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The No. 5 Tigers will have one of their toughest tests of the year on Monday night (Jan. 10) in Joplin, Mo. Fort Hays State and Missouri Southern match-up at 7:30 pm in a battle for first place in the MIAA standings, each entering with a 7-1 record in conference play. Fort Hays State is 13-1 overall and Missouri Southern is 11-1 overall.

The Lions are a very strong team this year, with many of their top veterans back from last season. They were ranked No. 19 in the previous NCAA Division II national poll, but oddly fell out of the rankings after just a two-point loss at home to Pittsburg State, a team currently tied for third in the MIAA standings. Missouri Southern is the second-highest receiving votes team in the current national rankings.

Skyler Bowlin is the top scoring threat for the Lions, averaging 20.4 points per game. He is second in the MIAA in scoring, scoring at least 20 points in six games this year and at least 30 points in two games. Jason Adams is the second-leading scorer at 18.0 points per game and 6-foot, 11-inch big man Keane Thomann averages 13.0 points per game.

All three of those players were part of a Missouri Southern team that defeated the Tigers last year in Joplin by a score of 76-57. The Tigers were held to their lowest shooting percentage of the season in that game (35 percent). The Lions shot 51.7 percent in that game.

Dominique Jones leads FHSU in scoring at 17.4 points per game. The senior guard from Harlem, N.Y., scored in double figures in all 14 games this season. He led the Tigers in scoring in all three games this past week.

Dijon Smith produced his second double-double of the season in the 74-71 win at Southwest Baptist on Saturday with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 points per game and shoots a team-best 66.1 percent from the field. Ken Bowman complements Smith on the inside also averaging double figures at 11.8 points per game. He is second on the team in shooting percentage at 64.9 percent.

Corbin Kuntzsch continues his steady play for the Tigers, averaging 11.2 points per game. He is now tied for 16th on the all-time scoring list at FHSU with Mel Christensen at 1,016 points. He is 35 points from passing Bud Moeckel for 15th on the list.

Moses Dayee and Karron McKenzie are the top scorers off the bench for FHSU. Dayee is averaging 9.3 points per game. Nineteen of his last 20 field goals have been 3-point field goals. He leads the team in 3-point field goals made with 32, shooting 42.1 percent from distance. McKenzie struggled shooting the ball on Saturday at Southwest Baptist, but made up for it by going a perfect 4-of-4 at the free-throw line to finish with six points and seven rebounds. He is now tied for the conference lead in free-throw percentage (86.4 percent), making 38-of-44 shots at the line this year.

The Tigers have won just once in Joplin since joining the MIAA in 2006-07, that being a 67-59 victory in 2008-09 when the Lions were ranked No. 12 in the nation.