TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State men's basketball goes to the Show-Me state for two games this week, with Missouri Western and #11 Northwest Missouri posing the next road tests.

The RiverHawks seek another trip to the winner's circle after dropping a close 89-87 overtime matchup with Rogers State.

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.  
- NSU will spend two of the regular season's last three weeks on the road, with all four of their concluding games away from Tahlequah commencing in Missouri. 

Storylines
- Jaxon Jones highlighted Northeastern State's offensive efforts last Saturday, with a team-high 19 points against Rogers State. Jones played the entire 45 minutes, the seventh straight game he played the entire way.
- Anthony Allen finished with 16 points against the Hillcats and will be a name to keep an eye on this week, as the sophomore combined for 28 points alongside ten rebounds against Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western in the first encounters with the teams over a month ago.
- Trey Quartlebaum scored 16 points against RSU and has finished with at least 14 in four of his most recent five. 
- Caison Hartloff netted 12 points against the Hillcats last weekend and saw his season averaged reach double digits at 10.1 points per game.
- NSU forced 15 turnovers against RSU, the second-most against an MIAA foe. Jones and Quartlebaum each finished with three steals, combining for six of the group's eight.
- The RiverHawks face two teams that controlled the battle on the boards in January against them, with Missouri Western claiming 45 rebounds and holding a +19 margin, while Northwest Missouri limited Northeastern to just 21 rebounds in their initial meeting.
- Two of the conference's top ten scorers square off with the RiverHawks this week. Northwest Missouri's Wes Dreamer (18.5 PPG, second) and Missouri Western's JaRon Thames (15.5 PPG, tenth) scored 14 and 11, respectively, against them when they battled in Tahlequah in January.
- The remaining schedule provides the RiverHawks with the chance to avenge five losses from earlier in the season, in addition to an opportunity to complete a regular season sweep against Newman. 

Northeastern State at Missouri Western // February 15 at 7:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Missouri Western (15-8, 9-8 MIAA)
- The Griffons enter as losers of two straight and five of their last six. 
- 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. 
-The Griffons have been great at defending their house, with an 11-2 record at home in '23-24.
- JaRon Thames (15.0 PPG) and Taye Fields (12.3 PPG) are the team's top scoring threats, while Fields (9.5 RPG) dominated in the rebounding department when the Griffons met the RiverHawks on Jan. 6, finishing with 19 claimed misses, the most surrendered by NSU to a player across the Havens era. 

Last Time They Met
Missouri Western 73, Northeastern State 55 | Jan. 6, 2024 | Tahlequah, Okla.
- Northeastern State found themselves behind by double digits (37-19) at intermission after being held to 19 points on just 7-of-27 (25.9%) shooting. 
- The RiverHawks were dominated with a -19 in rebounding.
- Anthony Allen led the hosts with 16 points, while Trey Quartlebaum finished with ten.

Series Notes
- Missouri Western leads the all-time series over Northeastern at 12-5.
- NSU took the most recent date in St. Joseph with MWSU, 75-73.
- Northeastern State will search for more production on the offensive end after being held to 96 points across their last two games against Missouri Western.

Northeastern State at #11 Northwest Missouri  // February 17 at 3:30 p.m. // Live Coverage

About #11 Northwest Missouri (19-4, 15-2 MIAA)
- The Bearcats have won eight straight, the longest active winning streak in the conference.
- Hosting Rogers State Thursday, the Bearcats will seek to complete the regular season sweep of the Hillcats before the RiverHawks make the trip to the NWMSU campus Saturday.
- 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.
- Wes Dreamer (18.5 PPG) is the MIAA's second-leading scorer, while Bennett Stirtz (14.6 PPG) and Mitch Mascari (10.0 PPG) each were dominant in Saturday's win over Washburn, with 19 and 27 points. Mascari has shot 60-of-118 (50.8%) from three-point range on the campaign.

Last Time They Met
Northwest Missouri 78, Northeastern State 65 | Jan. 4, 2024 | Tahlequah, Okla.
- Northeastern State shot 24-of-45 (53.3%) across the evening and cut a 17-point differential favoring the visitors to eight in the last three minutes of the game, but it wasn't enough to snag a triumph over the then-#19 ranked Bearcats.
- Jaxon Jones led the way for NSU with 13 points.
- The RiverHawks were held to 21 rebounds, tied for the lowest in a game across the Ja Havens era.

Series Notes
- Northwest Missouri controls the series 16-1, with Northeastern State's only victory coming in the first ever meeting on Mar. 9, 2000. 
- The last nine have been decided by double digits, with seven of them having 18+ point differences by the time the ticker hit zero. 
- The RiverHawks have been held to under 59 points in four of the most recent five.

Coming Up
Northeastern State hosts their last two at the NSU Event Center for the campaign with Newman (Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.) and Central Oklahoma (Feb. 24, 3:30 p.m.) visiting Tahlequah.