By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
After falling down by seven points out of the gate, Fort Hays State stormed back for a 13-point halftime lead and went on to win by 25, 82-57, over Newman University on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 19) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers, ranked No. 23 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll, moved to 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the MIAA, while the Jets fell to 3-8 overall and 0-6 in the MIAA.
The win marked Fort Hays State’s first while in the D2SIDA Top 25. The Tigers were 0-3 so far when ranked in the poll’s Top 25, which started in 2014-15. The win was also the 400th inside Gross Memorial Coliseum for Fort Hays State during its NCAA Division II era, now 400-70 inside the coliseum since 1991-92. The Tigers are 635-123 all-time inside Gross Coliseum, which saw its first season in 1973-74.
Newman held an 11-4 lead at the 15:25 mark of the first half, but FHSU went on to outscore Newman 40-20 the rest of the way before the break. The Tigers led 44-31 at halftime.
Fort Hays State enjoyed its largest lead of the game at the 6:15 mark of the second half, a 29-point lead of 77-48, before the final margin settled at 25. The Tigers continued their trend of holding another opponent under 60 points, now accomplishing the feat in eight of 10 games so far this season. FHSU is surrendering 56 points per game so far this season, which is second-best NCAA Division II and leads the MIAA.
Jared Vitztum led the Tigers with a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds, his fifth of the season. Vitztum was 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. Kaleb Hammeke added 17 points, while Gabe Pieschl and Nyjee Wright chipped in 10 each. Traejon Davis nearly reached a double-double off the bench with eight points and nine rebounds. Hammeke led the Tigers in assists with four. FHSU shot 54.2 percent overall for the game, shooting above 50 percent in both halves.
Stevie Strong led the Newman scoring effort with 21 points. Ian Lee also reached double figures with 16. The Tigers held Newman to just 35.2 percent shooting overall, including just a 28.6 percent effort after halftime.
The FHSU men are now off for the upcoming holiday and return to the floor on New Year’s Day in Tahlequah, Oklahoma at Northeastern State. That will be part of a two-game road conference road swing to Oklahoma.
Friday
Fort Hays State took its first loss of the
2021-22 season on Friday night (Dec. 17) to Central Oklahoma at Gross Memorial
Coliseum. The Bronchos were on fire in the first half and built a 21-point lead
at halftime before winning the game 77-60. The Tigers, ranked No. 23 in the
latest D2SIDA Top 25 Poll, are now 8-1 overall, 3-1 in the MIAA, while the
Bronchos moved to 8-2 overall, 4-1 in the MIAA.
The Tigers scored the first basket of the game and then held their final lead
at 9-8 four minutes into the action before the Bronchos outscored them 41-19
the remainder of the first half. UCO’s high-powered offense was in full gear in
the opening half, shooting 66.7 percent from the field (18-of-27) with eight
3-point field goals. FHSU shot just 29 percent as a team in the first half
(9-of-31) and was just 23.5 percent beyond the 3-point line, though Kaleb
Hammeke had 16 of the team’s 28 points as the break on a
6-of-9 shooting effort with four 3-point field goals. UCO led 49-28 at the
half.
The Tiger shooting effort gained some traction early in the second half and
they pulled within 12 points of the Bronchos with 9:31 to go. But the comeback
effort ran out of gas and UCO countered with an 8-0 run to push the lead back
to 20 and put the game away.
Hammeke remained hot throughout the contest, burying a career-high eight
3-point field goals. He shot 11-of-18 overall from the field and finished with
30 points, providing exactly half of the Tiger scoring effort. He was 8-of-12
beyond the arc, coming up just one 3-point field goal shy of tying the FHSU
record of nine in a game held by Geoff Eck and Rodney Malloy. His 30 points was
just two shy of his career high of 32 that he scored in an overtime win at
Missouri Southern last season. Hammeke has had over 20 points in the last three
contests.
Hammeke was the only Tiger to score in double figures. Jared
Vitztum and Nyjee
Wright each had eight and Vitztum pulled down a team-high
eight rebounds.
Isaiah Wade led the UCO scoring effort with 21 points, while Camryn Givens had
16 and Callen Haydon and Jaden Wells each had 12. Wells and Givens each had a
team-best seven rebounds, while Haydon provided a team-high seven assists. The
Bronchos cooled a bit in the second half, but still managed to shoot 55.6
percent overall for the game and 50 percent beyond the 3-point line.