By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
EMPORIA, Kan. – Fort Hays State turned in a sound performance on Sunday (Jan. 22), defeating No. 24 ranked Emporia State by 21 at White Auditorium. The Tigers shot 57.7 percent from the field, their season’s best against an MIAA opponent, while holding the Hornets to just 32.6 percent, a season-low by an MIAA opponent, in the 74-53 win. The Tigers moved to 13-6 overall, 8-5 in the MIAA, while the Hornets moved to 15-4 overall, 9-4 in the MIAA.
The win was Fort Hays State’s first over an NABC Top 25 ranked team since the 2018-19 season, when they defeated a No. 25 ranked Missouri Southern squad by five in Hays. It was the first win over an NABC ranked team in a true road game since the 2015-16 season, when FHSU won by one point over a No. 15 ranked Central Missouri squad. FHSU moved to 3-0 all-time against NABC No. 24 ranked teams. The Tigers also continued their dominating stretch of success at White Auditorium, now winners of nine of the last 10 meetings with the Hornets in Emporia.
The Tigers scorched the nets in both halves of the game, shooting 54.2 percent in the first half before a blistering 60.7 percent in the second half. The Tigers also turned in their best 3-point field goal percentage in an MIAA game this season, hitting at a 50 percent clip beyond the arc (8-of-16). Bjarni Jonsson, Kaleb Hammeke, and Elijah Nnanabu all shot 50 percent or better from long distance in the game. The Tigers outrebounded the Hornets by 15, 34-19, and were a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line as well to leave no doubt.
Emporia State led only one time in the game, holding a brief 7-6 advantage for about 20 seconds early in the game. Jonsson put the Tigers back in front for good with a jumper in the paint at the 16:21 mark. The Tigers led by five three times before Gabe Pieschl hit one of his two 3-point field goals in the game to push the lead to six with about eight minutes to go in the opening half. FHSU finished the opening half on a 6-0 burst to extend its lead to eight by halftime, capped on another bucket by Jonsson who led FHSU with 10 points in the first half. Pieschl had all eight of his points by halftime.
Nnanabu and Hammeke took over offensively in the second half for the Tigers, scoring 31 of the team’s 40 points in the second half. FHSU opened the second half on a 9-3 run to get its lead stretched out to 14, triggered by a pair of baskets by Nnanabu and a 3-point field goal by Hammeke. The duo pushed the accelerator pedal down even more when Nnanabu hit three straight 2-point baskets for the Tigers, followed by three straight baskets by Hammeke (one a 3-point field goal) to get the lead out to 21 with just under 10 minutes to play. The Hornets never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way and 21 was the largest lead of the game for the Tigers, reached four times and was the final margin of victory.
Nnanabu was on fire in the second half, a perfect 8-of-8 from the field. He missed only one field goal attempt in the opening half and finished 9-of-10 for the game. He had 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. Hammeke finished with 14 points in the second half and 18 overall for the game. He dished out a team-high five assists. Jonsson added five points for the Tigers in the second half and finished with 15, also near perfect from the field at 6-of-7 overall, including a 3-of-4 effort beyond the 3-point line. The trio of Nnanabu, Hammeke, and Jonsson combined for 52 of the team’s 74 points and combined for 66.7 percent shooting from the field in the game (22-of-33). Jonsson and Pieschl tied for the high rebound mark for the Tigers, each with seven.
Sam Baker was the only Hornet to reach double figures for scoring in the game with 12. He had all of his points on four 3-point field goals. The Tigers held the Hornets to just 25.9 percent (7-of-27) shooting inside of the 3-point arc in the game. ESU had only 38 points on field goals, but hit 15-of-18 free throw attempts to climb over 50 points for the game.
Fort Hays State will be at home for its next two contests, set to take on Missouri Western Thursday (Jan. 26) and nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Jan. 28).