ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team will have its final tune-ups prior to the start of its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule on the two days following Thanksgiving, as the Miners take part in the Doubletree Classic at Drury University in Springfield, Mo.

The Miners – who are taking part in the Thanksgiving weekend event at Drury for the second year in a row and third time in the last four seasons – will open play Friday against an undefeated Rogers State team at 1 p.m. at the O'Reilly Family Events Center.  Missouri S&T will play again on Saturday against Southern Arkansas, also at 1 p.m., in its final games before next Tuesday's GLVC opener against Maryville at Gibson Arena.

Missouri S&T will bring a 1-2 record into Friday's game and won its most recent game that counted when it knocked off Lindenwood-Belleville 77-59 last Tuesday.  S&T had four players in double figures in that win, paced by CJ Hedgepeth's (Evansville, IN/Harrison) 18 points as he hit four of the Miners' nine three-point baskets in the game.

Hedgepeth leads the Miners in scoring on the season with an average of 13.3 points per game, while Dulan Scott (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) is averaging 12 per game, Chima Oduocha (Hoffman Estates, IL/Conant) 11.3 per contest and Mitch Fairless (St. Charles, MO/Duchesne) 10.3 per game.  Fairless recorded a double-double for the Miners with 19 points and 10 rebounds on Friday in a 72-71 loss in an exhibition contest at Southeast Missouri State, while Scott added 18 points.
 
Odoucha is also averaging a team-high 10 rebounds per game, a mark that also leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Fairless has recorded a team-leading eight assists.

ABOUT ROGERS STATE: The Hillcats come into Friday's contest with a 5-0 record after knocking off Cameron 78-71 in overtime Monday in Lawton, Okla., behind five players in double figures led by Brewster Peacock's 19 points; his fifth three-pointer of the game with 14 seconds to play in the second half forced the contest into overtime.  Rogers State hit four free throws in the final 19 seconds of the extra period to hold off the Aggies.

Marques Sumner leads Rogers State with an average of 18.4 points per game for a team that has four players averaging in double figures on the season.  Peacock is scoring 16 points per game and leads the Hillcats on the boards with 6.3 per game, while Jett Sternberger is scoring 13.4 points per contest.  The fourth double figure scorer is Christopher Miller with his average of 10.6 points a contest.

Rogers State is averaging 85.2 points per game over its first five contests and is shooting nearly 49 percent from the field as well as 4153 percent from three-point range.  Sumner and Peacock have already drained 15 three-pointers, while Sternberger has 13.  Tavian Davis has a team-high 27 assists after dishing out eight on Monday.

ABOUT SOUTHERN ARKANSAS: The Muleriders picked up their second victory of the 2019-20 season on Saturday when they knocked off Harding 72-53, their second win in three games following a pair of losses to open the season.

Devante Brooks led SAU with 24 points in the win over Harding and is leading the Muleriders in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest.  Aaron Lucas is the other double figure scorer with his mark of 11.2 points per game, while dishing out 15 assists and shooting 88 percent at the free throw line.

Southern Arkansas has averaged 63.8 points per game in the early going, but is shooting only 39.3 percent from the field and 25.5 percent from three-point range.  The Muleriders are outrebounding their foes by five per contest – Jalen Brooks is pulling down 8.6 per game – but have turned the ball over an average of 16.6 times per outing.

Southern Arkansas will face tournament host Drury on Friday prior to its game with Missouri S&T on Saturday afternoon.