HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State had to battle its way past Northeastern State on Thursday evening (Feb. 6) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. A late run by the Tigers gave them separation from the RiverHawks as they went on to win 61-48 in a battle of teams that entered the contest at 13-7 overall on the season. FHSU improved to 14-7, while NSU went to 13-8, but both sit at 7-5 in MIAA play. This was the only meeting of the regular season between the teams.
Fort Hays State led for the first 13:30 of the game, up by as many as seven at the 12:38 mark of the first half. However, NSU grabbed its first lead of the game with a 10-2 run. They led by just one point twice before the Tigers edged back ahead by halftime 28-26.
The second half was tight early as neither team could gain much separation. FHSU led by five at the 14:06 mark before NSU used a 7-0 run to get ahead by two, which was its largest lead. Down 46-44, the Tigers finally made a big burst to get past the RiverHawks and seize control of the game. A
Shaun Riley 3-point play pushed the Tigers back in front and triggered a 14-0 run as the Tigers took a 12-point lead with 3:29 to go off of suffocating defense.
Shaun Riley,
Kaleb Hammeke, and
Kyle Grill all had four points in the run. The Tigers held the RiverHawks scoreless for nearly six minutes. FHSU kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way, eventually winning by 13.
Fort Hays State was the first team to hold Northeastern State inside of 66 points this season, 18 points fewer than their previous low. They held Trey Phipps, the MIAA's leading scorer entering the game at 21.8 points per game, to just four points. His previous season low was nine. Turnovers were a big key to the win for FHSU. The Tigers forced the RiverHawks into 19, while committing just seven. FHSU won the points off turnover spread 16-2, which covered the 13-point final score margin.
Hammeke led the Tigers with 16 points and four assists. Riley and Grill each pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
Dan Mukuna was the top point man off the bench with 12, while Riley also had 12. Grill finished with 10 points.
Ethan Blackmon and Taven Washington each had a team-high 11 points for NSU. Jaxon Jones led the RiverHawks in rebounds with six.
Fort Hays State lowered its NCAA Division II-leading scoring defense to 58.9 points per game allowed this season. With the result, FHSU and NSU are now tied for fourth place in the MIAA standings at 7-5, just a game behind Pittsburg State's 8-4 mark for second place.
The Tiger men play host to Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 4 p.m. following the women's contest. It will be the first-ever meeting between FHSU and Arkansas-Fort Smith, a newcomer to the MIAA this year, in both men's and women's basketball.
