Story by RAEGAN NEUFELD Photos by KATIE KUHLMAN Video by KYSON EVANS
Tiger Media Network
An exhibition game on Tuesday night marked the beginning of the season for the Fort Hays men’s basketball team, ending in a 70-56 loss to Kansas State University.
The Tigers stayed close to the Wildcats for the first 12 minutes of the game, but a 6-0 run by KSU out of a timeout led to a 10-point deficit for FHSU. The Tigers went to the locker room at halftime down 34-22 after shooting 9-35 from the field, compared to 11-30 from the Wildcats. KSU went on another run to start the second half and led by 20 at one point. The Tigers made small dents in their opponent’s lead after that, but never got closer than 10 points.
“They’re so long and athletic, it’s hard to run quality offense,” FHSU Head Coach Mark Johnson said. “I thought we did a good job of just freelancing in the second half and trying to spread them out and make plays.”
Johnson also commended his team on rebounding and taking care of the ball. The Tigers finished with 34 rebounds compared to the Wildcats’ 42, but grabbed just one less offensive board with 13. FHSU also finished with 12 turnovers, while KSU gave up 13.
“I thought we did a great job, especially in the first half, with the size differential and competing,” Johnson said. “We only had 12 turnovers, so I thought we took care of the ball, we competed on the glass, we played hard and we tried to share the ball.”
Graduate student Kaleb Hammeke and sophomore Kyle Grill led the Tigers with nine points each. Senior Shaun Riley, junior Lucas Hammeke, sophomore Jahvari Martino and freshman Aidan McDowell all followed with six points apiece. Riley led the Tigers with seven rebounds, and Kaleb Hammeke dished out a team-high five assists. The team finished 24-65 from the field, 6-17 from three-point range and 2-2 from the free throw line.
“Playing against that really pushes you and makes you compete at a different level,” Grill said of the athleticism and talent of KSU. “I think if we can compete like that through the whole season we’ll have a really good year. If we can carry over the competitiveness we had today then I think we’ll do well.”
KSU was led by junior Brendan Hausen who had 15 points, all from the three-point line. Senior Coleman Hawkins and sophomore Macaleab Rich also scored in double digits, finishing with 13 and 11 points. As a team, the Wildcats shot 23-56 overall, 8-28 from beyond the arc and 16-22 from the free throw line.
Ahead of the regular season, which begins on November 8, the Tigers are ranked first in the MIAA preseason media poll and second in the coaches poll, and are No. 16 in the NABC Top 25 poll.
“We know how the MIAA is,” Kaleb Hammeke said. “Whatever you get ranked, every night’s going to be hard and every game’s going to be tough. I appreciate the ranking and take it for what it is, but we know every night we’re going to have to go out and win.”
The preseason rankings come after FHSU finished 23-8 overall and 17-5 in conference play last year. The Tigers also made it to the semifinals of the MIAA tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament, where their season ended on a 59-58 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the Central Region Quarterfinals.
The Tigers are looking to have another successful season with seven returners and nine newcomers on the roster, including five transfer players and four freshmen.
“It’s been good getting to know everybody,” Grill said. “One thing our coach does really well is recruiting really good kids. Everybody’s a good kid and has a positive attitude all the time so it’s easy to get along with everybody. It makes it fun to go to practice and play a game like tonight every day.”
Johnson said his starters for the game – Kaleb Hammeke, RJ Crawford, Traejon Davis, Grill and Riley – are a solid group of returners who have helped the newcomers adjust.
“They’re all trying to figure it out themselves as we’re trying to figure them out, so I think the big thing is being unselfish and when it’s your time be ready to go,” he said.
FHSU will be on the road on November 8, taking on Southwest Minnesota State. The team will play their home opener at 7 p.m. on November 19 against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.