FHSU Athletics
No. 3 seed Rogers State (23-9, 13-6 MIAA) vs.
No. 2 seed Fort Hays State (20-9, 12-7 MIAA)
Saturday, March 8 • 2:15 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. • Municipal Auditorium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Fort Hays State will face Rogers State in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals on Saturday in Kansas City at Municipal Auditorium. Tipoff is set for 2:15 p.m. The Tigers enter at 20-9 overall and the Hillcats are 23-9 overall.
Fort Hays State reached the semifinals with a 67-61 win over No. 7 seed Central Missouri on Thursday afternoon. Kaleb Hammeke led the Tigers with 22 points as the Tigers held off a second-half surge by the Mules for the win. The win pushed FHSU to the 20-win threshold for the 13th time under head coach Mark Johnson, who coached his 700th game at FHSU. It was the fourth-straight season the Tigers reached the 20-win plateau.
Rogers State used a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to knock out No. 6 seed Missouri Western in the quarterfinals on Friday. The game was tied with four seconds remaining before Jabryn Anderson went the length of the floor to get a 3-point shot off at the buzzer, putting RSU on top 59-56.
Fort Hays State and Rogers State are the only two teams other than Washburn in the conference to reach the 20-win plateau this year. The other semifinalists, Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma, each have 18 wins overall this year.
Fort Hays State won the only meeting with Rogers State this season in Claremore by a score of 74-63. Kyle Grill led the Tigers with 20 points in that game, scoring nearly half of his points at the free-throw line where he was 9-of-10. Kaleb Hammeke pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and dished out a team-best five assists in that game. Hammeke (12) along with Traejon Davis (13) and Shaun Riley (13) all reached double figures in scoring in the win. It was FHSU's first-ever win in Claremore. Anthony Marshall Jr. led the Hillcats with 16 points.
This will be the second MIAA Tournament meeting between FHSU and RSU. The Tigers won the first meeting in the quarterfinals back in 2023 by a score of 73-56. FHSU is in the semifinals for the 11th time in its 19-year history in the MIAA and this is the fourth-straight year it reached the semis. FHSU is 15-15 all-time in the MIAA Tournament. The Tigers are now 5-2 overall as the No. 2 seed in the tournament.