Bjarni Jonsson | Fort Hays State University Athletics
Bjarni Jonsson | Fort Hays State University Athletics
Tiger Men Turn Away Griffons in Hays
Fort Hays State defeated Missouri Western by a score of 75-48 on Thursday evening (Jan. 26) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers led wire-to-wire to move to 14-6 overall, 9-5 in the MIAA, while the Griffons fell to 8-11 overall, 4-9 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State took the lead for good in the game when Bjarni Jonsson canned a 3-point field goal to make it 7-4 just over seven minutes into the game. That sparked a 13-2 run by the Tigers to take an 11-point lead with 10 minutes to go until halftime. The Griffons got the lead down to five twice, but the Tigers ended the half with a 12-3 run to get their lead to 13 at halftime, 32-19.
The Tigers led by double digits the entire second half. A 7-0 run by the Tigers took their lead from 12 to 19 with 7:43 to play, then a 12-4 run to end the game took the final margin out to 27 points. FHSU's largest lead was 28 points after a bucket with just over a minute to go in the game.
Kaleb Hammeke turned in a strong effort for the Tigers with 25 points and six assists. He was a red-hot 10-of-13 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 beyond the 3-point line, while also hitting a pair of free throws. Elijah Nnanabu had 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Iyen Enaruna reached double figures with 10 points. Bjarni Jonsson and Gabe Pieschl were just a little shy of double figures, Jonsson with nine points and Pieschl with eight. Pieschl was the top rebounder for the Tigers with six.
JaRon Thames led the Missouri Western scoring effort with 13 points, while Reed Kemp had 11. Thames and Taye Fields each had six rebounds for the Griffons.
The Tigers crushed the Griffons in points off turnovers, 27-3. FHSU forced MWSU into 19 turnovers and committed just seven of their own. FHSU shot a blistering 60 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 52.5 percent overall for the game. FHSU shot 55.6 percent beyond the 3-point line with a 10-of-18 effort, tying their most 3-point field goals made in an MIAA game this season.
The Tigers held an opponent under 50 points for the fifth time this season and under 60 for the 12th time this season, lowering its scoring defense mark to just 57.6 points per game for the season.
The Tigers will now prep for a visit from three-time defending national champion Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Jan. 28). The Bearcats enter the contest at 18-2 overall and 11-2 in the MIAA, while holding the No. 7 ranking in both the NABC and D2SIDA Top 25 Polls. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
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