Fort Hays State (20-4, 15-4 MIAA) at
Central Missouri (12-11, 9-10 MIAA)
Saturday, February 19 - 3 pm
Warrensburg, Mo. - UCM Multipurpose Building
Radio: KJLS (103.3-FM)
FHSU Athletics
Fort Hays State Men's Basketball completes its two-game road swing to Missouri when it plays at Central Missouri on Saturday (Feb. 19). The No. 22 ranked Tigers enter the contest 20-4 overall and 15-4 in the MIAA, while the Mules are 12-11 overall and 9-10 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State won the first meeting with Central Missouri this season by just five points in Hays, 64-59. Nyjee Wright led the Tigers in that contest with 14 points, while Jared Vitztum followed with 12 and Quinten Rock added 11. Kaleb Hammeke dished out a career-high nine assists in that contest. Cameron Hunter led Central Missouri with 17 points.
The Tigers are coming off a dominating 38-point win at Lincoln University on Thursday night. By holding Lincoln to just 35 points, the Tigers set a new program record for fewest points allowed in an MIAA game, and it was also the fewest points allowed in any conference game during Mark Johnson's tenure (2001-Present). The old mark was 44, allowed in a 66-44 win at Emporia State in 2015. The win also pushed the Tigers to the 20-win mark for the season, which has now been reached 10 times under Johnson. The last season of 20 or more wins occurred in 2015-16.
Jared Vitztum is closing in on another pair of milestones, which combined can set him apart from any other player to put on the Black and Gold for FHSU. He ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list and is just six points shy of 1,500 for his career, currently at 1,494. He is third all-time in rebounds with 882 and looks to become the third Tiger in history to pull down 900. Vitztum can become the only player in school history to reach both 1,500 points and 900 rebounds.
Vitztum leads the Tigers in scoring at 15.7 points per game, and leads the MIAA at 9.8 rebounds per game. He has 12 double-doubles so far this season. Kaleb Hammeke is averaging 14.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 3.5 per game. He led the Tigers in scoring on Thursday night at Lincoln with 17 points. Nyjee Wright is averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the team in 3-point field goals made with 49.