FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (5-2, 1-1 MIAA)
vs. #17/RV Northwest Missouri State (5-2, 2-0 MIAA)
Thursday, December 7, 2023 • 7:30 p.m.
Gross Memorial Coliseum • Hays, Kan.
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Domino's Pizza
National Anthem: Hays High School
Promotion: Canned Food Drive - Bring a canned food item and get a $5 GA ticket. Food will be donated to the Tiger Pantry located in the Memorial Union
ort Hays State will play its first home conference contest of the season on Thursday night when they take on No. 17 ranked Northwest Missouri State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Both teams enter at 5-2 overall on the season. The Bearcats are 2-0 in MIAA play so far, while the Tigers are 1-1.
The Tigers are coming off a 76-63 loss at Rogers State that closed out their road trip to open MIAA play last week. Since Rogers State joined the MIAA in 2019-20, the Kansas faction of the MIAA (FHSU, ESU, WU, PSU, NU) is only 2-18 against RSU in Claremore. The Tigers are still winless in Claremore, now 0-4. Rogers State is 44-13 overall in its home venue since joining the MIAA.
Northwest Missouri State enters this contest on a three-game win streak after opening the season 2-2. The Bearcats were the NABC Preseason No. 1 ranked team in the nation, but they took non-conference losses at neutral sites to unranked teams in Southwest Minnesota State and Emmanuel (Ga.). The Bearcats opened MIAA play 2-0 last week with home wins over Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. NWMSU has remained in the NABC Top 25 all season. The Bearcats were in the Top 25 of the first D2CSC Poll of the season, but fell out after their second loss and now sit among the teams receiving votes.
Fort Hays State is looking to snap a long 16-game losing streak to Northwest Missouri State, which dates back to the 2012-13 season. FHSU won both regular season meetings that season before NWMSU won a meeting in the MIAA Tournament semifinals, which started the streak. That was the last season NWMSU did not win at least a share of the MIAA regular season title. The Bearcats own a streak that now sits at 10 titles in a row as they have shared the regular season title only twice and won it outright eight times since 2013-14. NWMSU has won four NCAA Division II national titles (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022) in that 10-season span.
Last season, the Bearcats were ranked No. 1 in the nation when they defeated the Tigers in Maryville 64-49 and then held a No. 7 ranking when they won in Hays 57-52. The Tigers have held the Bearcats inside of 65 points in each of the last four meetings.
Fort Hays State is also looking for its first home win over an NABC Top 25 opponent since the 2018-19 season, when it knocked off a No. 25 ranked Missouri Southern team 89-84 on February 28, 2019. FHSU has lost its last six meetings with NABC Top 25 teams in Hays, with three of those six being to Northwest Missouri State.
Fort Hays State continues to own the second-best scoring defense in the nation at just 57.4 points per game allowed. That is second only to conference foe Central Oklahoma, which holds opponents to 56.7 points per game. The Bronchos are ranked No. 3 nationally in both the NABC and D2CSC Top 25 Polls right now, still unbeaten for the season.
Kaleb Hammeke continues to lead the Tigers in scoring at 14.7 points per game, despite being held inside double figures for the first time this year at Rogers State. Elijah Nnanabu (10.9) and R.J. Crawford (10.1) also average double figures. Traejon Davis (5.4) and Shaun Riley (5.0) each average at least five rebounds per game. Hammeke leads the team in assists at 3.9 per game.
Bennett Stirtz (18.7 ppg) and Wes Dreamer (17.7 ppg) lead the Bearcats in scoring. Stirtz was the MIAA Freshman of the Year last season, while Dreamer was an All-MIAA Second Team pick. The Bearcats are averaging 72.9 points per game and yielding 64.1 per game. They rank second nationally in free-throw percentage (83.1) and ninth in free-throws made per game (20.4).