FHSU Athletics
ST. JOSEPH, Mo – Fort Hays State saw its five-game win streak snapped on Saturday (Jan. 4) in a 47-44 loss at Missouri Western. The Tigers turned in another strong defensive performance, but could not find enough offense in the second half to keep their streak alive. FHSU moved to 9-4 overall, 2-2 in the MIAA, while MWSU moved to 10-4 overall, also 2-2 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State took its first lead of the game on a Kaleb Hammeke basket at the 12:39 mark of the first half. It was part of a 7-0 run by the Tigers on the way to a 12-8 lead just over halfway through the opening half. A 6-0 burst just a few moments later put the Tigers up 18-10, their largest lead of the game. FHSU went on to lead 22-18 at the break.
With his first assist of the game in the first half, Hammeke became the fourth player in FHSU men's basketball history to reach 500 career assists. He also became the first player in program history to have at least 1,700 points and 500 assists after being part of the club of at least 1,600 points and 400 assists with Raymond Lee and Mark Wilson.
After FHSU made the first basket of the second half, Missouri Western crawled back in front 26-24 with an 8-0 run over a span of about three minutes. Muhamed Kante briefly put the Tigers back on top 27-26 with a baseline jumper at the 12:49 mark, but it would be the final lead of the game for FHSU. The Tigers were able to tie the game twice more, the latest at the 9:37 mark, but a 6-0 burst by the Griffons a bit later pushed their advantage to eight, their largest of the game.
The Tigers made a late 11-4 run at the Griffons to get the lead back down to one twice. They had a chance to win the game in the waning seconds, but a stepback jumper by Hammeke just inside the 3-point arc was long and the Griffons secured the rebound and closed the game with a pair of free throws with under a second to play.
Free throws wound up being the difference in the game. Missouri Western made 12 compared to seven for FHSU. The Griffons shot 16 attempts and missed four, while the Tigers shot 10 attempts and missed three. FHSU made one more field goal than MWSU and had a high shooting percentage from the field, while both teams went 3-of-15 beyond the 3-point line.
Fort Hays State held Missouri Western to just 28.1 percent shooting overall, but mustered just a 34 percent effort of its own. FHSU turned the ball over 11 times compared to nine for MWSU.
Just a couple of days after holding Northwest Missouri State to its fewest points in a game since the 1959-60 season, the Tigers were held to their fewest points since the 2011-12 season when they scored just 40 in a loss at Central Missouri. However, the Tigers still managed to hold the Griffons to less than 50 points for the fourth-straight games between the teams and fifth time in the last six meetings.
Hammeke led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with Shaun Riley, each securing six. Hammeke led in assists as well with four. He was the only Tiger to reach double figures in scoring.
Zane Nelson was the only Griffons player to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points. Zion Swader and Ethan Killgore each had nine, combining for seven of MWSU's 12 made free throws in the game.
UP NEXT
Fort Hays State will be at home for its next four games in a row, starting with contests against Nebraska-Kearney (Tue. Jan. 7) and Emporia State (Thur. Jan. 9) next week.