By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State moved to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA by grinding out a 65-55 win in a defensive battle with Rogers State at Gross Memorial Coliseum. FHSU held a 23-21 advantage at halftime and hit all 10 of its free-throw attempts in the final minute and a half of the game to hold off RSU. The Hillcats moved to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.
Rogers State pulled ahead by seven points at the 8:18 mark of the first half, up 15-8, but the Tigers countered with at 13-4 run to take the lead by two at 21-19 on a 3-point field goal by Kaleb Hammeke. Bjarni Jonssontriggered the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play and moments later a 3-point field goal. Hammeke had the final five points in the run as a pair of free throws preceded the 3-point shot to put the Tigers on top. Jonsson made the final bucket of the first half on a nice fast-break layup off a pass from Hammeke, putting the Tigers up two just before the buzzer.
The Tigers led the remainder of the game, but the Hillcats had the lead down to two three times between the 13:07 and 11:41 marks of the second half. Geoff Hamperian and Jaheim Holden hit big back-to-back 3-point field goals for the Tigers to get the lead back up to eight with 10 minutes to play. The Hillcats never got closer than five points the rest of the way. The FHSU lead finally reached 10 with 1:47 remaining and it touched that margin five more times before the final horn as solid free-throw shooting down the stretch held off any chance of a late charge from RSU.
Hammeke led the Tigers with 23 points, which included a 14-of-17 effort at the free-throw line. Elijah Nnanabu was 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line for 15 points. Jonsson finished with 10 points, scoring eight in the first half. Hammeke had a team-high four assists and Gabe Pieschl pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Joey Saracco led Rogers State with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. He was 9-of-15 shooting from the field and went 2-of-3 at the free-throw line. He was the only Hillcat player to reach double figures in scoring. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince led the Hillcats in assists with four.
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field and under 30 percent beyond the 3-point arc. The charity stripe was the difference in the game for FHSU where it made 11 more free throws than Rogers State. FHSU also outscored RSU by 12 in points off turnovers.
Fort Hays State heads on the road next weekend to Missouri Western (Saturday) and Northwest Missouri State (Sunday) to continue MIAA play. Game times will be 3:30 p.m. each day.