(RV) Fort Hays State (5-1, 0-0 MIAA) at
(RV) Central Missouri (7-2, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, December 4 – 7:30 p.m.
Warrensburg, Mo. – Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center
 
Fort Hays State Men's Basketball opens MIAA play on Thursday night (Dec. 4) in a road contest at Central Missouri. Both teams enter the contest receiving votes in the latest NABC Top 25 Poll. The Tigers enter at 5-1 overall, while the Mules are 7-2 overall.
 
Fort Hays State has won four games in a row going into Thursday. Most recently they defeated Manhattan Christian 92-44 in what was the Tigers most points in a game and their fewest allowed in a game this season. The Tigers have their scoring defense average down to 57.5, which now ranks third in NCAA Division II. The Tigers led NCAA Division II in that stat category the last two seasons.
 
Central Missouri enters Thursday on a five-game win streak. During Thanksgiving week, UCM notched wins over McKendree and Drury of the GLVC before their most recent win over Tabor (Kan.) College this past Sunday.
 
Fort Hays State owns a 21-16 advantage in the all-time series, thanks to winning nine of the last 10 meetings with the Mules. The most recent meeting was a matchup in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals last year, which FHSU won 67-61. However, the game before that, UCM won 41-31 in Warrensburg to snap an eight-game win streak by the Tigers overall in the series.
 
Dan Mukuna leads the Tigers in scoring (19.5 points per game) and rebounding (7.5 per game), while Lucas Hammeke is distributing a team-best 4.3 assists per game. Kyle Grill joins Mukuna for the team lead in double-figure scoring games this year, each with five. Grill averages 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
 
Lazerek Houston leads UCM in scoring at 20.2 points per game, while Jevon Hill leads the MIAA in 3-point field goals made (33) and 3-point field goal percentage (.452). Hill averages 15.8 points per game. Houston leads the Mules in assists at 5.3 per game.