By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – After a winter storm rolled through Jefferson City on Thursday (Feb. 17), Fort Hays State took Jason Gym by storm with a 73-35 win over Lincoln University. With the blowout win, FHSU reached at least 20 wins in a season for the 10th time under head coach Mark Johnson. The Tigers improved to 20-4 overall and 15-4 in the MIAA, while Lincoln fell to 2-21 overall and 1-17 in the MIAA.
The 38-point win marked the largest margin of victory for the Tigers in an MIAA road game, eclipsing the 33-point win the Tigers produced at Lincoln in 2010-11. The 2010-11 team finished second in the MIAA, won the MIAA Tournament, and went on to play in the NCAA Tournament finishing with 26 wins. The 38-point spread was the second largest for the Tigers in a road game under Mark Johnson, with a 42-point win at UC-Colorado Springs all the way back on January 18, 2003 being the largest in a road game during his tenure.
By holding Lincoln to just 35 points, the Tigers set a new program low for points allowed in an MIAA game, eclipsing the old record of 44 by nine. The old record was set on January 28, 2015 at Emporia State in a 66-44 win. It also set a new low for points allowed to a conference opponent during the Mark Johnson era, which goes back to 2001-02. This was the first time one of his teams held a conference opponent under 40. The 35 points were the second-fewest allowed by the Tigers overall this season after holding Manhattan Christian to just 34 points earlier this season.
The Tigers took command of this game by halftime with a 31-12 lead. The 12 points scored by Lincoln matched the lowest allowed by the Tigers to a conference opponent in the first half this season, which they did to Nebraska-Kearney on December 11 in a 64-46 win in Hays. After leading just 12-9, the Tigers went on a 19-3 run to close the first half. FHSU held Lincoln to just those three points over the final 12:19 of the first half. FHSU limited Lincoln to just 4-of-19 shooting from the field in the first half (21.1 percent) and shut Lincoln out beyond the 3-point line (0-of-8).
The Tigers really put the game away in the first seven minutes of the second half, going on a 22-2 run to take a commanding 39-point lead of 53-14. The lead eventually reached its peak with 6:01 to go with FHSU leading by 42 (68-26) before the final margin rested at 38. Combining the lock down of Lincoln’s offense from the first half through the first seven minutes of the second half, FHSU held Lincoln to just five points for just shy of a 20-minute span.
Lincoln finished at just 26 percent from the field as a team for the game (13-of-50), while FHSU countered at 49.2 percent (29-of-59). FHSU hit 10 3-point field goals (seven more than Lincoln).
Kaleb Hammeke led FHSU with 17 points, followed by Jared Vitztum and Nyjee Wright with 15 each. Wright did all of his scoring damage on a 5-of-7 effort beyond the 3-point line. Vitztum led the Tigers in rebounding with seven, while Hammeke led in assists with five. Bjarni Jonsson was just one point shy of double figures with nine on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
The Tigers kept Lincoln from having any scorers reach double figures. Yaniel Vidal had the most, coming off the bench for eight points. FHSU limited the Lincoln starting five to just 16 points.
The win for FHSU snapped a four-game losing skid in Jefferson City. The last time FHSU won in Jason Gym prior to Thursday night was during the 2014-15 season. The win also gave FHSU a regular-season sweep of Lincoln after a 14-point win in Hays back on Monday.
The Tigers will need to sharpen their focus once more on Saturday when they take on Central Missouri in Warrensburg. Tipoff is set for 3 pm inside the UCM Multipurpose Building, which follows the women’s contest at 1 pm.