FHSU Athletics
Rogers State (5-2, 1-0 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (6-1, 1-0 MIAA)
Saturday, December 3 – 4 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio - KJLS (103.3)
CLICK TO LISTEN
Game Sponsor: Hays Regional Airport
Promotions: And-1 Night - Attend the game and get one free item from the concession stand (candy, popcorn, pop, nachos)
Halftime: Hays Regional Airport Pack Your Bags promotion
Fort Hays State Men's Basketball will return to action on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3) at 4 p.m. when they take on Rogers State in the only regular season meeting between the teams this season. The Tigers are coming off a thrilling 96-87 overtime victory in their conference opener on Thursday night and enter this contest at 6-1 overall, 1-0 in the MIAA. Rogers State knocked off Nebraska-Kearney in its opener on Thursday night and enters this game at 5-2 overall, 1-0 in the MIAA.
The Tigers had four players score in double figures on Thursday night against Northeastern State, led by Kaleb Hammeke's career-high 36 points. Gabe Pieschl had his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bjarni Jonsson also had 15 points, while Traejon Davis provided 11. The 96 points scored by the Tigers was a new season high by one point, topping the 95 in their previous contest against Manhattan Christian. The Tigers have reached 90 three times this season.
Though the Tigers entered Thursday with the top scoring defense and top field goal percentage defense in NCAA Division II, they still remain among the top five in the nation in both categories after allowing a season high 87 points to Northeastern State. FHSU is allowing 56 points per game, which ranks third in Division II, and their 35.5 percent field goal percentage allowed to opponents ranks fourth.
Fort Hays State remains the top free-throw shooting team in the MIAA with an 80.3 percent success rate. The Tigers are the only MIAA squad above 80 percent for the season. Hammeke leads the team at 88.9 percent for players with at least 10 attempts.
Rogers State leads the young all-time series with Fort Hays State 4-2. The teams have met twice every year since 2019-20, when RSU joined the MIAA. The Hillcats won both meetings in 2019-20 before the teams split each of the last two seasons. FHSU is 2-1 in Hays against RSU, but has yet to defeat RSU in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Rogers State averages 76.7 points per game. The Hillcats rank third in the MIAA in field goal percentage (.499) and 3-point field goal percentage (.402). They have three players averaging double figures in scoring, including Joey Saracco (12.6), Chris Whitaker (11.9) and Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. (11.2).