BY CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS
PHOTO BY ALLIE SCHWEIZER
A big-time performance by junior forward Jared Vitztum gave the Tigers a much-needed boost after a slow start in the first half. Fort Hays State beat the Northeastern State RiverHawks 87-80 on senior night, which puts an end to the two-game losing streak by the Tigers. This performance was backed by the ability to get to the free-throw line. FHSU dominated in free throws by a with a total of 32 attempts for the Tigers compared to 11 for the RiverHawks.
Northeastern State took an early 30-14 lead in the first quarter, but a surge led by Vtiztum and Jake Hutchings closed the gap. The Tigers managed to go into the half down, 41-33.
Vitztum finished the game with 25 points, 10-14 from the field, and 3-4 from three-point range.
“Yeah so we lost at their place, so we just kind of felt we needed to go get one tonight,” Vitztum said. “We had a bad little first half – we were down by like 15 and then after that we turned it up on defense, and we hit some shots in the second half. It was good to see Perry [Carroll] and Jake [Hutchings] step up and play really well for us too.”
Jake Hutchings, a senior transfer for the Tigers hit crucial shots for the FHSU in both halves and wanted to put on a good show in his last game inside GMC.
“As far as my performance, I just try to come out and play as hard as I can for my last game, just leave it all out on the court and just have some fun and also get the win,” Hutchings said. “We did just that so I’m happy about it. Now we just gotta go on the road and finish out the season right – get a couple wins and go to the tournament.”
Hutchings finished the game with 18 points, on 6-9 shooting from the field, and 4-6 from three at 66.7 percent.
The Tigers shot a collective 10-21 from three at 47.6 percent, which is a dramatic turnaround from Thursday night’s performance, where FHSU only knocked one three for the entire night.
Fort Hays State outscored the RiverHawks 54-39 in the second half and managed to hit 50 percent from the field, compared Northeastern State’s 45.6 percent. Head Coach Mark Johnson said this was one of the best games FHSU has played all year.
“I think that’s as good as we’ve played all year long, especially on both ends of the floor. We guarded them extremely well, we limited their three pointers in the second half, which they had seven in the first,” Johnson said. “Then offensively we were tremendous. Jared and Jake were able to stretch their big guys out and shoot threes and Perry Carroll gave us a great boost in the second half.”
Senior guard Devin Davis had a quiet night in the first twenty minutes, but turned it up in the second for his last night playing in the coliseum.
“It was a great experience, I had to definitely have to come out with a W,” Davis said. “My parents came, which was the first time they saw me, probably since I came from junior college about two years ago. So I was more motivated to get the win, so now we are trying to make this tournament push and hopefully do something there – go out with a bang.”
Davis finished tonight with 11 points and hit 4-11 from the field at 36.4 percent.
Davis was seen wincing in pain on the baseline after executing an and-one opportunity in the second half.
“I actually got a cramp. It’s funny because my mom was joking with me about how I don’t drink enough water, so yeah it just creeped up on me in the second half,” Davis said.
Not everyone was pleased with their final performance at home. As senior guard, Aaron Nicholson struggled to score. Nicholson finished his senior night with five points, 2-8 from the field at 25 percent. However, Nicholson has been a big part of FHSU’s wins this season and led the Tigers with six assists in the game.
“I had a tough time shooting tonight, so I was trying to get my teammates involved and get down in the paint and dish it out to my shooters,” Nicholson said. “So I’m very happy with my guys helping me out tonight and making shots to help us get the win.”
The Fort Hays State men’s team will be back in action on February 25th at Central Oklahoma at 7:30 pm in Edmond Oklahoma. FHSU is vying for a spot in next month’s MIAA Tournament. The Tigers are tied with UCO for 9th in league standings and own a victory over the Bronchos earlier this year.
