Men's Basketball | 3/5/2016 1:13:40 AM

Kansas City, Mo. – The MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will roll into semifinal Saturday from Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. 
 
#2 Nebraska-Kearney vs. #3 Missouri Southern
Second seeded Nebraska-Kearney will face off with third seed Missouri Southern in the first of two semifinals set for a 6 p.m. tip-off. The Lopers got the semi’s with an 82-78 OT win over Lincoln and the Lions come in off an 82-70 win over Missouri Western.
 
The Lopers are led by Connor Beranek who is averaging 24.0 points and a team best 8.2 rebounds per contest. Trey Lansman is averaging 16.4 points while Ethan Brozek averages 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. After one tournament game UNK is averaging 79.4 points while allowing opponents 74.0 points per game.
 
The Lions are led by Taevaunn Prince who is averaging a double-double with 26.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Charlie Brown is averaging 14.7 points and Austin Wright 12.6 points per contest. Heading into the semifinals MSSU is averaging 83.9 points while opponents are scoring 79.1 points per contest.
 
The winner advances to the MIAA Championship which will be played at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 from Municipal Auditorium.
 
#1 Northwest Missouri vs. #4 Fort Hays State
Top seeded Northwest Missouri will close out a day of semifinals with an 8:15 p.m. match-up with fourth seeded Fort Hays State. The Bearcats got here with a 62-57 victory over Lindenwood while Fort Hays State earned a 67-61 win over Central Oklahoma.
 
The Bearcats are led by Justin Pitts who is averaging 20.9 points and a team best 4.9 assists per game. Conner Crooker is averaging 12.4 points while Chris-Ebou Ndow is averaging 10.4 points and a team best 6.3 rebounds. After one tourney game NWMSU is averaging 75.9 points while allowing opponents 65.8 points per contest.
 
The Tigers are led by Rob Davis who is averaging 17.4 points and Dom Samac with 13.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Craig Nicholson is averaging 11.7 points and 4.6 assists while Jake Stoppel averages 11.0 points per contest. Entering semifinal Saturday FHSU is averaging 76.7 points while their opponents are averaging 73.1 points per game.
 
The winner advances to the MIAA Championship which will be played at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 6 from Municipal Auditorium.

NOTE: This will be the first time the top four seeds in the both the men's and women's tournament have advanced to the semifinals since 2001.