FHSU Athletics
No. 2 seed Fort Hays State (19-9) vs.
No. 7 seed Central Missouri (15-14)
MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 6, 2025 - 2:15 p.m.
Kansas City, Mo. - Municipal Auditorium
Radio: KJLS (103.3) CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Video: MIAA Network: CLICK HERE TO WATCH ($)
Fort Hays State Men's Basketball will open play in the MIAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals at 2:15 p.m. FHSU is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will play No. 7 seed Central Missouri.
Fort Hays State enters the MIAA Tournament at 19-9 overall after finishing fourth in the MIAA regular season standings at 12-7.Central Missouri defeated No. 10 seed Northeastern State in the opening round on Wednesday 69-59 to reach Thursday's quarterfinal game. Central Missouri enters the game at 15-14.
The Tigers have reached the semifinals in the MIAA Tournament each of the last three years. The Tigers have not reached the final since 2011 when they won the conference tournament title. They have made seven semifinal appearances since then. FHSU is 14-15 all-time in the MIAA Tournament. They have a record of 10-5 in MIAA quarterfinal games.
This is the fourth time FHSU has been the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament since it joined the conference in 2006-07. The Tigers own a record of 4-2 as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, falling in the quarterfinals in 2010 to Emporia State before winning three straight in 2011 to claim the tournament title. Last year they went 1-1 with a quarterfinal win over Lincoln before a semifinal loss to Pittsburg State. FHSU is 0-1 against Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament. FHSU's only meeting with Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament was back in 2007 in the quarterfinals, the first year FHSU was a member of the MIAA. UCM was the No. 2 seed in that game and FHSU was the No. 7 seed.
Fort Hays State and Central Missouri split the regular season series, with FHSU winning in Hays by a score of 70-67 in double overtime on December 5 and UCM winning in Warrensburg 41-31 on February 1. Kaleb Hammeke led the Tigers in the first meeting with 19 points, while Kyle Grill led the Tigers in the second meeting with 10 points.
Fort Hays State owns an overall mark of 33-25 in conference tournaments since joining NCAA Division II. FHSU has won five tournament titles in that span, which includes four as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the one as a member of the MIAA in 2011. The Tigers have been good when reaching the championship game of conference tournaments, owning a record of 5-1 with the only loss being back in 2003 to Metro State as a member of the RMAC.
Fort Hays State had a trio of players receive MIAA postseason honors. Kaleb Hammeke was an All-MIAA First Team selection for the third-straight season. He is the only five-time All-MIAA selection in program history. He was also named to the MIAA All-Defensive Team along with Shaun Riley. It was the first time FHSU had multiple players named to the All-Defensive Team in a season. Kyle Grill also earned an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection.
Hammeke averaged 16 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game in the regular season. He is the all-time scoring leader at FHSU. Hammeke went past the 2,000-point mark for his career this past Saturday (March 1) at Nebraska-Kearney. He is the only active NCAA Division II player with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists in a career. He is only one of four active players at all NCAA levels with that accomplishment, joining three players from NCAA Division I.
Grill enters the postseason as the only other Tiger averaging double figures in scoring at 11.8 points per game. He has scored in double figures 20 times this season with a season high of 25. He scored at least 20 in a game four times. He also leads the team in 3-point field goals made with 47, one ahead of Hammeke with 46.Riley is the top rebounder on the team at 6.4 per game. He has three double-doubles this season in points and rebounds and four overall in his two years as a Tiger. He leads the team in blocked shots with 26 and adds 9.6 points and 2.0 assists per game.
As a team, the Tigers continue to lead NCAA Division II in scoring defense at 59.8 points per game. They rank sixth nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.4) and 10th nationally in field goal percentage defense (40.0 percent).