By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. - Kaleb Hammeke led three Tigers in double-figures with 24 points and the Tigers held off Lincoln 69-64 Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers improved to 11-3 overall, 6-2 in the MIAA. Lincoln fell to 9-4 overall, 4-3 in the MIAA. It was FHSU's sixth-straight win over Lincoln going back to the 2020-21.
Fort Hays State opened the game on an 11-3 run, thanks two a three-point play by Kaleb Hammeke and and eight straight points by Bjarni Jonsson, including two 3-pointers. The Tiger built a couple of eight point leads in the opening half. Lincoln answered with an 11-2 run to take its first lead at 25-24. They led once more before Jonsson hit another 3-point field goal just before halftime to put the Tigers up 31-29.
Lincoln scored the first basket of the second half to get the game tied, but FHSU scored the next seven points. The Blue Tigers countered with a 12-5 run to get the game tied again at 43-43 with 11 and a half minutes to play. FHSU took the lead back then used an 8-0 run to produce their only double-figure advantage of 10 points with around seven and-a-half minutes to play.
Lincoln hit a pair of 3-pointers to trim the down to three. Both teams then had four-point runs and then traded baskets as the lead sat at just three with 2:42 to play. DJ Richardson hit a step-back baseline jumper for LU with 40 seconds to play to close the gap to one. Traejon Davis put FHSU back up three with a drive to the bucket that he put in after his man blew by on defense. FHSU fought off a three-point attempt from nearly 30 feet and the ball went out of bounds off Lincoln.
Jahiem Holden, who had a big second half, sealed the game on a pair of free throws with just three seconds remaining.
Hammeke, Jonsson, and Holden combined for 58 of the team's 69 points. Hammeke led the way with 24 on 7-of-15 shooting and an 8-of-8 effort at the free-throw line. Jonsson scored a career-high 18 points, hitting a new career-high four 3-point field goals in the game. He was an efficient 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 at the charity stripe. Holden was 5-of-7 from the field, made his only 3-point field goal attempt, and went 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Davis (6) and Elijah Nnanabu (2) were the only other Tigers to score in the game. Hammeke also led the Tigers in rebounds (7) and assists (6).
Richardson led Lincoln with 20 points, followed by Elijah Farr with 19. They both had a team-high five rebounds. Franck Yetna also scored in double figures for Lincoln with 15.
Lincoln made one more 3-point shot than FHSU, but FHSU held a 16-8 scoring advantage at the free-throw line. The teams nearly combined for a perfect day at the free-throw line, FHSU going 16-of-17 and LU 8-of-8.
The win kept Fort Hays State a perfect 13-0 against Lincoln all-time at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Lincoln only has two wins in history in Hays, both before Gross Memorial Coliseum was built.
Fort Hays State remained one game back of Northwest Missouri State in the MIAA standings, but now has sole possession of second place. The Tigers will play their next three games on the road, starting with a trip to Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State next week.
FHSU Sports Information contributed to this story