FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (10-4, 2-3 MIAA)
at Emporia State (4-9, 0-4 MIAA)
Thursday, January 8 • 7:30 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • White Auditorium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Fort Hays State will wrap up a stretch of four games in eight days on Thursday night in a contest at Emporia State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at White Auditorium. The Tigers are still seeking their first conference road win of the season, entering at 10-4 overall and 2-3 in the MIAA. The Hornets hold a record of 4-9 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA.
The Tigers are coming off a one-point, 68-67 loss at Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday night. They held three 1-point leads in the game, which included right at the start of the contest and twice inside the final two minutes of the game. The Tigers had a couple of chances to take the lead again late, but fell just a point short. Lucas Hammeke led FHSU with 21 points.
The Hornets enter on a three-game losing skid. They lost to Rockhurst before the start of the holiday break, then fell at Central Missouri and Washburn in conference play last week.
Fort Hays State holds a 108-88 advantage in the all-time series between the teams. FHSU and ESU split the regular season series last year, each winning at home. The Emporia State win in Emporia last year snapped a four-game winning streak for the Tigers in the series. However, the Tigers have played well in Emporia in recent times, winning nine of the last 11 meetings at White Auditorium.
Dan Mukuna leads the Tigers at 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Kyle Grill averages 13.4 points and Jahvari Martino adds 11.1 per game.
As a team, the Tigers rank third in NCAA Division II for scoring defense (59.3 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.370), and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.258).
Andrew Pengel leads Emporia State in scoring at 13.2 points per game, while Chris Harris adds 12.2 per game.