Fort Hays State (14-3, 9-3 MIAA) at
Nebraska-Kearney (7-11, 3-9 MIAA)
Saturday, January 29 – 4 pm
Kearney, Neb. – Health and Sports Center
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
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Fort Hays State Men's Basketball plays the second of a string of four straight road games on Saturday at Nebraska-Kearney. Tipoff is set for 4 pm inside the Health and Sports Center in Kearney. The Tigers enter at 14-3 overall and 9-3 in the MIAA, currently alone in third place in the MIAA standings, and the Lopers are 7-11 overall and 3-9 in the MIAA.
The Tigers look to keep within striking distance of Central Oklahoma and Northwest Missouri State in the MIAA standings race. The Bronchos and Bearcats each have just one loss in conference play and both are ranked inside the NABC Top 10 nationally. Emporia State and Washburn are each just a half game back of the Tigers at 9-4 in MIAA play.
Fort Hays State won the first meeting with Nebraska-Kearney this season by a score of 64-46 back on December 11 in Hays. The Tigers built a 20-point lead by halftime, 32-12, by holding the Lopers to just 23.8 percent shooting overall in the first half. Kaleb Hammeke led the Tigers with 21 points in that contest, while Jared Vitztum had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers are looking to snap a string of eight consecutive losses to the Lopers inside the Health and Sports Center. The last time FHSU won in Kearney was during the 2012-13 season. FHSU and UNK have split the regular season series with each other the last four seasons with the home team winning nine straight games now going back to the 2017-18 season.
Vitztum is now 22 points shy of becoming the seventh player in FHSU history with at least 1,400 points. He became the sixth player in school history to reach 800 career rebounds, which occurred last week in a win over Pittsburg State in Hays. He leads the team at 15.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Hammeke (14.6) and Nyjee Wright (11.9) also average double figures in scoring for FHSU.
FHSU Athletics