FHSU Athletics
#22/25 MSU Denver (9-1, 4-0 RMAC) at
Fort Hays State (6-3, 1-1 MIAA)
Friday, December 20 • 7 p.m.
Hays, Kan. • Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Game Sponsor: Whitetail Properties
Fort Hays State will have a strong test at home on Friday night when it plays host to MSU Denver. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Roadrunners enter at 9-1 overall and are ranked in both the coaches and media national polls, holding the No. 22 spot in the NABC poll and No. 25 spot in the D2CSC poll. FHSU brings in a record of 6-3 overall.
Fort Hays State has won two games in a row after a road win at William Jewell last Saturday and then a home win over Bethel College earlier this week on Monday. The Tigers are looking for their first win over a nationally ranked team this year after a 71-57 loss to a No. 3/4 ranked Washburn team back on December 7. The Tigers have won their last two games against teams ranked between No. 20-25 in the NABC Poll. The last was a 73-49 win over a No. 22 ranked Missouri Western squad last season in Hays.
MSU Denver is currently on a six-game win streak dating back to November 29. The last four wins in that six-game run were all in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, winning all four by at least 11 points and three of the four by 17. The Roadrunners' only loss this year was at Eastern New Mexico back on November 20 by nine points, otherwise all but one of their nine wins on the season were by double digits. They are 7-1 against NCAA Division II competition this season.
This is the third-straight season the Tigers and Roadrunners are meeting. The last two have been nail biters with the Tigers winning in Hays 68-66 in 2022-23 and then the Roadrunners winning last season in Denver 75-71 in overtime. FHSU has claimed the last three meetings between the schools in Hays, which dates back to FHSU's last two seasons in the RMAC (2004-05 and 2005-06). MSU Denver's last win in Hays was in 2003-04 by a score of 98-71 when the Roadrunners were ranked No. 8 nationally at the time and then went on to play in the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament that season. In the 2004-05 meeting between the teams in Hays, MSU Denver was ranked No. 2 in the nation and FHSU won that game by a score of 86-76. It was the last time MSU Denver was ranked when meeting FHSU.
FHSU has knocked off NABC ranked MSU Denver teams five times in 15 tries, with all of the occurrences happening in Hays from the 1997-98 to 2004-05 seasons. The Roadrunners were one of the nation's top programs in that timespan, winning NCAA Division II national titles in 2000 and 2002 and reaching the Elite Eight five times as the NCAA North Central Region champion. MSU Denver held a Top 10 ranking in nine of those meetings. FHSU has a record of 5-2 against ranked MSU Denver teams in Hays all-time, but has never defeated ranked MSU Denver teams in Denver or at neutral sites.
This game could potentially see two Tiger milestone marks of 1,700 reached. Kaleb Hammeke is only 13 points away from 1,700 in his career, looking to join Alonzo Goldston (1,766) as the only two players in program history to reach that number. Also, Fort Hays State is seeking its 1,700th win in program history, looking to become just the sixth NCAA Division II school to reach the number. The other schools include Central Washington, Northern State (S.D.), Central Missouri, West Texas A&M, and Fairmont State (W.Va.).
Hammeke leads the Tigers at 14.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. Kyle Grill (13.2) and Shaun Riley (12.4) also average double figures in scoring. Riley is the team leader in rebounds at 6.6 per game.
FHSU leads the MIAA in fewest turnovers per game, averaging 9.3 per contest. The Tigers also lead the conference in 3-point field goal percentage at 40.6 percent and assist/turnover ratio at 1.45.MSU Denver is shooting 50.6 percent from the field as a team for the season. The Roadrunners were held to less than 40 percent only one time this season. Caleb McGill leads the Roadrunners at 15 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while Brayden Carter adds 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.