FHSU Athletics
EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State held Central Oklahoma to 36-percent shooting and made just enough shots themselves down the stretch and beat the Bronchos 58-53 Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers moved to 15-4 overall and into sole possession of second place in the MIAA at 7-3 while the Bronchos fell to 12-10 and 5-5 in conference play.
The game was a defensive battle throughout. The Tigers held on to the lead from the 16:42 mark of the first half all the way to halftime. They led by eight twice before the Bronchos trimmed the lead down to one, 25-24, at halftime.
It took nearly 10 minutes for both teams to score 10 points in the second half, as FHSU led 35-34 at the 10:02 mark, but UCO snuck past momentarily at the 7:42 mark on a fade-away baseline jumper by Brady Hancuff. The Bronchos would hold a one-point lead only one more time at 40-39 before a Kyle Grill 3-pointer from the left corner put the Tigers up for good at the 5:33 mark. It triggered an 11-0 run capped by a Dan Makuna layup with 1:44 to play which pushed the FHSU lead to 10.. The Tigers did enough at the free-throw line late to hold off any hope of a Broncho comeback.
FHSU shot just a smidge better than UCO from the field, 37 percent to 36.4 percent. FHSU was 20-of-54 and UCO was 20-of-55. The Tigers made one more 3-point field goal and had a four-point advantage at the free-throw line, where they went 14-of-17 for the game. UCO shot free-throws well too, finishing 10-of-12.
Mukuna led the Tigers with 18 points. Lucas Hammeke nearly had a double-double finishing with nine points and a new career-high 13 rebounds. It was his first time eclipsing 10 rebounds in a game. He also dished out a team-high five assists. Grill finished with 15 points as the only other Tiger in double figures scoring.
Josh Nwankwo led Central Oklahoma with 23 points, while Matthew Willenborg had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Averitt added 11 points.
Fort Hays State plays two more times at home next week on Thursday and Saturday (Jan. 29 and 31). The Tigers will host the No. 1 team in the nation on Thursday as Washburn comes to Hays with a record of 20-0 and 10-0 in the MIAA. Saturday they will face Central Missouri.