TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State goes on the road this week to meet Missouri Southern (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.) and Pittsburg State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.). 

The RiverHawks will look for a good beginning to the second half of MIAA ball after taking two losses last week at home against Central Missouri (55-45) and Lincoln (63-49). 

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.  
- The slate of games this week rounds out the month and marks the final times the RiverHawks will play away from Tahlequah until Feb. 15. 

Storylines
- The RiverHawks enter the closing half of their league schedule behind the MIAA postseason cut-line by four games. Emporia State and Missouri Southern are tied for ninth and hold the last two spots halfway through the MIAA campaign with 5-6 records in conference basketball.
- Northeastern State will seek to revitalize the offensive attack after being limited to under 50 points in both of last week's contests at home against Central Missouri and Lincoln.
- After a +9 (36-to-27) result in rebounding against Newman on Jan. 13, NSU took a pair of double-digit losing margin on the glass against UCM (42-to-25) and Lincoln (36-to-24). 
- NSU stayed out of trouble in preserving possession last week, with only 17 turnovers across two games. 
- Keon Edwards was one of the team's top performers on the offensive end during the week, with a season-high 16 points last Saturday against the Blue Tigers. 
- Jaxon Jones and Ethan Blackmon reached double figures against LU in the weekend game, with ten points each. Both have been regulars in the double figures club this season, scoring at least ten in nine games during 2023-24.
- The RiverHawks are 12th nationally in fouls per game (13.8).
- Jones is in the nation's top 15 in assists (93) and assists per game (5.5).

Northeastern State at Missouri Southern // January 24 at 7:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Missouri Southern (7-10, 5-6 MIAA)
- The Lions have won two of their previous three and three of five since the beginning of the 2024 side of the season.
- Sam McMahon is in his second season as the head men's basketball coach after spending two seasons on the staff at Southeast Missouri and a previous six as an assistant in Joplin. McMahon led the team to 17 wins last season and went to three straight NCAA tournaments while serving as an assistant. The Lions finished in the top four in the conference regular season standings during all six seasons McMahon was an assistant on the staff at MSSU.
- MSSU has five players averaging at least 9.7 points per game. Darius Dawson (13.1 points per game) leads the Lions in scoring. A six-point effort against Emporia State on Saturday finished a seven-game streak of double figures showings for the junior.
- Dawson leads the team in rebounding (6.4 RPG), while he is tied with Sam Thompson for the team crown in blocks (20) on the 2023-24 season. 

Last Time They Met
Missouri Southern 70, Northeastern State 60 | Mar. 1, 2023 | Kansas City, Mo.

- The Lions scored on 45.5% (25-of-55) shooting to put an end to the 2022-23 season for the RiverHawks.
- Four NSU players reached double figures in the loss.
- Christian Cook led NSU with 14 points, while Dillon Bailey, Tylor Arnold and Rashad Perkins added ten each.

Series Notes
- Missouri Southern leads the series 29-19.
- The Lions have won five straight.
- Northeastern State's last win over Missouri Southern was in Joplin on Dec. 3, 2020 in a narrow 90-89 result.

Northeastern State at Pittsburg State  // January 27 at 3:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Pittsburg State (9-7, 5-5 MIAA)
- Pittsburg State will battle Rogers State at home on Wednesday.
- The Gorillas are led by Jeff Boschee. Boschee is in his second season with PSU after nearly a decade as the head men's basketball coach with Missouri Southern. From 2014-22, Boschee led the Lions to seven winning seasons across eight at the helm.
- Max Alexander (18.1 PPG) ranks among the top scoring weapons in the MIAA, though he has scored under his season average in five straight games. Jeremy Shaw has averaged 18.3 PPG in eight games since the senior rejoined the Pitt State rotation on Dec. 18. 
- PSU will look to snap a two-game losing streak in the week's homestand.

Last Time They Met
Northeastern State 80, Pittsburg State 67 | Jan. 21, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.     

- NSU emerged from a tied first half (33-33) with a +13 closing stanza, resulting in a home victory. 
- The RiverHawks finished the last five minutes on a 20-5 scoring run on six-of-seven shooting across the stretch of action.
- Christian Cook led all players with 23 points, while Dillon Bailey (21) also surpassed 20.

Series Notes
- Pitt State owns a 54-23 series lead over Northeastern State.
- Northeastern State has won three straight, including one win in Pittsburg, Kan.
- The history between the teams traces to almost a century ago, with the first game between the teams being reported as taking place in 1927.

Coming Up
The RiverHawks go 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).