TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State finishes a three-game homestand with a rivalry meeting with Rogers State on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. The game will be a "Green Out" so all attendees wearing green will receive free general admission.

The RiverHawks will look for more wins in their pursuit of climbing the conference ladder after splitting home matchups the previous week against Emporia State (L, 73-65) and Washburn (W, 75-66). 

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 only has two more home games after this week, with Newman (Feb. 22) and Central Oklahoma (Feb. 24) trekking to The Nest to conclude NSU's home slate.

Storylines
- Caison Hartloff made his return to the rotation on Saturday against Washburn and scored 17 points to lead the way in a nine-point win over the third-place Ichabods at the NSU Event Center. Hartloff has reached double figures in nine of his 15 appearances on the season and will look to have another great performance against Rogers State in his second game back since Jan. 18. 
- NSU had a strong string of showings on the offensive end last week, shooting at or above 50% in the pair of games to kick off February against the Ichabods and Hornets. The RiverHawks have shot at or above 50% in nine games this season, with six pitting them against MIAA foes.
- Three NSU players made it to double figures in both of the previous week's matchups, with Ethan Blackmon, Jaxon Jones and Anthony Allen all providing consistent offense against Emporia State and Washburn.
- After going five games without a block, Allen had four last week, including three against Washburn, matching his amount from NSU's initial meeting with WU in December.
- Keon Edwards has been a regular force to watch on offense of late, as the junior has scored at least 11 in five of his last six.
- Jaxon Jones went the full 40 minutes in both games last week and has done so in six straight.
- After allowing 15 three-point baskets to Pittsburg State on Jan. 27, the RiverHawks held the Hornets and Ichabods to a much less explosive 12-of-42 (28.6%) from outside to start February strong. 
- NSU's 3-12 MIAA mark puts them a total of four games back from the MIAA postseason cut-line, with 7-8 Emporia State and Missouri Southern currently sitting in a tie for ninth as the last two teams in the tournament picture.

Northeastern State vs. Rogers State // February 10 at 4 p.m. // Live Coverage

About Rogers State (12-9, 9-6 MIAA)
- The Hillcats took a narrow defeat in overtime to Washburn last week (80-74) before accumulating an 83-76 win over Emporia State to split last week's contests. 
- Justin Barkley is in his 14th season as the head men's basketball coach at RSU. Barkley has won over 250 games at the helm and guided the Hillcats to their first NCAA tournament bid in the 2019-20 season. Notably, Barkley is an NSU alum that was a member of the 2003 Divsion II National Championship team. 
- Saturday's date in Tahlequah is the only time the Hillcats will be in action this week.
- The scoring duo of Rodney Battle (14.9 PPG) and Isaac Johnson (14.4 PPG) proved to be deadly against the RiverHawks on Dec. 13, as they finished with a combined 36 points to account for nearly half of RSU's scoring in the win.

Last Time They Met
Rogers State 80, Northeastern State 72 | Dec. 13, 2023 | Claremore, Okla.

- After an evenly-contested opening half (36-36), the Hillcats found more offense in the second half to snag the win.
- A 14-of-24 (58.3%) shooting half in the first was accompanied with a less efficient 11-of-27 (40.8%) in the second for NSU.
- Jaxon Jones had 21 points in the setback.

Series Notes
- The RiverHawks lead the all-time series 11-10. 
- The last two games have seen RSU take victories off a combined +19 in the second half over NSU.
- One of the older opponents across program history, the start of the series dates back to 1938. After meeting six times over the next seven years, the teams wouldn't face off again until 2008 amid a 63-year hiatus. The Hillcats have since served as annual opponents for the RiverHawks since 2015. 

Coming Up
Northeastern State hits the road to square off with Missouri Western (Feb. 15) and Northwest Missouri (Feb. 17).