HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State improved to 17-8 overall and 10-6 in the MIAA with a 70-59 win over Missouri Southern on Thursday night (Feb. 20) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers trailed by one at halftime but used a 16-3 burst to start the second half and took control of the remainder of the game. The Lions moved to 11-14 overall and 6-10 in the MIAA.
 
The Tigers had to fight off a sluggish start offensively to climb their way back close to the Lions by halftime. Missouri Southern opened the game on a 6-0 run and eventually led by eight (29-21) before the Tigers reeled them back in to just a one-point margin at halftime, 33-32. The Tigers missed their first 10 field goal attempts of the game before warming to 41.2 percent from the field by halftime.
 
Kaleb Hammeke hit the first bucket of the second half to swing the lead to the Tigers and then Kyle Grill followed with 3-point splash to put the Tigers up four. Hammeke added another bucket on a clinical offensive set to cap a 7-0 burst out of the half. After a pair of Missouri Southern free throws, Grill buried another pair of 3-point field goals to get the lead to 10. One more free throw by the Lions was followed by a 3-point field goal from Hammeke to push the lead to 12. FHSU held MSSU without a field goal for the first 7:30 of the second half.
 
The Tigers eventually stretched their lead to 16 points twice before the final margin settled at 11. Nine points was the closest the Lions got the rest of the way. Kaleb Hammeke finished with 26 points to lead the Tigers, hitting 10-of-22 field goal attempts and his only pair of free throws. He was 4-of-8 beyond the 3-point line. Grill finished with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, going 4-of-7 beyond the 3-point line. He nearly had a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds. Lucas Hammeke scored a new career-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He had a team-high six assists.
 
The Tigers really clamped down on the Lions defensively in the second half. MSSU shot just 26.1 percent from the field and did not hit any of 10 3-point field goal attempts after halftime. The Lions finished at 36 percent overall for the game and just 18.2 percent beyond the 3-point line. FHSU became the third team to hold MSSU under 65 points in a game this season and right on their nation's best scoring defense average of 59 points per game.
 
Jaden Taylor led four Lions scorers who reached double figures with 15 points. Tyrique Brooks had 13 points, Tyrone Wright had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Martin Macenis added 10 points.
 
Fort Hays State will host Pittsburg State for Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 22). Senior recognition is scheduled for right after the completion of the women's game. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Gross Memorial Coliseum. It will be the second-to-last home game of the season for FHSU as the makeup game with Nebraska-Kearney will be the following week on February 26.