Joplin, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men's basketball team will play in their final road contest of the regular season Saturday afternoon. In that game, the Lions will take on the #14 Fort Hays State Tigers who are currently second in the MIAA standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00pm.          

Game Information
Teams: Missouri Southern (13-12, 11-8 MIAA) vs #14 Fort Hays State (20-6, 15-5 MIAA)
Date: February 24
Tip-Off: 4:00 PM
Location: Hays, Kan.
Site: Gross Memorial Coliseum
Series Record: MSSU trails 38-23 | Southern fell 85-67 in the meeting earlier this year

Coaches
MSSU: Sam McMahon | 2nd season at MSSU | 30-25 record
FHSU: Mark Johnson | 23rd season at FHSU | 448-218 record

Media Coverage
MSSU Radio: Mike McClure - Play by play - 101.7 FM THE VAULT
Live Audio/Video/Stats - https://www.mssulions.com/coverage
Lions on Facebook:  Facebook.com/mssumbb
Lions on Twitter: @mssumensbball; @mososports
Lions on Instagram: @mssumensbball

Scouting the Lions
Missouri Southern currently has a record of 13-12 (11-8 MIAA) in the 2023-24 season. They began the year with a split in their opening tournament, falling to MSU Moorhead who has spent time at the top of the national rankings, but taking down Bemidji State 69-61. In their first home game, the Lions handled Central Christian 92-56. MSSU fell in both contests at the Double Tree Thanksgiving Classic, Illinois Springfield taking the first game 96-77, and Drury holding off Missouri Southern 76-70 in the second game. In their final non-conference contest of the season, the Lions fell to the Rockhurst Hawks. 

To begin conference play, MSSU nearly completed an upset bid over #15 Northwest Missouri on their court, but fell 78-74. Closing out that series, the Lions fell on a last second shot to then-undefeated Missouri Western, 62-61. In their home conference opener, the Lions fell 73-63 to #3 nationally ranked Central Oklahoma. The Lions bounced back with a strong 99-77 win over Newman, shooting lights out in that contest, 58.3% from the field and 90.9% from the free throw line. They nearly picked up their second straight 20+ point win, taking down Central Missouri 75-56 in Warrensburg. Again, the Lions shot well, going 28-49 (57.1%) from the field as a team. To wrap up 2023, Missouri Southern fell to Lincoln at their house 76-65. 

Kicking off 2024, the Lions went to Pittsburg and ended the Gorillas' five-game win streak with an 81-74 victory. They started off hot against the Tigers of FHSU who are ranked second in the MIAA standings, but fell 85-67. Southern bounced back and had a solid offensive outing against Nebraska-Kearney, taking down the Lopers 88-78. Against a Washburn team that hasn't lost at home this year, the Lions shot nearly 50% from beyond the arc but fell 70-65. They picked up a big road win against once-ranked Emporia State on the road, but fell to Northeastern State in Joplin. Following that loss, the Lions defeated Rogers State by 22 points and Newman by 23 points. Missouri Southern battled with Central Oklahoma at their place, but fell 65-61. 

The team had a solid week against LU and UCM, recording a perfect week for the first time this season. Following that week, the Lions took down Pittsburg State for the second time this year, 75-72. They started their final road trip of the regular season with a 73-55 win over UNK, led by a Darius Dawson double-double. 

Darius Dawson recorded his third double-double of the season Thursday night, dropping 22 points and snagging 10 rebounds on 9-14 shooting. He leads the team with 14.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Vinson Sigmon Jr. is up to 12.1 points per game, shooting 84.5% from the FT line, and leads the team with 28 steals.

Martin Macenis continues to rise, averaging 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. From the field, he is shooting 61.9% which is second best in the MIAA.

Avery Taggart is now 3 points from 1000 in his career, averaging 10.3 this season. He has made a team-high 45 three-point field goals and 68 assists.

Scouting the Tigers
The Fort Hays State Tigers enter Saturday's contest with a 20-6 (15-5 MIAA) record on the year. Earlier this week, the Tigers were ranked #14 in the coaches poll and #25 in the media poll. They currently sit at second in the MIAA standings. On Thursday, the Tigers fell to Pittsburg State 67-63. They had won four straight prior to that contest. Prior to that small win streak, FHSU fell to #16 Northwest Missouri 64-61 in double overtime, ending an earlier four game win streak. They also had a separate win streak prior to their loss at Pittsburg State, just after playing Missouri Southern in Joplin. In their third conference contest of the season, the Tigers took down the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri who were ranked #17 at the time. They followed that game with a 73-49 victory over #22 Missouri Western. 

Kaleb Hammeke leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He also leads the team with 105 assists. Against MSSU earlier this year, he dropped 22 point with 8 assists. On Thursday against PSU, he only scored 7 points on 1-7 shooting from the field.

Elijah Nnanabu has also been strong for FHSU, averaging 12.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. He scored a game-high 31 points on 12-18 shooting at Missouri Southern in January. 

The Missouri Southern men's basketball season is presented by Arvest Bank, a proud supporter of Lion Athletics.