FHSU Athletics
Bethel College (5-6)
at Fort Hays State (7-2)
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 • 7 p.m.
Gross Memorial Coliseum • Hays, Kan.
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Fort Hays State Men's Basketball will finish up its non-conference slate of the regular season when it plays host to Bethel College on Wednesday night (Dec. 13) at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. The Tigers enter at 7-2 overall, while the Threshers come into the contest at 5-6 overall.
Fort Hays State is coming off a pair of big conference wins at home this past week. The Tigers defeated a pair of NABC Top 25 ranked teams in back-to-back games, knocking off No. 17 Northwest Missouri State 57-49 and No. 22 Missouri Western 73-49.The results this past week marked the first time the Tigers won back-to-back games against ranked opponents since the 2010-11 season, when they knocked off a No. 8 ranked Missouri Southern squad in the MIAA Tournament Championship game and then No. 23 ranked West Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was also the first back-to-back wins against ranked teams at Gross Memorial Coliseum since the 1997-98 season, when the Tigers defeated No. 14 ranked Metro State and No. 24 Nebraska-Kearney in consecutive games. FHSU was also ranked in the Top 25 in all four of those aforementioned games.
The Tigers hold a 16-2 advantage in the all-time series with Bethel College. They have won 16 straight games in the series, going all the way back to the 1925-26 season. FHSU is 9-0 against Bethel under Mark Johnson's leadership. The Tigers won last year's meeting between the teams 90-59 in Hays.
In 24-point win over Missouri Western, which matched the third-largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in FHSU's Division II history, Elijah Nnanabu recorded a career-high seven steals. He also led the way for the Tigers in points (17), while tying for the team high in rebounds (7) and assists (3). He ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game behind Kaleb Hammeke's 13.3 per game. R.J. Crawford continues to average double figures in scoring as well at 11.0 per game. Shaun Riley lead the Tigers in rebounding at 5.3 per game, while Hammeke dishes out a team-best 3.7 assists per game.