FHSU Athletics
#2 seed Fort Hays State (23-6, 17-5 MIAA)
vs.#3 seed Pittsburg State (20-9, 15-7 MIAA)
Saturday, March 9 – 8:15 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. – Municipal Auditorium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: The MIAA Network CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
The Fort Hays State men's basketball team will face Pittsburg State in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament on Saturday night (March 9) at 8:15 p.m. inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. This will be the first-ever meeting between FHSU and PSU in the MIAA Tournament on the men's side. The No. 2 seed Tigers enter at 23-6 overall and the No. 3 seed Gorillas are 20-9 overall.
Fort Hays State advanced to the semifinals with a 65-60 win over No. 10 seed Lincoln in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. Pittsburg State advanced with an 84-65 win over No. 6 seed Central Oklahoma. FHSU enters the game on a three-game win streak, while PSU is on a five-game win streak. FHSU is ranked No. 16 in the NABC Division II Top 25, while PSU is receiving votes.
Fort Hays State seeks its first win over Pittsburg State this season after falling twice to PSU in the regular season. The Gorillas won the first meeting 74-62 in Pittsburg, closing that game on a 10-0 run after it was just a two-point game with three minutes remaining. PSU took the meeting in Hays by a tight 67-63 count.
Pittsburg State has won two in a row against the Tigers just three times since FHSU joined the MIAA in 2006-07, but has never won three in a row in that timeframe. FHSU holds a 91-77 advantage in the all-time series. This will be the third time in history FHSU and PSU have met on a neutral court. FHSU won the two previous neutral meetings by slim margins, a 62-60 win in 1952-53 in Hutchinson, Kan. and a 74-70 win in 1962-63 in Wichita, Kan.
FHSU is in the semifinals for the third-straight year. The Tigers fell by slim margins each of the last two years, a 55-51 loss to Central Oklahoma in 2023 and a 53-50 loss to Northwest Missouri State in 2022. FHSU is making its 10th appearance in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament. The Tigers are looking for their first semifinal win since 2011 when they were also a No. 2 seed and they went on to win the tournament title.
Fort Hays State looks to push past 23 wins for only the third time in Mark Johnson's coaching tenure. Three of Johnson's previous teams finished with 23, so this year's team gives Johnson six teams that have reached at least 23. His 2005-06 squad won 27 games and his 2010-11 squad won 26 games.
The All-MIAA trio of Kaleb Hammeke, Elijah Nnanabu, and Bjarni Jonsson led the Tigers to their quarterfinal win on Thursday night against Lincoln. Nnanabu led the Tigers with 23 points, while Hammeke and Jonsson each had 14. Jonsson was a perfect 3-of-3 beyond the 3-point line and Hammeke led the team in assists with six.Pittsburg State had four players score in double figures in the quarterfinal win over Central Oklahoma, led by Jeramy Shaw with 34. DeShaun English II had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
As a team, the Tigers continue to lead NCAA Division II in scoring defense at 57.5 points per game. They rank second nationally in field goal percentage defense at 39.3 percent.