TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State heads into the middle portion of their three-game road trip with a date in Claremore, Okla. to face Rogers State Wednesday.

The RiverHawks will look to rebound following their third loss in MIAA play last week on the road at Emporia State (89-77). 

The Setup
- Ja Havens is in his fourth season as head men's basketball coach at Northeastern State and his eleventh season overall as a head coach. 
- The RiverHawks are in their 12th season as members of the MIAA and 27th season as an NCAA Division II program.  
- Two more matchups remain for the team in the calendar year following Wednesday. The road trip concludes with Washburn in Topeka, Kan. on Tuesday, Dec. 19 and the RiverHawks return to Tahlequah after Christmas for their non-conference finale against Ecclesia on Saturday, Dec. 30 

Storylines
- Northeastern State remains pursuing their first win of conference play and will look to avoid dropping their fourth straight to open conference action for the first time since the 2018-19 season. 
- The RiverHawks worked offensively through a variety of weapons last weekend in Emporia, as five players reached double-figures. 
- Trey Quartlebaum served as a guiding force behind the team's offensive efforts last Saturday. Playing in all 40 minutes, the graduate student netted his second consecutive 19-point outing with an 8-of-16 shooting night. Quartlebaum is second on the team in scoring (13.0 PPG) with one month of the season in the books and has logged five double-figures performances. 
- Caison Hartloff hit the hardwood after a week away from action in the matchup with the Hornets, coming off the bench to score a career-high 16 points on five-of-six shooting. Hartloff connected on four triples, as well.
- The young duo of Seth Pratt and Ethan Blackmon continued their strong starts to their collegiate careers with solid performances on Saturday. Pratt received his third straight start and saw 29 minutes of work, providing five points on two-of-three shooting with three rebounds and three assists, while Blackmon reached double-figures for the fifth time this season and for a third straight matchup with 15, finishing third in scoring among all NSU players that night.
- Frequency of shots proved to be a key factor in the loss to ESU. Despite having a more efficient shooting night both from the floor (51.8% to 50.0%) and at the free throw line (78.6% to 77.3%) compared to their opponents, ESU logged ten more attempts overall and eight more at the free throw line to ultimately secure more conversions in both areas of the offensive attack. 
- The RiverHawks have won the battle on the glass in their last two contests. Jaxon Jones paced all NSU players on Saturday with seven against the Hornets, while Trey Quartlebaum and Ethan Blackmon grabbed nine boards apiece against Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 2 in the NSU Event Center. 
- After last weekend's action, NSU ranks in the top 50 nationally in fouls per game (10th, 13.5), assist/turnover ratio (20th, 1.46), assists per game (21st, 17.8) and free throw percentage (28th, 77.1%). 

Northeastern State at Rogers State // December 13 at 7:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Rogers State (3-4, 2-2 MIAA)
- After winning two straight to start conference action against Nebraska-Kearney (79-68) and Fort Hays State (76-63), Rogers State enters Wednesday with consecutive MIAA losses to Emporia State (85-74) and Washburn (93-71). 
- Justin Barkley is in his 14th season as the head men's basketball coach at RSU. Barkley has won over 250 games at the helm and guided the Hillcats to their first NCAA tournament bid in the 2019-20 season. Notably, Barkley is an NSU alum that was a member of the 2003 Divsion II National Championship team. 
- The Hillcats have had an efficient display of shooting the basketball so far this season, ranking in the nation's top 30 in field goal percentage (49.9%), a total that also sits second among MIAA teams.
- Rodney Battle leads the team in scoring (15.4 PPG) and is tied for the sixth-best free throw shooting percentage in DII basketball (95.7%). 

Last Time They Met
Rogers State 78, Northeastern State 67 | Feb. 4, 2023 | Claremore, Okla.

- A +11 second half for the hosts helped in driving the Hillcats to the win. 
- The loss ended a four-game winning streak for NSU against RSU. 
- Tylor Arnold shot 7-of-13 and knocked down four three-point shots to score a career-best 26 points in the loss.

Series Notes
- NSU leads the all-time series 11-9. 
- NSU has won five of the last seven. 
- One of the older opponents across program history, the start of the series dates back to 1938. After meeting six times over the next seven years, the teams wouldn't face off again until 2008 amid a 63-year hiatus. The Hillcats have since served as annual opponents for the RiverHawks since 2015. 

Coming Up
Northeastern State concludes their road trip Tuesday, Dec. 19 with Washburn in Topeka, Kan. at 7:30 p.m.