By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
JOPLIN, Mo. – An offensive explosion helped the Fort Hays State men’s basketball team pick up a crucial road win over Missouri Southern Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18), with the Tigers winning 84-70. The 84 points are the most the Tigers (19-8, 14-7 MIAA) have scored away from home this season and are the second-most scored against an MIAA opponent this year.
Kaleb Hammeke led all scorers with 11 points at halftime before taking over in the second half, burying 8-for-10 from the floor, 4-for-4 from behind the arc and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe after intermission to give the sophomore a game-high 35 points. It was the fourth 30-point performance in Hammeke’s career, including his second game scoring at least 30 points in a road win over the Lions (32 points, 1/21/21), and was one point off his career-high of 36.
The lead changed hands six times over the first 16 minutes of play, with neither side leading by more than five points. Gilbert Peters drilled a corner 3-pointer to tie the score at 18 with 6:07 to go before halftime, sparking a 21-5 Tiger run that gave FHSU the lead for good.
Hammeke put the Tigers up 90 seconds later with a 3-pointer before a Traejon Davis breakaway dunk pushed the lead to eight, 29-21. Davis capped off the first half with a triple from the left wing, giving FHSU a 13-point lead, 36-23.
The Tigers maintained a double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half, leading by as many as 24 after going on a 15-2 run over the heart of the quarter. Hammeke scored 13 of FHSU’s 15 points during the run while the Tiger defense held MSSU to 1-of-6 shooting and one turnover during that five-minute span.
Missouri Southern tried to storm back, burying nine of their next 12 shots, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, to go on a 23-9 run and close within 10, 74-64. But the Tigers handled business at the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the win, hitting 19-of-22 from the stripe over the final five-plus minutes.
The win propels Fort Hays State into fourth place in the MIAA standings with one game remaining in the regular season. The Tigers are one-half game behind Emporia State for third place.
Elijah Nnanabu tied his career high with 19 points, 12 of which came after halftime. Davis tacked on 13 points, while Nnanabu, Davis and Iyen Enaruna collected a team-high five rebounds.
After the teams tied with 19 rebounds in the first half, FHSU outrebounded the Lions by seven in the second half, 18-11. The Tigers took advantage of 13 Lion turnovers, capitalizing to the tune of 21 points off turnovers.
The Tigers will wrap up the regular season next Saturday (Feb. 25) at Nebraska-Kearney before opening the postseason in the 2023 MIAA Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Friday, March 3.