HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State posted a 25-point victory over Bethel College in its final non-conference game of the 2023-24 regular season on Wednesday night (Dec. 13). The Tigers built a 13-point lead by halftime and then took the second half by 12 points to cruise to victory. The Tigers moved to 8-2 overall, while the Threshers remained 5-6 with the game serving as an exhibition for them.
 
Bethel's only lead of the game came on the game's opening basket, but the Tigers countered that with an 11-0 run to seize control early. The lead reached double figures at the 12:45 mark and dipped back to single digits only once before the Tigers led by as many as 17 in the first half. Bethel made the final four points of the half to get the margin down to 13 (37-24) at the break.
 
Fort Hays State opened the second half on a 9-0 run to get the lead up beyond 20 points, and it never dipped back inside 20 from there on out. FHSU reached its largest lead of 28 with 3:14 to go in the game before the final margin settled at 25.
 
Traejon Davis led the Tigers with a career-high 19 points, going 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. He also notched a career-high four steals and pulled down eight rebounds, also leading the Tigers in those categories. Jaheim Holden scored 14 points, leading the team with a pair of 3-point field goals. Shaun Riley also reached double figures in scoring with 11. Holden and Kaleb Hammeke led the Tigers with four assists each.
 
The Tigers forced 17 turnovers out of the Threshers on 13 steals, outscoring the opposition 19-5 in points off turnovers. FHSU turned the ball over only seven times and won the rebounding battle 40-35. The Tigers held the Threshers to just 28 percent shooting from the field overall. FHSU had a 45 percent success rate from the field and hit 80 percent of its free throws (16-of-20). The Tigers did not allow any Threshers to reach double figures in scoring.
 
Fort Hays State has now held the opposition inside of 50 points in six of the last seven games, which all resulted in wins. The Tigers continue to lead NCAA Division II in scoring defense, surrendering just 54.8 points per game through 10 contests this season.
 
Fort Hays State returns to conference play this weekend at Newman University on Sunday (Dec. 17) at 3:30 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita.