HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State moved to 8-3 overall on the season with an 82-54 win over McPherson College on Sunday (Dec. 30) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. It marked the sixth-straight win for the Tigers after dropping three of their first five to start the season.
 
The Tigers had a sluggish first half and led by only one at the break, 30-29. FHSU turned the ball over nine times compared to eight for McPherson. Brady Werth nearly scored half of Fort Hays State's first half points with 13.
 
Fort Hays State put the game out of reach early in the second half using a 22-3 run out of halftime to take a 20-point lead. The Tigers pushed the gas pedal down one more time for a two-minute span between the 7:49 and 5:49 marks, going on an 11-0 run to extend a 16-point lead to 27. A Nyjee Wright 3-point field goal with 11 seconds remaining pushed the Tiger lead to 28, their largest of the game, which also served as the final margin. Fort Hays State shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the field in the second half, while limiting McPherson to just 34.8 percent after the break.
 
Werth ended the game with a team-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He hit 3-of-5 3-point field goal attempts in the game and all three of his free-throw attempts. Marcus Cooper was close behind in scoring with 19, hitting 7-of-12 field goals, including a 4-of-8 effort beyond the 3-point line. Overall, FHSU canned 12 3-point field goals. Werth pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and Kinnamon had a team-best eight assists.
 
Lual Magot led McPherson with 12 points, followed by Josh Rivers and Frederick Watts each with 10. Magot also led the Bulldogs in rebounds with seven.
 
Fort Hays State now prepares to navigate the 17 conference games remaining on the schedule, starting with a road game at Central Missouri on Thursday, January 3. FHSU is off to a 2-0 start in MIAA play.