Nebraska-Kearney (5-8, 5-8 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (4-8, 4-8 MIAA)
Saturday, January 30 – 4:00 pm
Hays, Kan. - Gross Memorial Coliseum
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
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Game Sponsor – Nex-Tech
Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney meet in men's basketball for the 136th time on Saturday (Jan. 30) at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. Tipoff is set for 4 pm, which follows the women's contest at 2 pm. The Tigers enter at 4-8, looking to climb into contention for the MIAA Tournament, while the Lopers are 5-8.
Nebraska-Kearney took the first meeting between the teams this season in Kearney back on December 5 by a score of 84-80. UNK never trailed in the game, though the Tigers closed on a 19-9 run to make it interesting late. Jared Vitztum led the Tigers in scoring with 29 points, which was his career-high at the time until his 32-point performance at Missouri Southern last week. He scored 19-straight points for the Tigers at one point during the second half. Jake Walker led the Loper scoring effort in that contest with 20 points.
The home team has won the last seven meetings in the series, which means FHSU has won three-straight over UNK in Hays. FHSU has a very strong 56-12 mark against UNK all-time in Hays. The series history for meetings in conference games has been very tight, which dates back to the GPAC and CSIC days in the 1970s. FHSU holds a slim 34-33 edge in conference meetings all time. FHSU is 33-11 against UNK at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Vitztum continues to lead FHSU in scoring and rebounding, averaging 17.6 points per game and 10.2 boards per game. He leads the MIAA in rebounding and is tied for the national lead in double-doubles with seven. Quinten Rock, Alvin Thompson, and Kaleb Hammeke are all averaging at least 11 points per game. Gilbert Peters has been very efficient shooting the ball, hitting at 71.2 percent for the season, while he adds 7.9 points per game as the top scorer off the bench. The Tigers as a team rank sixth nationally in free-throw percentage at 81.5 percent.
Walker is the top scorer for the Lopers on the season at 15.7 points per game. Austin Luger and Sam Morris also average double figures in scoring for UNK.
This contest begins a key stretch for the Tigers as they play six of their next nine games at home.
FHSU Athletics