FHSU Athletics
EMPORIA, Kan. – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball opened its 2023-24 season with a 70-66 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the MIAA-GAC Challenge. After falling down by double digits early in the game, the Tigers used a big second-half surge to get past the Bulldogs.
Southwestern Oklahoma built a 13-point lead twice early, the latest at 20-7 with 11:54 to go before halftime. From that point, FHSU closed out the first half on a 21-11 run to get back within three at halftime. SWOSU led 31-28 at the break.
The Tigers came out of halftime with purpose, going on a 10-0 run to flip the game into a seven-point lead, 38-31. The Tigers went on to lead the remainder of the game, even though SWOSU made it interesting late. A steal and a layup with under 20 seconds remaining brought the Bulldogs back within two, but Elijah Nnanabu put the game away by hitting a pair of crucial free throws with 14 seconds remaining. That would be the final scoring of the game as a SWOSU 3-point field goal on their next possession fell off the mark.
Tiger newcomers Shaun Riley and R.J. Crawford led the Tigers with 15 points each, while Nnanabu finished with 14. Riley picked up a double-double in his first game as a Tiger, adding a team-high 10 rebounds. Kaleb Hammeke also reached double figures in scoring with 12 points.
After shooting just 39.3 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers heated to 50 percent in the second half and finished at 45 percent for the game. SWOSU finished at 44.6 percent from the field. Both teams scored 58 points on field goals, but FHSU made four more free throws in the game (12-8) to triumph.
The Tigers will face Arkansas Tech on Saturday in their second game of the weekend. Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m. in Emporia.