The Games of the Day feature the home finales for the RiverHawk teams with a doubleheader in the new NSU Event Center as Northeastern State hosts Pittsburg State.
♦ Both NSU teams are still playing for a spot in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association postseason tournament and both can clinch berths with wins tonight.
The women need a victory and a little help. NSU will clinch with a win combined with a loss by either Missouri Western or Nebraska-Kearney. Pitt State has already earned a berth in the league tournament and are still looking to lock up a first-round bye.
The men simply need a win tonight over PSU to clinch.
♦ The RiverHawk women are consistent. NSU (10-12, 7-8) are scoring 60.0 points per game and allowing 60.0 points per game. They will likely need more than that to win tonight. PSU (19-6, 12-3) has won eight straight and scored more than 60 in each of those wins. However, in their last loss, Pitt State fell to Washburn on Jan. 18, and scored only 60.
♦ Both men’s teams need a win to help close out this year on a positive note. NSU (12-10, 9-4) has won only two of its last 10 games; PSU (7-15, 3-12) has won only one.
♦ Bryton Hobbs continues to lead his team in his senior campaign. He is NSU’s leader in scoring (23.1 ppg), assists (126, steals (20) and is tied for third in rebounding. Hobbs is also at the top of the MIAA in scoring and ninth in Division II. The RiverHawks’ leading rebounder, Curtis Evans, is fifth in the MIAA with 7.0 boards per game.
♦ This will be the final home game for men’s coach Larry Gipson, who announced this week that he will be retiring at the end of the season. Gipson compiled a 276-198 mark at the helm in Tahlequah. He led his teams to 20-win seasons five teams and made five trips to the NCAA national tournament. Northeastern State finished 2002-2003 with a 32-3 record and won the Division II national title. Good luck tonight, Coach.