By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
After splitting its two-game road trip this past weekend, the Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team has another tall task this weekend, facing the top-ranked Washburn Ichabods and Central Missouri Mules on the road
The Tigers (13-5, 6-3) earned their first-ever victory against Rogers State in Claremore on Thursday, defeating the Hillcats 74-63. The Tigers then proceeded to lose a close game against Central Oklahoma, 75-65. Even with the weekend split, the Tigers remain in second place in the MIAA standings.
FHSU Head Coach Mark Johnson responded to the team’s performance.
“You want to win every game. That’s our goal; that’s what we’re trying to do. But the big thing is you have to avoid getting swept. If you can avoid getting swept on these road trips, you’re giving yourself opportunities to finish at the top,” he said. “And so we did not get swept. so that’s the positive. The negative is we ended our road trip on a sour note, and now we got to turn right back around and play the best team in the country.”
Against Rogers State, Kyle Grill led the way with 20 points, including nine made free-throws and three three-pointers. Grill managed just four points against UCO; however, despite the lower scoring output and the team’s loss, he was positive about his overall performance over the weekend.
“It was good. As a program, we’ve never won at that place, so it was good to win,” Grill said. “Saturday games on the road are really, really tough because you’re away from home for four days, sleeping in a hotel, so you’re worn down riding the bus all weekend. I think really bringing extra energy to the Saturday games would help. I think we didn’t have enough energy that game, so we got down early, and it was really hard to get back from there.”
Kaleb Hammeke had two strong games over the weekend, scoring 12 and 15 points, respectively. The team, however, struggled offensively against Central Oklahoma’s defense, turning the ball over 16 times.
Johnson gave credit to Central Oklahoma for executing their game plan well.
“They played fantastic. We probably weren’t quite as sharp as we were on Thursday, so I think it was a combination of we weren’t quite as sharp and as focused as we needed to be, and they played at a high level,” he said. “And sometimes, in basketball, that’s the way it goes. You catch teams on the wrong night, and they were fantastic. And I think as the season progresses, they’re starting to put it together. They’re definitely going to be battling for second place behind Washburn.”
Grill also addressed the turnover issue and said FHSU has to find a way to be mindful of the ball and play exceptionally against Washburn on both sides of the floor to have a chance of winning.
Washburn (19-0, 10-0) is still unbeaten this season, standing firm at the top of the MIAA table as well as the national top-25 rankings. The Tigers will shift their focus to that game but will also try to prepare themselves for Central Missouri (9-9, 4-5) on Saturday, an important game to win for the MIAA standings battles.
Johnson elaborated on how the team prepares for such a weekend.
“When you have two games, you really have to spend all week preparing for the Thursday game. So, we spend Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday preparing for our Thursday game,” he said. “Now, as coaches, we’re preparing all week for both, but with your team, you’re just talking about Washburn. And then on Friday, practice is when you start doing everything for Central Missouri.”
FHSU plays Washburn at 7:30 p.m. tonight and will face UCM at 3 p.m. on Saturday.