By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball improved to 15-7 overall, 10-6 in the MIAA with a 71-62 win at Newman on Thursday evening at Fugate Gymnasium. The victory gave the Tigers a season sweep of the Jets for the fourth-straight season. Elijah Nnanabu matched his career high with 19 points, while Kaleb Hammeke reached the 1,000-point scoring mark for his career.
The Tigers never trailed in the game. They opened the game on an 8-2 run before the Jets worked their way back to a tie at 13-13 on the scoreboard. But, the Tigers went on an 11-0 run to get separation and eventually led by seven at halftime, 33-25. Traejon Davis led the Tigers with eight points in the opening half.
The Jets would not make up any ground in the second half, getting the margin back to seven just one time after the Tigers led by 12. The Tigers nearly held a double-figure lead for the remainder of the second half from the 13:15 mark all the way down to 19 seconds remaining when the Jets got the final margin back to nine.
The biggest lead for the Tigers was 18 points, when Hammeke put in a free throw for his 1,000th career point with just under eight minutes to play. Hammeke and Nnanabu combined for 22 second-half points for the Tigers, Nnanabu with 12 and Hammeke with 10. Nnanabu was 7-of-13 from the field overall and 4-of-6 at the free-throw line to reach 19 points for the third time in his career. Hammeke finished with 12 points after just two in the first half and had a team-high five assists.
Bjarni Jonsson was the only other Tiger to finish in double figures with 11 points, going 3-of-4 beyond the 3-point line. Jonsson matched Gabe Pieschl for a team-high seven rebounds as the Tigers were +7 as a team on the glass.
Stevie Strong and Latik Murphy led the scoring effort for Newman, each with 18. Thomas Zevgaras also reached double figures with 12. Strong also dished out five assists.
The Tigers now prep for their second battle with nationally ranked Central Oklahoma on Saturday in Edmond. The Bronchos enter the game ranked No. 6 in the NABC Top 25 and No. 4 in the D2SIDA Top 25. UCO is 20-2 overall and 14-2 in the MIAA. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. in Edmond.