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Fort Hays State looks to bounce back after its first road loss of the season on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7) when it hosts Southwest Baptist. Tipoff is set for 4 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The eighth-ranked Tigers enter the game at 10-2 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA. Southwest Baptist enters at 8-7 overall and 2-5 in the MIAA.

The Tigers had two of their poorest offensive performances of the season this past Monday and Wednesday on the road, but luckily came away with a 1-1 record on the trip. FHSU defeated Truman on Monday 63-58, but then struggled mightily against a red-hot Central Missouri team on Wednesday, losing 78-40.

The loss at Central Missouri dropped FHSU into a tie for third place in the conference standings with Washburn, both at 4-2. Northwest Missouri State took over the conference lead outright on Wednesday night with a win at Missouri Western, now a 5-1. Missouri Southern, ranked No. 14 in the nation, moved into second place at 5-2 with a win over Emporia State.

The Tigers own a four-game win streak against Southwest Baptist entering Saturday. The Tigers survived a couple of close games with the Bearcats last year, winning by three in Bolivar and by five in Hays. SBU had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer last year in Bolivar and could have hit a go-ahead shot with five seconds remaining in Hays, but FHSU held off the Bearcats both times.

Southwest Baptist enters this contest on a two-game win streak in the MIAA after starting conference play at 0-5. The Bearcats defeated Emporia State and Washburn at home over the past week.

The next two home games are key for the Tigers before they go on the road for five of their next six games following the homestand. After playing SBU on Saturday, FHSU will battle Missouri Southern in a match-up of Top 15 teams on Monday in Hays.

Karron McKenzie continues to lead FHSU in scoring at 13.8 points per game. He has reached double figures in 11 of 12 games this year, while shooting 57.3 percent from the field. He is second on the team in rebounds at 6.4 per game and leads the team in steals, averaging 2.1 per game.

Tyrone Phillips and Moses Dayee are the only other Tigers averaging double figures in scoring. Phillips averages 11.8 points per game and Dayee averages 11.7. Dayee is shooting 47.4 percent beyond the 3-point line, the only player on the team above 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Matt Simmons leads the team and MIAA in rebounds at 9.6 per game. He also leads the team in field goal percentage at 57.5 percent. He is averaging 8.3 points per game. Kendrick Morse continues to lead FHSU in assists at 3.0 per game and adds 9.8 points per game.