Story by ELI BLANKINSHIP Photos by KATIE KUHLMAN
Tiger Media Network
After a second-half comeback victory against the William Jewell Cardinals on Saturday, the Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team hosted the Bethel Threshers on Monday in their final NAIA matchup. The Tigers (6-3) defeated the Threshers (7-6), 84-58.
Traejon Davis fights for the ball under the basket to keep the possession. 
R.J. Crawford shoulder bumps Muhamed Kante when announcing the starting five. 
Shaun Riley and Cade Kittrell fight for the ball during the tip off. 
Dan Mukuna drives to the basket for a layup. 
Kaleb Hammeke reaches around his defender to score the two points. 
Traejon Davis shoots the wide open three to score. 
Traejon Davis bodies his defenders to get the shot up. 
Kaleb Hammeke takes a jump shot at the corner of the paint to score for Hays. 
Dan Mukuna moves past his defenders to find an open shot. 
Traejon Davis finds an open spot to score for Hays. 
Petar Asceric drives inside to make the pass back to his teammates. 
To kick off the game Bickerdyke Bunch childrens choir sang the National Anthem.
It took the Tigers some time to get going on offense. The Tigers and Threshers were neck and neck until about seven minutes left in the first half and by halftime, the Tigers led by just nine.
“The one disappointing thing was that we had seven turnovers in the first half, which is too much,” FHSU Head Coach Mark Johnson said. “We shouldn’t have turned it over seven times and then we let [Carmelo Yakubu] have fourteen [which was] half their points at halftime, so the message [to the guys] was take care of the ball and find a way to guard [Yakubu].”
In the second half, FHSU outscored the Threshers 46-29 and only turned the ball over two more times.
Leading the charge for the Tigers was the four-time All-MIAA selection Kaleb Hammeke. Hammeke finished as the team’s leading scorer with 15 points and went five of eight from the field with five rebounds and three assists.
“Coach is always telling me to shoot the ball and look to score first,” Hammeke said. “So I’ve been trying to do that and take that to heart, but I also try to find open teammates when possible.”
Another standout player for the Tigers was Dan Makuna. Due to the lack of size on the Thresher’s roster, Makuna, the 6-foot 8-inch sophomore from Dortmund, Germany, dominated the paint coming off the bench. Makuna ended the contest with 12 points and seven rebounds.
“The win comes with effort and toughness,” Makuna said. “Coach wanted me to be aggressive offensively and defensively, so I just did everything I could to rebound the ball and it worked out today.”
Kyle Grill also had 12 points for FHSU while Shaun Riley added 11 points. Yakubu led Bethel with 16 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers will play their penultimate non-conference regular-season opponent on Friday against MSU Denver at 7 p.m. in Gross Memorial Coliseum.