FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State moved to 10-4 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA with another outstanding defensive effort, defeating Emporia State by a score of 69-44 on Thursday night (Jan. 9) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. With his sixth and final basket of the game in the first half, Kaleb Hammeke became the all-time leading scorer at Fort Hays State, now with 1,767 points.
The Tigers led from start to finish, scoring the first four points of the contest and opened the game on a 15-4 run. Hammeke needed 12 points to reach the all-time scoring record and he got there fast, scoring 12 of the team's first 19 points of the game. Hammeke's driving layup at 9:10 on the clock in the first half pushed him past Alonzo Goldston (1,766 pts.) for the all-time record, which he looks to extend further the remainder of the season. The Tigers went on to stretch their lead as large as 23 points in the first half (38-15) before leading 38-17 at the break.
The Tigers went into cruise control the rest of the way, never allowing the Hornets back inside of a 20-point margin. The lead reached its largest of 28 points three times before the final margin was 25.Fort Hays State finished at 50 percent from the field for the game (29-of-58). The Tigers held the Hornets to just 34.7 percent shooting from the field, including a 22.2 percent effort beyond the 3-point line. FHSU led the turnover battle 13-9 and led in points off turnovers 16-5. FHSU scored 40 of its 69 points in the paint and saw more than half of its scoring from the bench.
Dan Makuna set a new career high in scoring, leading the Tigers with 16 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting effort from the field. He was 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. Mukuna scored 14 of the 16 in the second half. Hammeke finished with his 12 points to claim the scoring record, while also pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. He added a team-high five assists. Kyle Grill also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points.
Malik Edwards was the only ESU player to reach double figures in scoring with 10 points. The Hornets received 63.6 percent of their scoring from their bench. The most any of their starters had was five points by Parker Day.
For Fort Hays State, it was the third-straight opponent held inside of 50 points after allowing just 39 at Northwest Missouri State and 47 at Missouri Western. The Tigers accomplished the feat twice last year, holding Central Christian (44), Manhattan Christian (46), and Northeastern State (43) inside 50 from November 21-30 and then Northwest Missouri State (49), Missouri Western (49), and Bethel (48) inside 50 from December 7-13.
Fort Hays State held Emporia State to its lowest amount of points in a game since February 8, 2017, when ESU lost at Northwest Missouri State 65-43. The Tigers won their fourth-straight game overall against the Hornets and also held ESU to its fewest points in the 195-game series history since a 66-44 win back on January 28, 2015 in Emporia.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will have a full week off before hosting Missouri Western on Thursday (Jan. 16) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers will be looking to avenge last week's 47-44 loss in St. Joseph to the Griffons in the second meeting between the schools this season.