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The No. 17 ranked Tigers close out the regular season portion of their schedule on Saturday at long-time rival Emporia State. Game time is set for 7:30 pm. The Tigers enter at 22-5 overall and 16-5 in the MIAA, while Emporia State is 14-13 overall and 11-10 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State has locked up a second-place finish in the conference, two games clear of Washburn and Nebraska-Omaha tied for third going into the final day of the regular season. The Tigers will be the No. 2 seed at the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, but their opponent will be determined by results of games on Saturday.
The Tigers are ranked No. 2 in the latest set of regional rankings, behind conference leader Missouri Southern, which took over the top spot in the region this week. All five of the top teams in the region claimed wins on Wednesday, which includes Central Oklahoma, Tarleton State and West Texas A&M of the Lone Star Conference.
The Tigers survived a scare from Emporia State earlier this year in Hays, winning 81-80. The Hornets had a shot to win the game from about 10-15 feet, but it was off the mark allowing the Tigers to escape.
Emporia State locked up a spot in the MIAA Tournament next week with a win on Wednesday at Washburn, but their seed will be determined on Saturday. They can finish no higher than the No. 6 seed. If they drop to the No. 7 seed, they will meet the Tigers for the second straight year in the first round of the MIAA Tournament and second straight year where the teams have had to play back-to-back games.
Dominique Jones leads the Tigers in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He leads the MIAA in assists per game (6.5) and ranks fourth in the nation. He leads the team in 3-point field goals made with 57.
Dijon Smith is the second-leading scorer for FHSU at 14.6 points per game. He ranks second in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.638) and leads the conference in blocked shots per game (1.5).
Ken Bowman is averaging 11.4 points per game while shooting 63.6 percent from the field. He is the second-leading rebounder on the team at 6.0 per game and ranks third in the MIAA in blocked shots per game (1.3).
Corbin Kuntzsch moved to 12th on the all-time scoring list at FHSU with an eight-point effort at Pittsburg State this past Wednesday. He now has 1,143 points in his career at FHSU and needs just 16 more points to pass Mike Miller for 11th on the list. He is averaging 10.5 points per game for the season.
Moses Dayee is the top scorer off the bench for FHSU at 7.7 points per game. He tied his season high of 13 points at Pittsburg State on Wednesday. He ranks second on the team in 3-point field goals made with 51.
Karron McKenzie is the top free-throw shooter by percentage on the team (82.6 percent, 57-of-69). He is averaging 7.3 points per game.
Ben Congiusta has been red-hot from beyond the 3-point line in the last three games, hitting 8-of-15 attempts (57.1 percent). He is averaging 6.5 points per game for the season. He ranks fifth in the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.407).
Matt Simmons is the top rebounder for the Tigers, averaging 6.6 boards per game. He chips in 4.5 points per game off the bench.
Xavier Burnette is the top scorer for Emporia State at 14.2 points per game, followed by Michael Tyler at 12.2 points per game and Adam Holthaus at 11.4. Tyler scored the most points of any opposing player against the Tigers this season with 27 points in Hays.
