By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State moved to 4-0 overall with a 49-point win over Manhattan Christian College on Sunday (Nov. 28). For the fourth consecutive game the Tigers never trailed, pushing their streak of consecutive minutes of not trailing to 160 to open the season.
Manhattan Christian hung around early in the contest, tying the game at 13-13 midway through the first half after the Tigers had stretched their lead to seven twice. But the Tigers finished the first half on an 11-0 run to open up a 16-point lead of 40-24 at halftime. The Tigers went on to outscore the Thunder 43-10 in the second half. FHSU held MCC to just two points for the first 11:30 of the second half. MCC was just 2-of-28 from the field in the second half.
Kaleb Hammeke and Quinten Rock led the Tigers with 12 points each, while Nyjee Wright also reached double figures with 10. Rock led the Tigers with six assists. The Tigers had 46 points from their bench players. Jackson Miller led in rebounding, doing all of his damage in the final six minutes of the game. The Tigers hit 11 3-point field goals and shot 45.6 percent overall, while limiting the Thunder to just 22.4 percent overall.
Ferdinand Handy, Jr. led Manhattan Christian with eight points, while Taymont Lindsey had a team-high six rebounds.
The Tigers brought their season scoring defense average down to just 46.8 points allowed per game, which leads all NCAA divisions. The Tigers also dropped their opponent field goal percentage for the season down to 32.6 percent, which also leads NCAA Division II.
The Tigers will now prepare for their MIAA opener on Wednesday (Dec. 1) at Washburn, set to follow the women’s contest at 7:30 pm.