TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State is back in 2024 with a pair of MIAA dates at home in the NSU Event Center against Northwest Missouri (Thursday, Jan. 4, 7:30 p.m.) and Missouri Western (Saturday, Jan. 6, 3:30 p.m.). 

The RiverHawks will seek to translate their winning ways from non-conference action over to the MIAA schedule after finishing the 2023 side of the campaign with a 94-63 win in Jack Dobbins Field House last Saturday.

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.  
- Entering this week, NSU is one of two teams in the conference without an MIAA win. They sit 2.5 games back of the cut-line for the MIAA tournament as of now, with Newman and Missouri Western sitting tied for ninth place at 3-3 in conference ball.

Storylines
- Last Saturday's 94-63 victory over Ecclesia put an end to a five-game losing streak and finished out a successful non-conference slate, where the team claimed five of six. 
- The win marked a return to form for the RiverHawks on the offensive end, as they bounced back from a 48-point performance on Dec. 19 against Washburn to tally a season-high 94 on a 50.0% (39-of-78) shooting day when taking on the Royals. 
- Thursday will be the first time the RiverHawks have hosted an opponent inside the NSU Event Center since Dec. 2. After this week, the team will take the court on the NSU campus two more times this month, with home games against Central Missouri (Jan. 18) and Lincoln (Jan. 20) coming between two short weeklong road trips. 
- Anthony Allen led the way last weekend against Ecclesia with 23 points. It was the third time Allen's exceeded 20 points this season, as well as the eighth time the sophomore has reached double figures this season, both team bests. 
- Last Saturday, Caison Hartloff became the first player to head off the bench and score 20 points since Christian Cook did so on Jan. 20, 2021.
- NSU dominated the turnover battle against Ecclesia, taking a +13 margin across the game, alongside ten steals. 
- The team's struggles at the charity stripe continued last weekend, as they shot 7-of-14 (50.0%), tying for the lowest free throw percentage during a single game during the Havens era. Across the last three contests, the RiverHawks have made 31-of-55 (56.4%) free throw attempts. 
- The RiverHawks face two of the conference's more efficient offensive attacks to open 2024, as Northwest Missouri (49.3%) and Missouri Western (47.1%) rank second and sixth in the league, respectively, in field goal percentage. 

Northeastern State vs. Northwest Missouri // January 4 at 7:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Northwest Missouri (9-3, 5-1 MIAA)
- The Bearcats were strong in conference play during 2023, winning five of six, including their last four against MIAA opponents. They enter the week winners of five straight overall after dominating Clarke on Dec. 30 in a one-sided 100-44 matchup.
- Ben McCollum is in his 14th season leading the program and has played a key role in making Northwest Missouri one of DII's powerhouses for men's basketball. McCollum has claimed five NABC Division II National Coach of the Year awards, most recently in 2022, the most in NABC DII history. An eight-time MIAA Coach of the Year, Northwest has won 11 MIAA regular season titles, seven MIAA tournament titles and four national championships under his leadership.
- The duo of Wes Dreamer (18.6 PPG) and Bennett Stirtz (14.7 PPG) have guided NWMSU's offensive efforts. Notably, Dreamer has scored 20+ points in four straight, most recently dropping 30 on Clarke.
- Thursday starts a three-game road trip for the Bearcats, as they will go to Claremore to play Rogers State on Saturday, Jan. 6 before returning to Missouri to clash with Missouri Western on Jan. 13. 

Last Time They Met
Northwest Missouri 79, Northeastern State 43 | Feb. 11, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- The Bearcats were firing early, taking a lead that reached double digits 5:18 into the game. Nearly doubling NSU's first half production 41-21, NWMSU spent almost the entirety of the matchup in charge. 
- Tristan Green led the hosts in scoring with ten points with a four-of-seven day from the floor. 
- The two sides had nearly opposite days from outside the arc, with the Bearcats putting together a 13-of-24 (54.2%) game from deep while the RiverHawks struggled to 2-of-17 (11.8%). 

Series Notes
- Northwest Missouri controls the series 15-1, with Northeastern State's only victory coming in the first ever meeting on Mar. 9, 2000. 
- The last eight have been decided by double digits, with six of them having 19+ point differences by the time the ticker hit zero. 
- The RiverHawks have been held to under 59 points in three of the last four. 

Northeastern State vs. Missouri Western  // January 6 at 3:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Missouri Western (9-3, 3-3 MIAA)
- After opening the conference schedule with two straight wins, the Griffons have lost three of their last four MIAA dates, most recently being dealt an 83-77 loss at home against Washburn on Dec. 16. They got back in the win column in non-conference play with a 90-37 tune-up win over Avila on Dec. 30. 
- Prior to battling the RiverHawks on Saturday, the Griffons head to Claremore to take on Rogers State Thursday.
- Will Martin is in his fourth season leading the Griffons after spending two as an assistant at MWSU. Martin also served as an assistant at Martin Methodist College (NAIA) and spent time on coaching staffs from in the NCAA Division I ranks with San Francisco and Tulsa. 
- Missouri Western has found solid offensive production from all starters during the season so far, with every member of the MWSU starting five averaging at least 8.3 PPG and four averaging at least 11.3. 

Last Time They Met
Missouri Western 54, Northeastern State 41 | Feb. 9, 2023 | Tahlequah, Okla.

- Taking a six-point lead (28-22) to intermission, Missouri Western took their lead to double digits 3:03 into the second half and led by as much as 18 amid a 19-point output from Northeastern State over the last twenty minutes. 
- The RiverHawks were held to a 31.9% clip from the floor on 15-of-47 shooting, their least efficient performance of the 2022-23 campaign. 
- Dillon Bailey (13 points) and Obi Agu (11) were the only NSU players to reach double-figures in the low-scoring setback.   

Series Notes
- The Griffons possess an 11-5 lead in the series. 
- Northeastern State ended a five-game losing streak against Missouri Western last season in St. Joseph, Mo. with a 75-73 win over the Griffons on Jan. 2, 2023. 
- The RiverHawks are one game back from .500 all-time against the Griffons in Tahlequah, entering this weekend with a 3-4 home record against Missouri Western.

Coming Up
Northeastern State travels to Central Oklahoma (Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.) and Newman (Jan. 13, 3:30 p.m.) next week.