FHSU Athletics
Pittsburg State (5-9, 2-6 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (10-4, 5-3 MIAA)
Saturday, January 7 – 4 PM
Hays, Kan. – Gross Memorial Coliseum
Game Sponsor: Nex-Tech
National Anthem: TMP Marian Pop Singers
Promotions: Education Appreciation - Faculty/Staff at USD 489, TMP-Marian, and FHSU get (1) GA ticket for FREE! Please show your school ID at the gate to get your FREE ticket.
Mascot Day - Victor E. Tiger and his mascot buddies hang out for pictures, high fives, and fun throughout the afternoon. They will be out on the court for a fun activity at halftime of the men's game.
Halftime: Twirl Academy performance
Radio: KJLS (103.3)
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
Fort Hays State Men's Basketball looks to bounce back from a loss when it hosts Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 7) at 4 p.m. The Tigers enter at 10-4 overall, 5-3 in the MIAA, while the Gorillas come in at 5-9 overall, 2-6 in the MIAA.
The Tigers fell at home to Missouri Southern on Thursday night in a game where they came out of the gates hot, but struggled offensively for a good remainder of the game. After leading by 12 with just under eight minutes to go in the first half, the Tigers saw the Lions go on an 18-2 run to take a four-point halftime lead. FHSU tied the game two times early in the second half, but saw MSSU run away with the game in the final 10 minutes.
Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State are meeting for the 165th time on Saturday. FHSU leads the all-time series 89-75 and won the last meeting 70-51 last year in Hays. Jeff Boschee is in his first year as head coach at Pittsburg State after holding the head coaching role at Missouri Southern previous eight years. Mark Johnson holds an 18-8 record against his alma mater. This will be the first of two meetings in the regular season between the teams. This is the first season the teams will meet twice since 2018-19 after meeting just once each of the last three seasons.
Fort Hays State leads the MIAA in free-throw shooting, hitting at a 77.9 percent clip. Six Tigers own free-throw percentages of 80 percent or better. Kaleb Hammeke leads the Tigers in scoring at 16.6 points per game and assists at 3.9 per game, while Gabe Pieschl leads in rebounding at 5.9 per game. Elijah Nnanabu and Bjarni Jonsson each average better than eight points per game and have reached double figures in scoring six times each.
Quentin Hardict and Deshaun English II each average double figures in scoring for the Gorillas. English is averaging a double-double for the season, ranked second in the MIAA in rebounding at 10.7 per game. Hardict ranks third in the MIAA in assists, averaging 4.1 per game.