they face Ozarks (Ark.) in Tahlequah on Monday, Nov. 20 and will do battle with Ecclesia in the NSU Event Center for their non-conference finale on Dec. 30. 

Storylines
- The RiverHawks enter the week looking to bounce back after a close loss against Mary on Saturday. Under Coach Havens, NSU has never lost consecutive non-conference games. 
- Trey Quartlebaum had an NSU debut to remember last Friday. The product of Lawrence, Kan. led the team in scoring with 21 points in their season-opening win over the Rangers, shooting six-of-ten from the floor and eight-of-ten at the line alongside five boards. 
- In his first start as a RiverHawk, Anthony Allen contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds against Northwestern Oklahoma Friday night. The former Broken Arrow Tiger fell three blocks short of a triple-double, swatting seven shots on the evening. Allen put together another strong showing on the defensive side the next night against Mary, blocking three attempts. 
- Freshman Ethan Blackmon has made an immediate impact. After scoring seven with six boards in his collegiate debut against the Rangers, Blackmon was NSU's top offensive producer on Saturday against the Marauders. Shooting nine-of-13 for the matchup, he tallied 18 with nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
- Jaxon Jones was there to lend a helping hand on a consistent basis last week, leading the team with ten assists across two games. The Tahlequah product also tied for the team lead in made three-pointers, netting three to match Caison Hartloff's opening week total.
- With a made jumper almost 90 seconds into last Friday's contest with Northwestern Oklahoma, Marcus Scott V scored his 1,200th career point over his collegiate career. Prior to coming to Northeastern State, Scott was one of the top sharpshooters at Savannah State and Central State, averaging over 14 points per game and connecting on 219 three-pointers in his time before Tahlequah.
- Converted three-point shots weren't a frequent sight against the NSU defense last week. Over the course of the Central Region Classic's two games, opposing offenses combined for just six-of-31 shooting from deep, highlighted by an 0-for-14 performance from NWOSU Friday night. 
- The RiverHawks welcome eight newcomers to this year's squad, consisting of five freshmen and three transfers. Every transfer saw at least 36 minutes across the season's first two games. 

Northeastern State vs. Haskell // November 15 at 8:00 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Haskell (1-5)
- The Fightin' Indians enter the week after claiming their first win of the season last Saturday against Bacone (94-79).
- Matthew Downing is in his eighth season at Haskell. Downing has over 20 years of coaching experience across various institutions and levels. 
- Bansi King has started all six games for the Fightin' Indians and averages 14.3 points per game. Minimizing his trips to the charity stripe would be ideal for the RiverHawks, as he has shot 16-of-17 at the line so far. 
- This is the only game of the week for the Fightin' Indians. Next week, they return to NAIA competition, facing Friends (Kan.) in Wichita, Kan. on Nov. 21 and Midland (Neb.) in Fremont, Neb. on Nov. 25. 

Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 99, Haskell 65 | Nov. 25, 2022 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- The RiverHawks shot 59% from the floor (36-of-61) and 51.7% from long distance (15-of-29) to nearly hit the century mark and soar to a dominant win.
- Four players hit double figures, highlighted by Dillon Bailey's 30 points over the game. 
- Jaxon Jones will look to replicate last year's strong showing, as he scored 14, grabbed six rebounds, and provided five assists in the win. Jones landed four of his seven attempts from downtown and five of his eight overall. 

Series Notes
- The RiverHawks hold a 4-0 series lead, winning all four of the previous clashes by at least 22. 
- NSU's offense has found lots of openings over the series history, averaging 89 points per game against the Fightin' Indians. 
- The Fightin' Indians have been a common non-conference opponent during the Havens era, as this will be their third meeting in as many seasons. 

Northeastern State at Texas-Tyler // November 18 at 3:00 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Texas-Tyler (0-1)
- The Patriots enter the week after a close 59-57 loss to Western Colorado in their season opener. Three players hit double figures, led by Jonathan Jackson's 16 points on a six-of-ten shooting day that included four made threes. 
- Coming off a nine-win 2022-23 season, Texas-Tyler was picked to finish 15th in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) this year. 
- Head men's basketball coach Tim Moser is in his first season at the helm. The fifth head coach in the program's history, Moser spent the previous two seasons as the associate head coach for the women's basketball team at the university. He enters the campaign with a 511-173 record as a head coach, with Moser-led teams being winners of 13 conference championships across his career.
- Saturday opens a three-game homestand that includes upcoming battles against Dallas Christian (Nov. 20) and Arkansas Tech (Nov. 22). 

Last Time They Met
Texas-Tyler 71, Northeastern State 67 | Nov. 19, 2022 | Tahlequah, Okla. 

- After getting behind by as much as 11 in the second half (7:24), the RiverHawks made a valiant comeback bid, bringing the ballgame to two points with just under four minutes to play. The Patriots were able to hold off the NSU offensive attack the rest of the way to take a four-point win. 
- Dillon Bailey led NSU's offensive efforts with 22 points. Bailey logged six made field goals alongside eight converted free throw attempts. 
- The Patriots found the majority of their points off the bench, with 39 coming from players outside of their starting five. 

Series Notes
- Last season's meeting was the first between the teams. 

Coming Up
The RiverHawks get their final taste of non-conference action before MIAA play when they face Ozarks (Ark.) on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. in the NSU Event Center.