By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State ground out a 61-50 win over Missouri Western on Thursday night (Jan. 16) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers closed the game on a 15-3 run in the final eight minutes to get past the Griffons and split the regular season series between the teams. FHSU moved to 11-4 overall, 4-2 in the MIAA, while MWSU moved to 11-6 overall, 3-4 in the MIAA.
The first half was close throughout, as a five-point lead by the Tigers (11-6) was the largest lead before halftime. The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied five times. Kaleb Hammeke and Kyle Grill combined for 20 of Fort Hays State’s 26 points in the first half. The Tigers clung to a 26-24 lead at the break after Hammeke made a 3-point field goal for the final bucket of the first half.
Missouri Western opened the second half on a 20-11 burst to take its largest lead of seven points (44-37) at the 12:13 mark. FHSU immediately went on an 8-0 run following the lead growing to seven. Muhamed Kanteprovided the first five points of the run, then Grill capped it with a 3-point field goal to put the Tigers on top by one. The Griffons briefly led once more before the Tigers’ run to close the game. A Grill 3-pointer with 4:28 to go pushed the Tiger lead to six and then a Traejon Davis bucket made it an eight-point game with 3:33 to play.
Hammeke put an emphatic finish on the win late for FHSU as he drove to the basket for a dunk with 2:30 to go and then tipped in his own miss at the 1:40 mark to make the lead nine. With that offensive rebound on the tip, Hammeke reached 500 rebounds in his career. He became the first Tiger to have both 500 assists and 500 rebounds in a career to go with his all-time scoring record at FHSU which grew to 1,786 points with a team-high 19 points in the game. He was 8-of-12 from the field, pulled down five rebounds, and dished out a team-high four assists.
Grill was right behind Hammeke in scoring with 18 points, hitting 3-of-7 3-point field goal attempts. It was Grill’s second-highest point total in a game this season. Shaun Riley led the Tigers in rebounds with seven. Kante and Davis each had eight points in the game. FHSU finished at 46.9 percent from the field, while MWSU shot 38.3 percent from the field.
Zane Nelson led the Griffons with 18 points, while Kiani Saxon added 10. Julius Dixon was close to a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds and eight points.
Fort Hays State returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 18) against Northwest Missouri State. The Tigers are looking for a season sweep against the Bearcats after winning by 19 in Maryville earlier this season. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum.