By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State picked up a win on Senior Day Saturday (Feb. 11) at Gross Memorial Coliseum by defeating Central Missouri 60-51. The Mules rallied into the lead briefly midway through the second half, but the Tigers were able to get back on top and hold off the Mules down the stretch. FHSU moved to 17-8 overall, 12-7 in the MIAA, while UCM moved to 11-13 overall, 7-11 in the MIAA.
The Tigers had a good start to the game, opening on a 10-2 run. Their lead reached eight three times before the Mules went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 15-15. The Tigers countered that with a 9-0 run all on 3-point field goals by Bjarni Jonsson to go up 24-15 and they led by 10 twice before the halftime margin settled back at nine, 32-23.
Kaleb Hammeke hit a jumper to open the scoring in the second half, pushing the lead to 11. That would be the largest lead for the Tigers as the Mules chipped away with a 15-3 run to take their only lead at 38-37 with 11:11 to play. The Tiger scoring slump during that run lasted about eight minutes until Geoff Hamperian put the Tigers back on top with a lay in off a nice assist from Gabe Pieschl. Moments later, Pieschl buried a three to get the Tiger lead to four.
The Mules kept fighting and got the Tiger lead back down to one with 6:43 to play, but Kaleb Hammeke and Bjarni Jonsson hit four straight free throws to get the lead back to five. The Tigers did enough at the free-throw line down the stretch to widen their lead and eventually win by nine.
Jonsson led the Tigers with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 effort beyond the 3-point line. He also pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Hammeke finished with 14 points, while Traejon Davis was the top scorer off the bench with 11. FHSU shot 48.8 percent from the field as a team.
Jack Chapman led the Mules in scoring off the bench with 12. Starter Gaven Pinkley ws the only other UCM player to reach double figures in scoring with 11. FHSU held UCM to 38.3 percent shooting from the field.
The Tigers will play their final three regular season games on the road, starting with a road trip to Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern next week. FHSU remains a half game back of Emporia State and Lincoln, which sit in a tie for third in the MIAA standings.