ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T closes out its pre-holiday schedule Monday night at Gibson Arena as the Miners host Northeastern State University from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in a 7 p.m. contest.

The Miners and RiverHawks are meeting up for the first time since the 1984-85 season and both teams are looking to close play before the NCAA winter break on a winning note.  Missouri S&T, who is 2-6 on the season, has dropped six games in succession since winning its first two games of the year, while NSU has lost its last two outings as it opened MIAA play.

S&T currently has five players averaging in double figures, but leading scorer Jordan Newt (San Francisco, CA/Malibu) is currently sidelined with an injury suffered late in the Miners' last contest against Lincoln College.  Newt, who is scoring 14.3 points per game, is following in the scoring column by CJ Hedgepeth (Evansville, IN/Harrison) at 13 points per game; Hedgepeth also leads the Miners with 28 assists.

Dulan Scott (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) is averaging 11 points per contest, while Juwan Miller (Kitchener, Ont./Huron Heights) is averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game and Romain Louiserre (La Ferte Alais, France/Fredrick Fays) is at 10.4 points a game.

The Miners have been one of the highest scoring teams in NCAA Division II, averaging 89.6 points per game which as of last week was the 14^th-best average in the nation.    S&T's scoring average is the best in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and its scoring margin of plus 11 points per game is tied for fourth in the conference.

Tanner Mouse leads Northeastern State in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game, while Smith is close behind at 14.7 per game.  Mouse and Smith are also the team's top two three-point shooters, as Mouse has made 15 at a clip of 48.4 percent and Smith has hit a team-high 16 and is shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc.

D'Angelo Jackson is also scoring in double figures with an average of 10.4 points a contest and is second to Smith on the team in assists with 29; Smith leads with 33 assists.  The RiverHawks' top rebounder is Aaron Givens with 6.8 per game.

Northeastern State has averaged 85.7 points per game this season, the fourth-best mark in the MIAA this season, while its defensive average of 71.1 points allowed per game also ranks fourth in that conference.  However, the RiverHawks -- who are shooting 50 percent as a team from the field -- have allowed 77.9 points per game against teams from the NCAA Division II level.