Fort Hays State opened the game on a 12-0 run and never looked back in a 28-point blowout win over Northeastern State on Saturday (Jan. 17). The Tigers won by a score of 77-49, moving to 11-6 overall, 5-4 in the MIAA. Northeastern State dropped to 3-13 overall, 1-8 in the MIAA.

In their first game without injured point guard Craig Nicholson, the Tigers put to rest any doubts of struggle early. The Tigers scored the first 12 points of the game before the RiverHawks collected their first basket at the 16:18 mark of the first half. From that point the Tigers went on a 13-1 run to extend their lead to 25-3 at the 8:11 mark. FHSU held Northeastern State without a field goal over a span of 8:51 before. The Tiger lead grew as large as 27 points in the first half before settling at 25 by halftime, 42-17.

Northeastern State made a burst at the Tigers early in the second half to trim a 26-point lead down to 17, but FHSU countered with a 24-4 run to push the margin to 37 points, the largest of the game, with 6:43 to go. Northeastern State ended the game on a 13-4 run, but the game was well at hand.

Achoki Moikobu had a great all-around game at point guard, scoring 14 points and pulling down a career-high nine rebounds. He also tied his season high in assists with six. Jeremy Wilson scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 effort at the free-throw line. Royce Williams finished in double figures with 12 points, all on four 3-point field goals, and Dom Samac added 11.

The Tigers did a great job moving the ball on offense in the game, recording 22 assists as a team. However, one negative in the blowout win was that the Tigers turned the ball over a season-high 20 times. FHSU committed its two highest turnover totals in the last two games after 17 on Thursday night, but both still resulted in wins. To offset the rash of turnovers, the Tigers shot 60 percent from the field in the game, its second-highest percentage of the season and highest against a MIAA opponent this year. FHSU also dominated on the glass outrebounding NSU by 18, 40-22.

The RiverHawks were held to just 31.9 percent shooting from the field in the game and just 27.2 percent in the first half. NSU shot just 27.3 percent beyond the 3-point line in the game. The RiverHawks were led by Dakota Caudill, who scored a career-high 20 points. He also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

By the end of Saturday, FHSU will have moved up into a tie for seventh place in the MIAA standings, but just one game back of third place.

The Tigers play their final non-conference game of the season at home on Thursday (Jan. 22) against South Dakota School of Mines. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum. FHSU finishes the four-game homestand next Saturday jumping back into conference play to host Pittsburg State.

University Bookstore Discount
For the game, Fort Hays State hit 9 3-point field goals. As a result, you can take advantage of a 27% discount at the University Bookstore all day Monday (Jan. 19).
Valid on 1/19/15 only.  May not be combined with any other offer. Valid in-store and on FHSU clothes and gift items only. Excludes textbooks, gift cards, diploma frames, previous purchases, calculators, computer supplies/hardware/software, and professional reference. Void where prohibited by law. See store for details. Discount is only available the next business day following a home double-header FHSU basketball game.
FHSU Virtual College students must enter the code phrase (Roll Tiges) in the comments section when finalizing your online purchase at: http://www.fhsushop.com