MANHATTAN, Kan. – Fort Hays State competed with Kansas State in an exhibition contest on Tuesday evening (Oct. 29) at Bramlage Coliseum. The Tigers fell by 14 to the Wildcats, 70-56, but had several good bursts of play throughout the night.
Despite struggling to hit some shots early in the game, the Tigers remained within 12 of the Wildcats at halftime. They held KSU to just 36.7 percent shooting from the field in the first half. Kansas State started the game on a 7-0 run, but the Tigers pulled back within three points at 17-14 with 8:27 remaining before the break. A 15-4 run by the Wildcats extended the lead out to 14 before the margin rested at 12 at the break.
The Wildcat lead reached 20 twice early in the second half, but the Tigers chipped away and got the lead back down to 10 with 8:32 to go. However, the Wildcats weathered the burst from the Tigers and went on to win by 14.
Kaleb Hammeke and
Kyle Grill each led the Tigers with nine points. Grill had seven of his points in the first half to lead the Tigers.
Shaun Riley,
Aidan McDowell,
Jahvari Martino, and
Lucas Hammeke all had six points.
Kaleb Hammeke dished out a team-high five assists and
Shaun Riley pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.
Brendan Hausen led the Wildcats with 15 points, all on five 3-point field goals. Coleman Hawkins had 13 and David N'Guessan had 10 to round out the Wildcat scorers to reach double figures.
After struggling to just 25.7 percent from the field in the first half, FHSU warmed up in the second half, shooting 50 percent. That brought the Tigers' overall percentage up to 36.9 for the game.
Even having the size advantage, the Wildcats settled for shooting 28 3-point shots and made just eight (28.6 percent beyond the arc). They finished at 41.1 percent overall from the field. The Wildcats also shot 20 more free throws than the Tigers (22-2). The 14-point advantage at the free-throw line covered the final margin on the scoreboard. FHSU hit one more field goal in the game than KSU (24-23).
The Tigers open up the regular season in Marshall, Minn. on Friday, November 8 when they take on Southwest Minnesota State.
