By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State locked down defensively once again on Saturday (Dec. 9) in a 73-49 win over No. 22 ranked Missouri Western. An early 24-4 run fueled the Tigers to a 22-point lead just over 15 minutes into the game and eventually a convincing win on their home floor, knocking off an NABC ranked team for the second-straight game. The Tigers improved to 7-2 overall, 3-1 in the MIAA, while the Griffons moved to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA.
The Tigers held the Griffons without a field goal from the 16:17 mark to the first half all the way to 2:51 remaining before the break, a span of 15:26 on the clock. The four points within that window of time for MWSU were all at the free-throw line. FHSU’s largest lead of the first half was 22 points twice before taking a 19-point lead (35-16) into the locker room. Shaun Riley led the Tigers with 11 of his 15 points overall in the first half.
After Bjarni Jonsson made a driving layup to open the second half, the Tiger lead never dipped back inside of 20 points the rest of the way. The lead peaked at 31 twice inside the final seven minutes of the game before the final margin sat at 24.
Elijah Nnanabu filled up the stat sheet, leading the Tigers with 17 points to tie his season high. He also tied for the team high in rebounds with seven, joining Jonsson. Nnanabu had a career-high seven steals and tied for the team lead in assists with Kaleb Hammeke, each dishing out three. Aside from Riley’s 15 points, R.J. Crawford also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points.
JaRon Thames was the only Griffon to reach double figures with 11 points. Taye Fields handed out four assists for MWSU.
The Tigers held the Griffons to just 32 percent shooting from the field, including an abysmal 20.8 percent in the first half. The Tigers finished at 47.4 percent as a team and a strong 83.3 percent at the free-throw line. The Tigers forced the Griffons into 19 turnovers and committed seven, which was an exact replicated performance from FHSU’s 27-point win over MWSU last season in Hays. FHSU finished the game with 14 steals. The Tigers improved their nation’s best scoring defense to 55.6 points per game with the result.
The Tigers will wrap up their non-conference play on Wednesday night (Dec. 13) when they play host to Bethel College at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.