FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State (17-8, 12-7 MIAA) at
Pittsburg State (6-18, 3-15 MIAA)
Thursday, February 16 - 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburg, Kan. - John Lance Arena
Radio: KJLS (103.3)
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Fort Hays State Men's Basketball heads on the road this week with its first stop at Pittsburg State on Thursday evening. The Tigers enter the contest at 17-8 overall, 12-7 in the MIAA, while the Gorillas are 6-18 overall, 3-15 in the MIAA. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at John Lance Arena.
The Tigers enter this week looking to improve their position for seeding in the MIAA Tournament, which will take place the first week of March in Kansas City. The Tigers have mathematically locked up a spot in the tournament and currently sit among a tight race for third in the conference standings. FHSU is only a half game back of Emporia State and Lincoln, which sit in a tie for third at 12-6. Missouri Southern is hot on the heels of FHSU at 11-7 in the conference and the teams will meet on Saturday in Joplin.
FHSU is coming off a pair of home wins last week over Lincoln and Central Missouri. The results gave FHSU a sweep of both opponents for the regular season and it will be looking for another regular season sweep of an opponent in this contest. FHSU defeated Pittsburg State earlier this season in Hays by a score of 83-55. The Tigers have won the last two contests played between the teams. Pittsburg State won the last meeting between the teams in Pittsburg back in 2020-21 by a score of 79-68.
Pittsburg State enters this game on a three-game losing skid. The Gorillas lost on the road at Central Missouri and Lincoln before falling in their most recent game to Missouri Southern at home in overtime. The Gorillas have allowed 80 or more points in eight straight games.
Kaleb Hammeke is nearing another milestone for his career, just four assists shy of 300. He is looking to become just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,000 points and 300 assists. That group includes Raymond Lee (1,615 pts, 899 ast), Craig Nicholson (1,449 pts, 628 ast), and Mark Wilson (1,631 pts, 556 ast). Hammeke can become just the ninth player in program history to have 300 career assists. Hammeke passed the 1,000-point mark earlier this season in a win at Newman and now has 1,045 for his career.
Hammeke leads the Tigers at 16.0 points and 3.6 assists per game. Gabe Pieschl leads the team in rebounding at 5.9 per game. Elijah Nnanabu ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game, while Bjarni Jonsson is third at 8.6 per game and shoots a team-best 52.5 percent beyond the 3-point line. Traejon Davis has the best field goal percentage on the team at 59.8 and averages 7.0 points per game.
Deshaun English II leads Pittsburg State in scoring at 15.0 points per game, while Quentin Hardrict averages 13.7 and leads the MIAA in assists at 4.8 per game.