FHSU Athletics
MARYVILLE, Mo. – Fort Hays State improved to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA with a 66-50 win at Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Jan. 17), picking up a regular season sweep and fourth-straight win over the Bearcats. The final score was nearly identical to the first meeting of the season between the teams in Hays, which the Tigers won 67-50. Northwest Missouri State dropped to 9-10 overall and 2-6 in the MIAA.
The Tigers dug their claws in defensively early to immediately take control of the game. FHSU scored the first five points and started the game on a 14-2 run. The Tigers did not allow the Bearcats to reach 10 points until the 6:53 mark, a span of 13:07 on the clock to open the game. The Tiger lead kept growing throughout the first half, all the way to a 23-point, 39-16 advantage by halftime.
The Tigers held the Bearcats to just 26.1 percent shooting overall and 11.1 percent shooting beyond the 3-point line in the first half. The Bearcats were held without an offensive rebound in the opening half and eventually just one overall for the game. They never scored any second-chance points throughout the game. Meanwhile, on the flip side, Fort Hays State was a very-efficient 63 percent from the field in the first half (17-of-27).
Fort Hays State kept its lead margin in the 20s all the way until the 7:19 mark in the second half. The Tigers' largest lead was 29 points twice, the latter reached at 14:19 on the clock in the second half. Juju Ramirez had a season-best 17 points to lead the Tigers on an impressive 5-of-7 performance from beyond the 3-point line. He doubled his 3-point field goals made total for the season with the five makes, with the final one putting the Tigers back up by 20 with 2:47 to play. The final margin of 16 points was the closest the Bearcats got after halftime.
The Tigers had two double-double performances, one of the points-rebounds variety and the other in points and assists. Dan Mukuna finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Lucas Hammeke had 10 points and 12 assists. The 12 assists was a new career high for Hammeke and it matched the eighth-most produced in a game in program history. It was the most in a game since Kyler Kinnamon had 12 against Central Oklahoma back in 2019.
Royce Williams and Robert Garcia led the Bearcats with 10 points each. NWMSU finished the game at 42.9 percent from the field after the first-half struggles. However, they were held to just 19 percent beyond the 3-point line, which allowed FHSU to extend its streak of holding opponents to less than 30 percent shooting beyond the arc to 10 games. Only two teams have shot better than 30 percent beyond the 3-point line this year against the Tigers as the they took their national lead in that category down a bit further to just a 24.8 percent success rate for the season.
By holding the Bearcats well inside 60, the Tigers also took over the national lead once again in scoring defense, now allowing just 59.5 points per game. It is a stat category they led the nation in the previous two seasons as well.
The Tigers concluded their 4-game road swing 3-1, with the only loss being by just one point. With the results of games around the MIAA on Saturday, Fort Hays State vaulted all the way into a tie for second place in the conference standings. There is now a 6-way tie at 5-3.
The Tigers play their next four games at home, with three of the four against teams currently in that 6-way tie for second with them (Rogers State, Central Oklahoma, and Central Missouri). The other opponent in that four-game run is No. 1 nationally ranked Washburn, which remains undefeated on the season at 18-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA. FHSU starts the stretch of high-quality opponents on Thursday (Jan. 22) with Rogers State.