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The Fort Hays State men's basketball team hosts its long-time rival Emporia State on Wednesday evening at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays at 7:30 pm, which follows the women's contest at 5:30 pm. The No. 8 ranked Tigers enter at 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the MIAA, while Emporia State is 9-7 overall and 6-4 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State needs a win to keep pace with No. 14 ranked Missouri Southern in the conference standings, which leads the MIAA at 14-1 overall and 10-1 in the MIAA. The Lions notched another road win on Monday night at Northwest Missouri State to keep a one-game lead on the Tigers in the loss column.

Emporia State has been a team of ups and downs this year, starting the year 0-2 at the South Central Regional Challenge in Bartlesville, Okla., a tournament the Tigers finished 2-0 at to start the year. From that point, the Hornets won eight of their next 10, but dropped three of their last four entering the game Wednesday in Hays.

The Tigers swept the regular season series last year from Emporia State, which included a blowout 94-47 win in Hays to end the regular season. However, the Tigers had to turn around and play the Hornets right after that at the MIAA Tournament, where the Hornets got revenge in a four-point win in the opening round. Emporia State has always provided a tough test for the Tigers, as head coach Mark Johnson is just 7-6 against ESU in his 10 years at FHSU.

Dominique Jones continues to lead FHSU in scoring at 16.9 points per game, but had his 15-game streak of scoring in double figures snapped against Pittsburg State this past Saturday with seven points. He continues to lead the team and MIAA in assists per game, averaging 5.9.

Dijon Smith scored a career-high 21 points in the win over Pittsburg State on Saturday. He scored 19 of the 21 in the first half. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game and fourth on the team in rebounds with 5.0 per game. He leads the MIAA in blocked shots per game (1.6). Smith ranks second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.667).

Ken Bowman ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game and ranks second on the team in rebounds with 6.2 per game. He ranks fourth in the MIAA in blocked shots per game (1.2).

Corbin Kuntzsch continues to add to his career scoring total, now with 1,033 points in his career. He is just 18 points from passing Bud Moeckel for 15th on the all-time scoring list and 22 points from passing Marvin Andrews for 14th.

The Tigers lead the MIAA in several categories, including scoring offense (83.2), scoring margin (+15.6), field goal percentage (.510), 3-point field goal percentage (.392), scoring defense (67.6), field goal percentage defense (.399), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.276), assists per game (18.4), and blocked shots per game (3.9).

Moses Dayee leads the team in 3-point field goals with 34, shooting 41 percent beyond the arc. Dominique Jones has 31 makes from beyond the arc, shooting 36 percent. Corbin Kuntzsch is the team leader in percentage (.439) with 18 makes beyond the arc. Ben Congiusta provided the spark from beyond the arc against Pittsburg State, draining three first half 3-pointers.

Karron McKenzie leads the team and MIAA in free-throw percentage (.880). He is 44-of-50 at the line this year.

Xavier Burnette leads the scoring attack for ESU at 14.4 points per game, followed by Adam Holthaus at 11.6 points per game and Matt Boswell at 10.3 points per game.