TAHLEQUAH – The Northeastern State men's basketball team opens the final month of the regular season with their penultimate two-game homestand, hosting Fort Hays State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before battling Nebraska Kearney on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The RiverHawks are 11-9 and 4-7 in MIAA play, currently 10th in the MIAA standings and a half-game ahead of Northwest Missouri (3-8) in 11th.

Through 20 games, Northeastern State ranks third in the MIAA in scoring (86.1 points per game). They are also second in field goal percentage (49.7%) and third in three-point percentage (35.5%). On the glass, the RiverHawks rank third (38 RPG), while they also sit in third in assists per game (16.6). Individually, Xavier Glenn is fourth in the MIAA in scoring (19.1 PPG). Ethan Blackmon is second in rebounding (8.0 RPG) and is seventh among qualifiers in field goal percentage (54.3%). AJ Reed Jr. is tied for seventh in steals per game (1.6) and is eighth in assists per game (3.8).

A Quick Look Back
Last week, the RiverHawks fell to Pittsburg State (93-77) and Missouri Southern (77-64) on the road. The Gorillas opened on a 40-19 scoring run in the midweek game, earning a 15-point swing on made treys and an additional 14-point swing on scoring off the bench. On Saturday, NSU went cold midway through, not making a field goal for a stretch of 7:17 that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second. The Lions would win the paint (+10 points in the paint) and got a large boost from their second unit (+31 bench scoring) in the weekend matchup.

It marked NSU's lowest scoring two-game stretch of the season (141 points). The RiverHawks struggled from shooting outside the arc, landing eight makes on 36 tries (22.2%). Nehemiah Weber reached double figures in both games and has done so in four straight, the longest active streak on the team.

About Fort Hays State
The Tigers (15-6, 7-5 MIAA) lost a pair of home games last week to #1 Washburn (81-73 OT) and Central Missouri (61-49). The defeats halted a streak of five wins, including three on the road.

The 25th Mark Johnson-led team at FHSU sits at the bottom of the MIAA in combined field goal attempts per game (110). Efficiency at both ends of the floor has helped the Tigers to their 15-win campaign so far. The offense is fifth in field goal percentage (48.5%), while they surrender makes at the lowest rate (38.6%) of any team in the MIAA. They also rank in the top half of the league in blocks per game (3.4), turnover margin (1.52) and steals per game (7.8).

The Series: FHSU owns an 18-7 lead in the all-time series against NSU, winners of the last eight.  The RiverHawks seek their first win against the Tigers since Jan. 9, 2020.

About Nebraska Kearney
The Lopers (10-13, 3-9 MIAA) have lost three straight and hold a 2-6 record in true road games so far. The program is in its second season under head coach Marty Levinson and seeks their first winning campaign since 2020.

A key characteristic of the UNK offense is their high volume of attempts from beyond the arc. They rank second in the MIAA with 561 three-point attempts. Their conversion rates from the field (43.7%) and from outside (33.2%) are 13th and 10th in the league, respectively. Ja'Bryant Hill paces the roster offensively with nine performances in double figures across his last ten. The redshirt senior has met or surpassed 20 points in eight games this season and scored 20 in last season's overtime meeting with the Riverhawks in Kearney.

The Series: UNK leads the series, 16-8, including a 9-3 record for the Lopers in Tahlequah. NSU's last victory in Tahlequah against the Lopers occurred on Jan. 3, 2022 in a 97-90 two-overtime thriller.

Up Next
The RiverHawks travel in the middle of February for contests against Central Missouri (Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.) and Washburn (Feb. 14, 3:30 p.m.).