McPherson College (3-13) at Fort Hays State (9-3) Saturday, December 30 - 4 pm Hays, Kan. (Gross Memorial Coliseum)

Fort Hays State will close out the 2017 portion of its schedule on Saturday when it welcomes McPherson College to Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers enter at 9-3 overall, while the Bulldogs are 3-13 overall.
 
This is the 52^nd meeting between the schools. Fort Hays State won the last 26 meetings with McPherson, a streak that runs all the way back to the 1924-25 season. FHSU holds a 37-14 advantage in the all-time series. The last meeting with the Bulldogs was the season opener during the 2012-13 season. The Tigers won that contest 77-48.
 
Fort Hays State is coming off a solid 27-point win over Newman University. The Tigers are looking to hit the 10-win mark before January for the third time since joining the MIAA. The Tigers accomplished the feat in 2009-10 and 2010-11, a pair of seasons in which they reached the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers started each of those years 10-1. FHSU has a chance to enter January 10-3 overall if they pick up a win on Saturday.
 
The Tigers have defended their home floor well so far this year, 7-0 at Gross Memorial Coliseum. This is the final non-conference game for FHSU as 15 conference games fill out the remainder of the schedule. FHSU is 3-1 in conference play so far, tied for third with Central Oklahoma.
 
Hadley Gillum continues to lead FHSU in scoring and rebounding. He reached double figures in 11 of the 12 games so far and ranks third in the MIAA in scoring average at 18.2 points per game. He pulls in 6.7 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the conference. Brady Werth also averages double figures in scoring at 10.8 points per game, while Kyler Kinnamon is third in the MIAA in assists per game (5.0) and second in steals per game (2.1). As a team, FHSU leads the MIAA in assists per game (17.8), steals per game (8.8), and assist/turnover ratio (1.71).
 
McPherson College enters Saturday on a two-game win streak. The Bulldogs won a pair of games in Puerto Rico on December 17 and 18 to snap a 12-game losing streak. Aaron Bachura is the top scorer for McPherson at 16.2 points per game.