By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State went toe-to-toe with three-time defending national champion Northwest Missouri State on Saturday at Gross Memorial Coliseum. After playing to a tie through one half, No. 7 ranked Northwest Missouri State did enough late to hold off FHSU by five, 57-52. The Bearcats improved to 19-2 overall, 12-2 in the MIAA, while the Tigers went to 14-7 overall and 9-6 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State used a 16-2 run early in the game to go from four points down to 10 up with 9:03 remaining before halftime. Kaleb Hammeke provided six points in the run, capping the burst with a 4-point play on a 3-pointer and-one, while Gilbert Peters had five points in the run. However, Northwest Missouri State immediately countered with an 11-0 run of its own to move back in front by one at the 6:24 mark. The back-and-forth continued as the Tigers went up five with a 6-0 run, then the Bearcats went on a 5-0 run to get the score tied. The teams traded another pair of baskets to reach a 28-28 tie at halftime.
The Tigers scored the first two points of the second half, but went on a scoring drought for nearly five minutes as the Bearcats climbed back in front by six with an 8-0 run. The Bearcats would hold on to the lead the rest of the way, never leading by more than seven. The Tigers got the lead down to two twice, the latest on a Bjarni Jonsson 3-point field goal with 51 seconds remaining. After Northwest Missouri made just one free throw in a two-shot situation, the Tigers had their opportunity to potentially get within one or tie the game, but unfortunately turned the ball over with nine seconds remaining. Diego Bernard put the game away with a pair of free throws for the Bearcats.
Bernard provided more than half of the scoring for the Bearcats with 29 points. He did a good chunk of damage at the free-throw line, where he was 13-of-15. He also tied for a team-high five rebounds with Byron Alexander. Bennett Stirtz was the closest to double figures in scoring among the rest of the Bearcats with eight.
Kaleb Hammeke led the Tigers with 19 points, hitting five field goals. He was 8-of-9 at the free-throw line. Traejon Davis was the top scorer off the bench for FHSU with nine points, while also pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Tigers shot 47.2 percent from the field, while holding the Bearcats to just 36.7 percent. Both teams struggled to make 3-point field goals, the Tigers 3-of-12 and the Bearcats 2-of-15. NWMSU made up for its field goal percentage by having a +11 advantage in turnovers for the game and outscored the Tigers 22-8 in points off turnovers. Both teams shot the ball well at the free-throw line, NWMSU 19-of-21 for 90.5 percent and FHSU 15-of-17 for 88.2 percent.
The Tigers head on the road next week for games at Newman (Thursday, Feb. 2) and Central Oklahoma (Saturday, Feb. 4). Tipoff for the game in Wichita on Thursday will be at 7:30 p.m.