TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State heads back to Tahlequah for a pair of games in the NSU Event Center this week.

The RiverHawks are set to clash with Central Missouri (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) followed by Lincoln (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.) nearly a week removed from taking their first MIAA win of the season last Saturday in Wichita at Newman (74-68).

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. 
- The RiverHawks are in their 12th season as members of the MIAA and 27th season as an NCAA Division II program.  
- This week's home games are their last in January. They return to the NSU Event Center for their longest homestand in MIAA play with three contests on deck against Emporia State (Feb. 1), Washburn (Feb. 3) and Rogers State (Feb. 10).

Storylines
- Northeastern State secured a win last week in Wichita over Newman largely thanks to much-improved work on the glass, taking a +9 advantage in rebounding over the Jets (36-to-27) and limiting their opponents to just four second-chance points. 
- The RiverHawks head into this week's two-game homestand with momentum on their side offensively after having their most efficient shooting performance against an MIAA opponent this season last Saturday against Newman, shooting 29-of-53 (54.7%). 
- Anthony Allen has continued to be a force in conference action with a pair of solid scoring performances last week. Entering double figures in games at Central Oklahoma and Newman, the team's leading scorer (14.9 PPG) has now scored at least ten in his last five games and in 12 on the season. 
- Trey Quartlebaum joined Allen in double figures in both games last week and ranks as the team's second-leading scorer (11.9 points per game) and inside the top 100 nationally in minutes per game (77th, 34:08 per game). 
- Jaxon Jones enters the week inside the nation's top ten in assists (t-9th, 86) and assists per game (t-9th, 5.7). 
- Seth Pratt continued to make valuable contributions inside the RiverHawk starting five, as the true freshman became the first NSU player to grab at least ten rebounds on the 2024 side of the campaign in last week's contest against Central Oklahoma, corralling ten misses alongside nine points for a near-double-double. 
- The RiverHawks will seek to make opposing turnovers more frequent as the second half of conference action draws near. MIAA opponents have yet to turn the basketball over more than 11 times against Northeastern State this season, with seven of the team's nine foes having fewer than ten. Across the Havens era, NSU is 3-20 when forcing less than ten turnovers.  
- With Lincoln set to exit the MIAA following the conclusion of the season for the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), Saturday will mark the final conference meeting in Tahlequah between the two teams. 

Northeastern State vs. Central Missouri // January 18 at 7:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Central Missouri (8-6, 3-5 MIAA)
- Despite dropping their first five games in league ball, the Mules have won their last three against MIAA opponents. 
- Adam Bohac is in his first season as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Central Missouri after spending 15 seasons in the same role at Southern Nazarene, where he won 312 games and led the program in their transition from the NAIA ranks to NCAA Division II level. Bohac's final campaign from his decade-and-a-half tenure in Bethany with SNU saw the Crimson Storm win 27 games, including 21 in Great American Conference play, and a deep postseason run that ended in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship game. 
- Caleb Nero (13.2 PPG) leads the team in scoring, though Jalen Knott and Keith Kiner III have been guiding forces behind the team's recent winning streak. Knott is averaging 16.7 PPG over the team's last three games and Kiner III provided a 32-point performance in their win over Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 6 before hitting double figures again with 13 in their triumph against Emporia State on Jan. 13. 
- Despite ranking at the bottom of the conference in scoring (66.0 PPG), the defense has been stout for UCM, as the Mules hold the third-best scoring defense in the league (64.1 PPG). 

Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 86, Central Missouri 47 | Feb. 25, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- The RiverHawks attacked early and often on the offensive end while having an easy time keeping the Mules at bay, taking a 43-14 lead at the half and putting the visitors in a position to not even provide a challenge in the closing period. 
- Five NSU players reached double figures, highlighted by a 28-point offensive showing from Dillon Bailey. Bailey's strong performance was led by his work from outside the arc, where he struck on six of his nine long attempts.
- The win secured NSU a spot in the 2023 MIAA tournament, while shutting UCM out of the league's postseason bracket. 

Series Notes
- The series is even at seven games.
- NSU has claimed the last three and five of the last seven.
- The RiverHawks have built separation before the final horn against the Mules across recent history, with their last five wins against UCM being decided by at least 11 points. Meanwhile, the Mules have not won by double digits over NSU since Feb. 4, 2017. 

Northeastern State vs. Lincoln  // January 20 at 3:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Lincoln (10-5, 5-4 MIAA)
- Lincoln enters the week with an even 2-2 record in 2024, most recently taking a win in last week's play in Jefferson City, Mo. against Emporia State (71-63) on Jan. 11 before taking a loss to round out the brief homestand against Washburn (70-69) on Jan. 13.
- Prior to facing the RiverHawks on Saturday, the Blue Tigers go on the road to battle Rogers State on Thursday.
- Jimmy Drew is in his second season as the head men's basketball coach at Lincoln University of Missouri. Drew engineered the second-biggest turnaround in NCAA Division II basketball last season when he guided a program that won just four games in 2021-22 to a 17-win campaign in 2022-23. The efforts of the Drew-led Blue Tigers culminated in a berth in the MIAA tournament, their first appearance in the conference's postseason since the 2019-20 season. Drew previously spent six seasons as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations at Central Florida (2016-22) following a year as the head coach of Victory Rock Prep (2014-15) and a season as an assistant at Kentucky Wesleyan (2013-14). 
- D.J. Richardson enters as one of the league's best offensive weapons, averaging 16.6 PPG. Richardson has reached double figures in 12 games across the season, as well as his last seven. On Jan. 11, Richardson scored a season-best 29 to play a large role in the team's win over ESU. 

Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 73, Lincoln 69 | Feb. 23, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- After a strong first half, finishing with NSU's biggest lead of the day at 19 points (44-25), LU emerged from the break and went on a 30-10 run over the game's next 9:54 to take a one-point lead (55-54). A back-and-forth last quarter of play followed, but the RiverHawks gained the edge thanks in large part to a 12-6 run over the game's last 4:47 to seal the victory.
- Four players reached double figures in the win for the hosting team, as Obi Agu and Rashad Perkins led the way with 16 points each.
- Dillon Bailey was a leading force in NSU's presence on the glass with nine rebounds. 

Series Notes
- Northeastern State holds a 9-7 record against Lincoln.
- NSU has won the last three meetings contested in Tahlequah, but have lost two straight in Jefferson City. 
- The series dates back to 1982, with the first meeting being a neutral site matchup in Joplin, Mo.

Coming Up
Northeastern State hits the road to finish January for meetings at Missouri Southern (Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m.) and Pittsburg State (Jan. 27, 3:30 p.m.).