TISHOMINGO – Two teams searching for some consistent play at both ends of the court collide Thursday as the Northeastern A&M Golden Norsemen visit Beames Fieldhouse for an 8 p.m. confrontation with the Aggies of Murray State College.


Following a 96-85 upset over 16th-ranked Connors State College on Monday in Miami, coach Dustin Grover's Golden Norse are 2-2 in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Norsemen are 9-7 on the season.
“Just because Murray State isn't ranked, doesn't mean this game will be any easier than our one with Connors,” Grover said. “There are no easy games in our conference, especially when you have to go on the road to play.”
Coach Randy Rutherford's Aggies suffered a hard-fought 76-74 loss in overtime on Monday in El Reno. The loss dropped the Aggies to 2-2 in the conference and 6-8 overall. 
Balanced offense and tenacious defense carried the Golden Norsemen to a 75-53 victory over Murray State College in the first regular season game last year in Miami. Chris Cox and Joel Quinones combined for 19 points each to lead all scorers while Cesar Mapeli contributed 15 to lead NEO while Tim Smallwood, Jr. was the only Aggie to score in double figures with 10 points.
Unable to stop the inside game of Murray State, the Norsemen dropped a 71-62 decision in the second game at Tishomingo. Cox tallied 14 total points to lead the Golden Norse while Kevin Russell added 12 points. Dusan Pantrovic scored 15 points to lead the Aggies while Devon Mitchell added 13 and Dvonte Davis scored 12.
“In our game against Connors before the opening tipoff, we came out with a new approach,” Golden Norse freshman guard Jake Roach said. “Every since we came back from Christmas break, we've been working hard on our attitude as a team.
“It really showed against Connors because we came out and played together and responded well when we fell behind 16-5 in the first five minutes,” Roach said. “But, we played hard together the entire game and did what we needed to do to get the victory.”
After trailing 42-36 at halftime against the Cowboys (12-2), the Norsemen went on a 20 to 12 run in the first seven minutes to build a 56-54 lead. Nine points by Jeff Newberry ignited the NEO rally.
Six points by Newberry along with one of four 3-pointers by Roach and a layup by Derrick Frye propelled the Norsemen to a 71-62 cushion with 7:37 left in the game.
Newberry scored a season-high 28 total points while Frederico Santos added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Frye contributed 15 points and Roach finished with 12 for the Norsemen.
“We finally figured out that if we move without the ball good things are going to happen for us,” Newberry said. “Not only were we getting good looks at the basket, but we also did a good job of crashing the boards and scoring on second shots.
“At the beginning of the game against Connors, I probably took a lot of bad shots because coach Grover said some stuff to me,” Newberry said. “But, I just have to try and stay within my game and go to the basket to try and make things happen for my team.”
Roach, who struggled in the first half to find a long-range shooting rhythm, finally found his stroke midway through the second half and canned four 3-pointers within a seven-minute span.
“I knew I was going to starting hitting eventually and the guys did a really good job of getting me the ball and getting good open shots,” Roach said. “We're going to need that kind of effort at Murray.”
Smallwood (6-2 from Tulsa), Pantovic (6-11 from Belgrade, Serbia), Davis (6-2 from Barrett Station, Texas) and Trai Jordan (6-6 from Oklahoma City) are five returning sophomores for the Aggies.
Davis leads the Aggies with a 16.2 scoring average while recording 53 assists and 28 steals.
Jordan leads Murray with an 8.5 rebounding mark while scoring 7.1 points per game.
Smallwood averages 7.5 points with 32 assists and 15 steals.