Game Notes I Watch Live I Listen Live I Live Stats

The No. 15 ranked Tigers got the help they needed from Washburn Thursday night, now they have a shot to tie No. 8 ranked Missouri Southern for the conference lead on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 19) in Hays. The top teams in the MIAA battle on Senior Day at Gross Memorial Coliseum with the game set to start at 4 pm. Fort Hays State enters at 21-4 overall, 15-4 in the MIAA, and Missouri Southern enters at 20-3 overall and 16-3 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State has a golden opportunity to not only tie Missouri Southern for first place in the conference standings, but to also put more pressure on Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern in the battle to host the South Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament. Only three games remain in conference play before the conference tournament in Kansas City.

A 71-66 loss by the Lions at Washburn on Thursday night puts the Tigers just one game back in the loss column behind region leaders Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern, which have each suffered losses this week. But it is not just a three-horse race, since Tarleton State (Texas) also has four losses on the season like FHSU (No. 3 in the region) and sits fourth in the region rankings. The Tigers still have work to do to assure a spot in the NCAA Tournament in this stacked region, as the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in the region have five losses. Just eight teams get to go to the regional and automatic bids are given out to conference tournament champions of each of the three conferences in the region.

Missouri Southern claimed the first meeting between the teams in Joplin earlier this season by a score of 82-64. The Tigers had a 10-point lead in that game, but a huge second-half run by the Lions proved to be too much for FHSU to overcome.

Four of the most exciting players to put on a Fort Hays State uniform play in their final home game Saturday in seniors Corbin Kuntzsch, Dominique Jones, Dijon Smith, and Ken Bowman. Kuntzsch is a four-year senior, while Jones, Smith and Bowman are two-year players in the program.

Kuntzsch will go down as one of the best four-year players in the history of the program. He has started more games than any other player in Fort Hays State's NCAA Division II history (94). He will tie Ryan Herrman, teammate from last year, for the most games played by an individual in the Mark Johnson era and second-most in Fort Hays State's Division II history on Saturday. He also is in great position to move up to 12th on the all-time scoring list at FHSU, just three points back of Edgar Eason for 13th and four back of Nate Rollins for 12th. He enters with a total of 1,131 points in his career at FHSU.

Jones has been the scoring leader for the Tigers over the past two seasons. He enters the game averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 assists per game. At the beginning of the week, he led the MIAA and ranked fourth in the nation in assists. Jones already has amassed 828 points in his two-year career at FHSU.

Smith and Bowman have been a solid combination in the post for the Tigers in two seasons. Both have averaged double figures for their careers at FHSU, with Smith at 11.5 points and Bowman at 10.4 points per game. Both have been very efficient shooting the ball, with Smith at 65.3 percent and Bowman at 59.5 percent for their careers. The pair ranks second at third in scoring for the Tigers this year, with Smith at 14.8 points and Bowman at 11.4 points per game. They also are two of the top shot blockers in the program's history, as Smith has 79 for his career at Bowman has 67.