TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State closes out a three-game road trip with its shortest MIAA trek of the year to Claremore to face Rogers State Saturday. 

The RiverHawks (10-9, 7-8 MIAA) played with a limited squad size of eight in two losses one week ago at Emporia State and Washburn.  Northeastern State held the lead at the half against Emporia State before surrendering the lead in the game's final ten minutes.  At Washburn, NSU trailed the majority of the game but closed the gap to a possession in the final minutes. 

Like the RiverHawks, Rogers State (11-10, 7-8 MIAA) lost both its games last week at Emporia State and Washburn.  Being at home has been a strength for RSU this season, and inside the Claremore Expo Center, the Hillcats are 8-2.  Joey Saracco leads the Hillcats with 14.5 points per game and had a double-double against NSU earlier this year. 

Christian Cook is fifth in the MIAA in scoring with 17.2 points per game and has landed 875 points in 67 games.   Dillon Bailey has scored at least ten points in ten of the last 11 games and is ninth in the MIAA, averaging 14.8 points per game.  Rashad Perkins has averaged 15.5 points in the previous four games and has shot 43.2 percent from the field.   The RiverHawks are sixth nationally, shooting 40.9 percent from the arc this season. 

The meeting will be the eighth between a pair of NSU men's basketball alums in, head coaches Ja Havens and Justin Barkley.  Havens has gotten the best of RSU in the last four tilts between the two programs.   The RiverHawks controlled the opening meeting 78-57 in Tahlequah; the NSU win was the largest margin of victory for either team in the series. 

Rogers State leads the overall series 8-5 over NSU, and in Claremore, they are 4-2. 

Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m. fans can watch the game online on The MIAA Network at TheMIAANetwork.com/nsugoriverhawks.