Story by RAEGAN NEUFELD Photos by SIDNEY GILKISON
Tiger Media Network
After making their first five shots of the game, Fort Hays State men’s basketball continued to easily find the bottom of the net on Tuesday, shooting 58% from the field to get their first win of the season against South Dakota Mines.
The Tigers (1-2) started the game on an 8-0 run, seven of which were scored by senior RJ Crawford, and held the lead for the entire 40 minutes. While the Hardrockers (0-5) got within three points during the first half, FHSU went to the locker room up 10. Their lead grew more comfortable throughout the second half, ending in a final score of 76-52.
The win came after two road losses to Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.
“Both those teams are still undefeated and they’re two of the better teams we’ll play all year, so it was great experience,” Head Coach Mark Johnson said of playing SMSU and CSP. “I think just getting home helped, and then the second half we started to guard better, we got a lot of stops and that led to easy baskets for us.”
In addition to making nearly 60% of their shots, FHSU held South Dakota Mines to just 37.8% from the field. The Tigers also recorded 18 assists compared to the Hardrockers’ eight, gave up seven fewer turnovers and stole the ball nine times, leading to 23 of their points coming from turnovers. FHSU scored 38 points in the paint.
“We had a lot of good open shots,” said sophomore guard Kyle Gril. “We were making good plays for everybody, finding the open people and not shooting any bad shots or forcing anything. If you move the ball, drive hard and kick it out to open shooters, it’s easy to shoot really well.”
One of the few statistical categories South Dakota Mines bested the Tigers in was rebounds. The Hardrockers pulled down 29, including eight offensive, while FHSU grabbed 26.
“We have to be a better rebounding team,” Johnson said. “Defensively, I’d still like to see some improvement, but I think the number one thing we need to get better at is finding a way to rebound the basketball better.”
Senior Shaun Riley finished the game with a career-high 24 points to lead the Tigers and all scorers, going 10-12 from the field and 4-8 from the free throw line. He also recorded four rebounds and five assists. Riley scored his previous career high of 18 points just 11 days ago against Concordia-St. Paul.
“I’ve been being more aggressive whenever I get the ball,” he said. “Not looking to pass or to find someone else, more so just getting aggressive to find my shot.”
Grill also had a career-high against the Hardrockers, scoring 21 points. He shot 7-12 overall, including 2-6 from three-point range and 5-7 from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Graduate student Kaleb Hammeke followed with 10 points and seven assists, and senior Traejon Davis finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Guillem Garcia led South Dakota Mines with 13 points off of the bench. As a team, the Hardrockers scored 25 bench points compared to FHSU’s five.
According to Johnson, the two games next week will be exactly what his team needs.
“This team needs more games,” he said. “We have a lot of new guys playing. Our bench needs to get better, but right now our bench is all the new guys, so I think the week of practice and more game time will really help our team.”
The Tigers will be at home for both games. They take on Central Christian at 12 p.m. on November 26 and Manhattan Christian at 2 p.m. on November 30.
“This is a big win under our belt going into next Tuesday,” Riley said. “Now we have a win, and we just have to go back to practice, fix some things and get ready for the next one.”