By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State turned in another great defensive performance on Thursday night (Feb. 15) on the road, defeating Lincoln by a score of 60-41. FHSU limited Lincoln to just 17 first-half points and continued their stifling defense in the second half to cruise to victory. The No. 18-ranked Tigers are now 19-5 overall and 14-4 in the MIAA, while Lincoln moved to 13-10 overall, 8-9 in the MIAA.
Both teams struggled mightily from the field to open the game, going a combined 0-of-14. Lincoln finally made the first field goal of the game just before the first media break and led 4-1. Out of the break, the Tiger offense found its footing, going on a 17-0 run to go from three down to 14 up (18-4) with 6:56 to play in the half. Lincoln eventually reached a point of 1-of-17 from the field before making its second field goal of the half with about 6:30 on the clock. The Blue Tigers eventually climbed within five, but a 6-0 burst by the Tigers created space again and the margin rested at 26-17 in favor of FHSU at the half.
Out of the break, the Tigers scored the first four points and extended their lead to 13. They would hold their double-digit lead the remainder of the game, methodically growing the advantage larger and larger to a 23-point margin with 3:03 to play. A late bucket just before the final horn allowed Lincoln to crawl north of 40 points for the game, but it was the seventh time this season the nation’s best scoring defense held an MIAA opponent inside of 50 points. Four of those seven instances have been on the road. The result pushed FHSU’s scoring defense average down to 56.8 per game.
Kaleb Hammeke led FHSU with 16 points on a 6-of-10 performance from the field. He was a perfect 6-of-6 inside the 3-point line, and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line. Shaun Riley also scored in double figures with 11. Elijah Nnanabu, R.J. Crawford, and Jaheim Holden all had eight. Bjarni Jonsson led the rebounding effort with eight, while Hammeke and Traejon Davis each had three assists.
Elijah Farr was the only Lincoln player in double figures for scoring, finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers locked down Lincoln’s top scorer, D.J. Richardson, to just two points.
FHSU held Lincoln to just 26.1 percent shooting from the field (12-of-46), including a 1-of-14 (7.1 percent) effort beyond the 3-point line. It was a new season low for any Tiger opponent this season in both categories. FHSU shot 45.1 percent from the field and was 8-of-9 at the free-throw line.
The Tigers play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 17) at Central Missouri. Game time is set for 3 p.m. in Warrensburg at the UCM Multipurpose Building.