By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State ran away with an 84-48 win over Central Missouri on Saturday (Feb. 20) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. It was the largest margin of victory for FHSU in its series history with UCM, passing the previous best of 27, and was also the largest win for FHSU this season. The Tigers moved to 11-9 with the win, while the Mules fell to 6-14.
Fort Hays State never trailed and took command of the game early, opening on an 18-2 run over the first 9:20 of the game. The Tigers maintained their lead by double digits the rest of the first half and the remainder of the game. FHSU led by 12 at the break, 35-23. Bjarni Jonsson scored all 12 of his points to lead the Tigers in the first half.
Jared Vitztum went on a tear to open the second half, scoring the first 12 points for the Tigers following intermission. He opened the run with a pair of 3-point field goals and the last two of his five buckets in the run were dunks off passes from Kaleb Hammeke. The Tigers were up 17 after UCM countered with seven points during Vitztum’s individual run.
Vitztum went on to finish 9-of-9 from the field for the game, including a 3-of-3 effort beyond the 3-point line. His only miss was at the free-throw line, where he went 2-of-3. Vitztum finished with 23 points. He tied Gilbert Peters for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Hammeke dished out a team-high six assists, followed by Quinten Rock with five. Hammeke was the third Tiger in double figures with 12 points.
Following Vitztum’s 12-point run of scoring, the Tigers put their foot on the accelerator with a 19-3 run to extend the lead out to 33 with 10:34 remaining in the game. The lead eventually reached 39 with 1:06 to go on Devin Walker’s first point of the year, going 1-of-3 at the free-throw line.
The Tigers outshot the Mules from the field 58 percent to 30.2 percent. They held UCM to just 19.2 percent beyond the 3-point line. The Tigers also outrebounded the Mules 41-24. Koray Gilbert was the only Mule to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points.
Winners of seven of their last eight games, including three in a row, the Tigers now prepare for a big meeting with Missouri Western on Tuesday (Feb. 23) in the final home game of the season at 5:30 pm. It is a make-up contest from the postponement back on January 16. Pending their results on Saturday night at Emporia State, the Griffons will come to Hays either tied or one game up on the Tigers in the MIAA standings.