FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State wore down Northwest Missouri State with hard-nose defense on Thursday night to open the 2026 portion of their schedule. Up by as many as 28 at one point, the Tigers went on to defeat the Bearcats 67-50 for their first MIAA win of the season, now 9-3 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA. The Bearcats fell to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA as well.
Fort Hays State held Northwest Missouri State to just four points within the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tigers built a 16-4 lead in that span of time and never trailed, working their way to a 33-18 halftime lead. FHSU held NWMSU to just 19.2 percent shooting in the first half, including a 14.3 percent effort beyond the 3-point arc.
After holding the 15-point margin at halftime, the Bearcats never got any closer as the smallest lead of the second half for FHSU was 16 points, held twice within the first 2:10 of the second half. The lead stayed in the 20 to 28-point margin range from the 15:40 to 1:56 marks before the Bearcats brought the final margin back down to 17 late. The largest lead for FHSU was 64-36 at the 6:04 mark.
By the end of the game, FHSU held NWMSU to just 24.6 percent shooting overall, a new low by an opponent this season. NWMSU was just 14.8 percent (4-of-27) beyond the 3-point line. If it was not for an 18-of-21 effort at the free-throw line, the Tigers held the Bearcats to just 32 points on field goals (14-of-57 overall).
Dan Mukuna led the way for FHSU with 22 points, while Kyle Grill pulled down 10 rebounds. Mukuna and Lucas Hammeke each had eight rebounds. Jahvari Martino was the only other Tiger to reach double figures in scoring with 11, but Grill and Hammeke each had nine points. Muhamed Kante dished out a team-high four assists.
Trey Moala led the Bearcats with 12 points, while Royce Williams added 11 and Matthew Mayes had 10. Mayes had a team-high eight rebounds, while Williams had three assists.
The Tigers have now won four-straight games going back to December 13. They have held three of the four opponents in that run to less than 60, including two to 50 or less. FHSU is allowing just 58.1 points per game for the season, which currently ranks second nationally behind Northern Michigan's 57.3 per game.
Up next
FHSU will have a strong test on their hands Saturday when it hosts Missouri Western in the MIAA Game of the Week on 38 The Spot for the Kansas City viewing area at 2 p.m. All MIAA Network subscribers for FHSU sports will still be able to view the game as normal. The Griffons enter at 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA.