HAYS - Jordan Pumphrey hit seven threes and the Tigers shot 50-percent from beyond the arc and beat Nebraska-Kearney 79-68 Saturday at Gross Coliseum.
Pumphrey went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc and 9-of-11 overall and scored a career-high 25 points. The junior college transfer from Bakersfield, Calif, is the first Tiger to make seven 3-pointers in a game since Aaron Nicholson had seven against Emporia State on January 16, 2019.
After missing their first five attempts from beyond the arc, FHSU (5-8, 5-8 MIAA) went 13-for-21 the rest of the game.
The Tigers trailed by six with a little less than eight minutes to play in the first half, but a 7-0 run, capped by a Quinten Rock basket, gave the Tigers their first lead at 24-23. A Jared Vitztum three late in the half put them up 35-33 at halftime.
Vitztum finished with 22 points and a team-high six rebounds.
FHSU built the lead to six five minutes into the second half but UNK scored the next nine to take a 49-46 lead. It would be their last of the game.
The Tigers hit eight of their next nine shots including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc over the next seven minutes, outscoring the Lopers 25-7 to build a 15-point lead.
The Tigers only turned the ball over 11 times while dishing out 23 assists on their 30 made baskets. Quinten Rock led FHSU with eight assists. Kaleb Hammeke and Gabe Pieschl both had three. Hammeke scored 12 points.