The Lindenwood University men's basketball team will look to extend its current winning streak to three games, and hopefully make it eight wins in nine games Thursday night, when they'll take on Fort Hays State University in another huge MIAA conference game at the Hyland Arena.
Lindenwood, which boasts an 11-4 record in its first full season in NCAA Division II basketball, is also 4-3 in MIAA league games this season, which just happens to be tied with Fort Hays for fifth place in the conference standings.
The FHSU Tigers come into the night with a 10-5 record, following a loss in their last game, last Saturday at Pittsburg State.
As a team, FHSU is averaging 77.7 points a game on offense, while giving up 64.6 points on defense -- both solid numbers that rank among the best in the MIAA this year.
The leading scorer for FHSU is 6'7 junior forward Dwayne Brunson, who leads the team with 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds a game this year.
Three other FHSU players also average in double-figures, with senior guard Lance Russell dropping in 14.2 points a game, senior guard Ben Congiusta chipping in 13.5 points, and freshman Craig Nicholson adding in 13.1 points a game as well.
FHSU is not very solid on its bench, and only gets a combined 15 points on average from its reserves.
That might be a spot in particular where Lindenwood can attack FHSU -- when the reserves come in -- as LU features one of the deepest benches in the entire MIAA, with senior Efkan Eren, junior Tyler Ressel, and freshman Aaron Ramirez all making strong contributions of late for the Lions.
LU's starters are pretty dang good too, with seniors Alex Bazzell (16.9), Richie Thompson (11.1) Cody Sorenson (10.9), and Brett Thompson (10.0) all averaging at least 10 points a game for the Lions.
Sophomore Darris Smith has also played well since taking over the starting point guard job in late December.
GAMEDAY PREVIEW -- LINDENWOOD BASKETBALL 2012-2013
FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS (10-5) at LINDENWOOD LIONS (11-4)
HYLAND PERFORMANCE ARENA -- JANUARY 24, 2012 -- 7:30 p.m.
PROJECTED STARTERS
FORT HAYS STATE TIGERS ....................... LINDENWOOD LIONS
G - 1 Lance Russell (6'5, 195) Sr. -- 14.2 ......... G - 1 Darris Smith (5'11, 150) So. -- 7.6
G - 3 Craig Nicholson (5'8, 160) Fr. -- 13.1 ..... G - 24 Alex Bazzell (6'2, 180) Sr. - 16.9
G - 13 Ben Congiusta (6'2, 185) Sr. -- 13.5 ...... F - 13 Richie Thompson (6'5, 190) - 11.1
F - 31 Dwayne Brunson (6'7, 220) Jr. -- 15.2 ... F - 22 Cody Sorenson (6'5, 210) - 10.9
C- 44 Rundell Mauge (7'0, 270) Sr. -- 4.9 ........ C - 41 Brett Thompson (6'10, 270) - 10.0
Tip-off for tonight's contest is set for approximately 7:30 p.m., following a game between the two schools' women's teams, which will begin at 5:30 p.m.
Both games, as are all MIAA league games, will be broadcast via pay-per-view on the America One Sports Network, with live video and live stats also available.
The radio call of the game will be available for free, through the school's student-run radio station, which broadcasts at 89.1 FM in the St. Louis area, and at www.891thewood.com through any online carrier.
Thursday night's contest is the second of three straight home games for Lindenwood, which will close out its home January schedule on Saturday, when the Lions will take on the No. 24-ranked team in all of Division II basketball, Washburn University at 3:15 p.m.
UPCOMING LINDENWOOD MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
January 24 vs. Fort Hays State ......................................... 7:30 pm
January 26 vs. Washburn ................................................. 3:15 pm
January 31 at Southwest Baptist ...................................... 7:30 pm
February 2 vs. Central Missouri ....................................... 3:15 pm
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