KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It only took four games to end any possibility of a team running the table en route to the MIAA men's basketball regular season championship.

Entering the third week of play, three teams are tied atop the conference standings with four others waiting a game behind.

Missouri Southern (9-4, 3-1 MIAA) was the last school to drop an MIAA game -- falling at Central Missouri (10-3, 3-1 MIAA) last Saturday (Jan. 12) in Warrensburg. The Lions are on the road again Wednesday (Jan. 16) as they go to No. 20 Northwest Missouri State (10-3, 2-2 MIAA).

After that, the Lions head home to take on Southwest Baptist (10-3, 3-1 MIAA) this Saturday (Jan. 19).

UCM is at Missouri Western (7-6, 1-3 MIAA) Wednesday, having won each of its last two games with some second-half magic. The Mules will return home Saturday for a date with Emporia State (6-7, 1-3 MIAA).

Western chalked up just its second win in the last seven games when the Griffons rolled Rockhurst (Mo.), 78-51, in a non-conference game Monday (Jan. 14).

No. 16 Pittsburg State (11-2, 2-2 MIAA) will be seeking back-to-back wins for the first time since starting the season 9-0 when SBU visits John Lance Arena Wednesday.

Southwest Baptist had its seven-game win streak stopped at Central Missouri, but bounced back with a home victory over Fort Hays State (8-4, 1-3 MIAA) last weekend.

PSU is at home after going 2-1 on a three-game road swing. The Gorillas will have a Top 20 battle at home Saturday afternoon when Northwest comes to Pittsburg.

That game will be available on a free webcast as part of the CSTV/NCAA Division II broadcast agreement. Fans can go to http://www.cstv.com/ncaa/divii to access the action.

Besides UCM, the only other league team entering the week with consecutive wins is Truman (3-10, 2-2 MIAA).

The Bulldogs have two wins after dropping 10 of their first 11, and will be shooting to move above .500 when they head to Emporia State.

The Hornets and Bulldogs have faced off against one another six times in the past two seasons -- each knocking the other out of the MIAA Tournament in that span.

Truman follows up with a trip to Washburn (10-3, 2-2 MIAA) Saturday.

The Ichabods, who already have surpassed their win total of last season (8), will be aiming to equal their MIAA victory total last season if they can win at Fort Hays State to cap a three-game road swing prior to hosting the Bulldogs.

All MIAA men's basketball games (aside from the Pitt State/Northwest game) are available on www.themiaa.tv for $5.50 per game.

MULES GET STINGY IN SECOND HALF: Central Missouri has posted back-to-back home wins thanks to a defense which has stopped opponents nearly cold in the second half.

The Mules held Southwest Baptist scoreless over the final 9:27 of the game, finishing on a 12-0 run to claim a 55-45 victory.

UCM held the Bearcats to 0-of-6 shooting from the field, SBU was 0-of-5 at the foul line and committed eight turnovers in that span.

Senior F Kevin Wollbrinck had career highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds for UCM.

The Mules won their 31st consecutive home game Saturday (Jan. 12) by out-scoring Missouri Southern, 28-5, over the final 8:26 to rally from a 12-point deficit for an 83-72 win.

Junior G Joe Young scored 15 of his 18 points in the final flurry, during which the Mules scored 21 unanswered points. UCM made nine of its last 11 shots in the game, while limiting MSSU to 1-of-7 from the field and forcing six turnovers.

Team-by-Team Notes

Central Missouri: Junior G Joe Young leads the Mules with 11 games reaching double-figure scoring this season... UCM's last home loss was Jan. 14, 2006 vs. Emporia State... The Mules have allowed an average of only 56.2 points to foes in their 10 victories (82.7 in the three losses)... Junior F Skip Thomas is a perfect 9-of-9 on free throws in the final five minutes of games in '07-08... The Mules are 4-0 when scoring more than 80 points.

Emporia State: Senior G Andrew Davison scored a career-high 21 points in the win over Washburn -- 19 in the first half... Senior G Marvin Lee was held to three points in the loss to Pitt State -- his lowest single-game output this season... The Hornets haven't defeated Truman in Emporia since the 2004-05 season (64-63)... ESU has not held an opponent below 70 points since knocking off Ottawa (Kan.), 77-43, on Nov. 26.

Fort Hays State: The Tigers logged their lowest scoring total since Gross Memorial Coliseum opened in 1973 when they were held to 48 by Truman -- it was the fewest points scored at home by FHSU since the 1961-62 season (42)... The Tigers have shot just 26 percent (34-of-131) from the field in the last two games... Junior G Tyrone Evans logged a career-high 19 points at SBU -- going 5-of-8 from three-point range.

Missouri Southern: Senior G Octavius Hawkins scored a season-best 20 points to lead the Lions in their loss at UCM... Senior G T.J. Britton led four Southern players in double-figure scoring vs. Pitt State with 16 points -- he was held to five in the loss at Central Missouri... After cracking 80 points in seven of their first nine games, the Lions have yet to reach that plateau in conference play.

Missouri Western: The Griffons shot 64 percent (16-of-25) from the field in the first half of their 78-51 win over Rockhurst (Mo.) Monday (Jan. 14)... Western held the Hawks to 19 first-half points on 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) from the floor... Junior G Lonnel Johnson has averaged 19.4 points in the month of January... Senior F Jay McFarland had his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds at Truman.

Northwest Missouri State: Senior G John Hawkins enters the week needing five steals to reach 200 in his career... Senior G Andy Peterson missed the WU game with a back injury and may not be available vs. MSSU -- he had started 36 in a row... The Bearcats shot a season-low 32.2 percent from the field in the loss to Washburn... Senior G Mose Howard is 17-of-18 from the foul line in the last five minutes of games in 2007-08.

Pittsburg State: The Gorillas' win at ESU was their eighth in the last 12 trips to White Auditorium... Senior C Cory Abercrombie had 13 of his team-high 21 points in the first half while senior G Keith Windom logged 10 of his 15 points in the second half... Windom had a game-high 20 points in the loss at Southern... PSU scored 10 of the first 12 in the second half vs. the Lions to get a five-point lead, but couldn't hold it.

Southwest Baptist: Sophomore C Matthew Rogers logged a points-blocks double-double with 13 points and 10 blocks vs. FHSU... SBU held the Tigers to 5-of-39 shooting (12.8 percent) in the first half for a 37-14 halftime lead... Senior F Jim Grabowski was 4-of-5 from three-point range and had 22 points vs. FHSU... The Bearcats were 13-of-25 from long range vs. Fort Hays State (4-of-20 the game prior at UCM).

Truman: The Bulldogs enter the week with four straight MIAA road wins, going back to '06-07... Senior F Nick Certa is averaging 19.0 points in MIAA play, and is 10-of-10 at the charity stripe in league games... Freshman F Ethan Freeman had a career-high 13 points in the win over Western... Junior F Patrick Fandja just missed getting his first double-double since the season opener -- he had nine points and 11 boards vs. FHSU.

Washburn: Sophomore G Mario Scott is averaging 5.75 assists in MIAA play... Junior G Angel Santiago was held scoreless for the first time this season in the win over Northwest -- he had extended his string of double-figure scoring games to eight with 18 points in the loss at ESU... The Ichabods are 3-3 this season in games during which they've trailed in the second half after the win over Northwest.

-- MIAA --