HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State took its first loss of the 2021-22 season on Friday night to Central Oklahoma at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Bronchos were on fire in the first half and built a 21-point lead at halftime before winning the game 77-60. The Tigers, ranked No. 23 in the latest D2SIDA Top 25 Poll, are now 8-1 overall, 3-1 in the MIAA, while the Bronchos moved to 8-2 overall, 4-1 in the MIAA.
The Tigers scored the first basket of the game and then held their final lead at 9-8 four minutes into the action before the Bronchos outscored them 41-19 the remainder of the first half. UCO's high-powered offense was in full gear in the opening half, shooting 66.7 percent from the field (18-of-27) with eight 3-point field goals. FHSU shot just 29 percent as a team in the first half (9-of-31) and was just 23.5 percent beyond the 3-point line, though Kaleb Hammeke had 16 of the team's 28 points as the break on a 6-of-9 shooting effort with four 3-point field goals. UCO led 49-28 at the half.
The Tiger shooting effort gained some traction early in the second half and they pulled within 12 points of the Bronchos with 9:31 to go. But the comeback effort ran out of gas and UCO countered with an 8-0 run to push the lead back to 20 and put the game away.
Hammeke remained hot throughout the contest, burying a career-high eight 3-point field goals. He shot 11-of-18 overall from the field and finished with 30 points, providing exactly half of the Tiger scoring effort. He was 8-of-12 beyond the arc, coming up just one 3-point field goal shy of tying the FHSU record of nine in a game held by Geoff Eck and Rodney Malloy. His 30 points was just two shy of his career high of 32 that he scored in an overtime win at Missouri Southern last season. Hammeke has had over 20 points in the last three contests.
Hammeke was the only Tiger to score in double figures. Jared Vitztum and Nyjee Wright each had eight and Vitztum pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Isaiah Wade led the UCO scoring effort with 21 points, while Camryn Givens had 16 and Callen Haydon and Jaden Wells each had 12. Wells and Givens each had a team-best seven rebounds, while Haydon provided a team-high seven assists. The Bronchos cooled a bit in the second half, but still managed to shoot 55.6 percent overall for the game and 50 percent beyond the 3-point line.
The Tigers look to rebound from the setback against Newman University on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 4 pm inside Gross Memorial Coliseum, which follows the women's contest at 2 pm.
FHSU Athletics