After enjoying a pair of wins on their first conference road trip of the season, Fort Hays State looks to snap a four-game losing skid on the road in conference play on Saturday (Jan. 30) at Nebraska-Kearney. Both teams enter at 7-6 in the MIAA, FHSU at 13-6 overall and UNK at 11-8 overall.
The Tigers have gone winless on the road so far in the month of January, but their monthly mark sits at 4-4 after going 4-0 in home games. FHSU looks to finish the month above .500 and stay among the top six in the MIAA standings entering February.
Fort Hays State won the first meeting with Nebraska-Kearney this year, 84-75 in Hays. But the Lopers were without one of their top offensive players in that game, Ethan Brozek, who averages 14.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Rob Davis has been on a tear of late for the Tigers, shooting 60 percent or better in each of the last four games. In that stretch, he is averaging 22 points per game. He leads the Tigers in scoring at 17.5 points per game, which ranks seventh in the MIAA. He is the third-best 3-point shooter in the conference by percentage (.484) with 46 makes from long range this year.
Dom Samac is among the MIAA’s best in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Craig Nicholson (10.6) and Jake Stoppel (10.5) also average double figures in scoring. Nicholson is now seventh all-time in scoring at FHSU with 1,292 points.
Nebraska-Kearney enters on a two-game win streak after defeating Missouri Western and picking up a non-conference win against Wayne State (Neb.). Connor Beranek is one of the top scorers in the MIAA at 24.9 points per game.