WIBURTON - Locked in a battle with Western State College for the fifth spot in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Northeastern A&M Golden Norsemen travel to C.C. Dunlap Fieldhouse, Monday, for an 8 p.m. confrontation with the Mountaineers of Eastern State College.


After cruising to a 99-79 win over Redlands College Friday night in the NEO Fieldhouse, coach Dustin Grover's Golden Norse enter the final week of the regular season with a 9-7 OCAC record and a 16-12 season mark. The Norse conclude the regular season Thursday with an 8 p.m. conference clash at Seminole State College.
"It's very important for us to maintain this fifth spot in the conference for seeding purposes in the upcoming Region II Tournament at Shawnee," Grover said. "Western beat Eastern 89-78 Friday night in Altus, so they are only one game behind us for the fifth spot."
With the addition of Arkansas Baptist College of Little Rock into the post-season Region II Tournament, the top five teams in the OCAC receive an automatic first round bye. The single-elimination tournament starts Friday, March 8, on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University.
"Even though Eastern has been struggling, they are very tough to be on their home court," Grover said. "We'll have to be ready for another very physical basketball game, much like we had against Redlands."
Coach Scott Edgar's Mountaineers are 6-10 in the conference and 15-13 overall. The Mountaineers have lost seven of their last 10 games.
When the two teams met Jan. 21 in the NEO Fieldhouse, the Golden Norsemen built a 42-35 lead at halftime en route to an 86-73 victory. Jeff Newberry led the Norse with 21 total points while Frederico Santos scored 17 and Nkosi Ali and Ja'mill Powell combined for 15 points each. Sophomore point guard Ryan Devers tallied 29 for the Mountaineers.
"We've got to continue to control the boards at both ends of the floor to be successful," Grover said. "If  we hit the offensive boards our offense will be more productive because we'll get quality shots whereas if we keep them off the defensive end, then they'll only get one shot."
Not only does Santos (6-5 from Rio de Janerio, Brazil) hold the NEO modern day school record with 21 games posting a double-double, but he ranks sixth in the nation with 323 total rebounds for an average of 12 per game. He also leads the Norsemen with a 14.4 scoring average.
"Fred is a rebounding machine," Grover said. "And what's so amazing about that is that he's only 6-5 and not 6-10 or more. He just has the uncanny ability to go get the basketball no matter what."