Iyen Enaruna starts the ball at tip-off.Gabe Pieschel puts up a 3 for the Tigers.
Kaleb Hammeke carries the ball over half court to start the Tiger offense, of which he contributed 36 points to. “It feels good to come out on top of this tough game,” said Hammeke. “We had a tough game early on in the year. Coach says if we’re tested early it means we have that under our belt and can win games from that. This was a good way to start conference play.”
Traejon Davis plays defense on an opponent inbounding the ball.
Jaheim Holden maneuvers past defenders to get into the paint for a shot.
Bjarni Jonsson leaps past an opponent for a bucket. “Defense helped us stay in the game and gave us an edge over the other team to come out on top,” said Jonsson. “Having a player like Kaleb who makes shots when we need them is great too, helps bring our energy back up.”
With a layup, Geoff Hamperian puts the ball in the basket off the backboard and gains a foul on the move.
Davis celebrates Hamperian’s play.
Dribbling the ball in between his legs to keep it out of the defenders reach, Hammeke keeps his opponents on his toes. This win gives Fort Hays a 6-1 record. “We know not to look at the record too much because we’ve got to take it one game at a time,” said Hammeke. “Tonight we found how we need to play and put together a good defensive game. If we keep doing that we’ll keep building our confidence and our wins.”
With another 3 points for the board, Pieschel puts the ball in the hoop behind the 15-foot line. Head Coach Mark Johnson speaks with the ref about a call made during the game.
Hammeke’s reaction to his last-second 3 to keep the Tigers out of overtime is overturned as a foul happens before he releases the shot. Jonsson is given the opportunity to shoot free throws and tie or win the game for the Tigers due to the foul. “Before the free throws, I was just focusing on helping my team get there and get the win,” he said. “I wanted to leave it all on the floor and felt like I did.”
