FORT SMITH, Ark. - University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Men's Basketball will head to Kansas City Friday as the Lions are set to make their first appearance in the MIAA Tournament.

The Lions are the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will take on No. 4 seed Missouri Western at 6 p.m. Friday at Municipal Auditorium. The game will be streamed on the MIAA Network with live stats available at uafortsmithlions.com.

NOTES:

LAST WEEK: UAFS dropped its final two games of the regular season, falling to Central Oklahoma and Rogers State at the Stubblefield Center.

NEWCOMER: Guard Christian Moore was named the MIAA Newcomer of the Year. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41.6 percent from three.

ALL-MIAA: Additionally, Moore was named All-MIAA Second Team while guard Brandon Scott was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention.

20: UAFS won 20 games this season for the first time since the 2017-18 season when the Lions finished 24-6.

IN THE REGION: UAFS was ranked eighth in this week's NCAA II Central Region rankings.

HELPING HAND: Moore ranks third in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.4. His 131 assists are tied for the third most in a single season in the NCAA II era.

FROM DISTANCE: UAFS is third in the MIAA in three-point percentage at 35.9 percent and second with 9.3 makes per game. Defensively, the Lions are fourth at 30.6 percent. Scott ranks seventh in the league with 2.1 makes per game.  

OFF THE BENCH: The Lions rank eighth nationally and lead the MIAA with 35.5 bench points per game.

THE FIRST TIME: UAFS defeated Missouri Western, 98-87, in St. Joseph on February 19. Moore led the Lions with 25 points and seven assists while forward Kameron Johnson added 20 points.

SCOUTING MW: The Griffons went 20-10, 12-7 MIAA and ranked third in the league in scoring at 82.7 points per game. Four players average double figures, led by guard Noah King at 16.2 points per game.

THE SERIES: UAFS is 3-0 all-time against Missouri Western.