Fort Hays State doubled up Central Christian in the home opener by a score of 84-42 on Wednesday evening (Nov. 19) at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. The win puts the Tigers at 1-2 overall.
The Tigers opened the game on a 13-0 run and never looked back. The lead grew to 22 at halftime as Fort Hays State led 43-21. The Tigers used an 18-0 run to open the second half to put the game way out of reach, building a 40-point lead of 61-21 with 12:08 remaining. Central Christian did not score in the second half until the 11:39 mark, but eventually matched its first half total of 21 points. Fort Hays State’s largest lead was 49 points at the 4:32 mark.
Fort Hays State struggled with outside shooting, but dominated in low with 38 points in the paint and 29 free-throws. Overall, the Tigers shot 46.4 percent from the field, but just 16.7 percent beyond the 3-point line (3-of-18). The Tigers did a fair job at the free-throw line at 72.5 percent, hitting 29-of-40 attempts.
Fort Hays State held Central Christian to just 19.2 percent shooting in the game, and just 22.7 percent beyond the 3-point line.
Jeremy Wilson led the Tigers in scoring off the bench with 16 points, including three dunks. He shot 7-of-8 from the field, buried his only 3-point attempt, and went 1-of-3 at the free-throw line. Craig Nicholson and Dom Samac each had 12 points, while Drew Kite added 10. With Fort Hays State’s rough outside shooting performance early in the game, Nicholson finished the game with no assists, the first time that has occurred in his 61 games played at FHSU. Jake Stoppel led FHSU in rebounds with 12, while Royce Williams dished out a team-best four assists.
Jerome Jackson was the only Central Christian player to reach double figures in scoring with 12 points.
Fort Hays State looks to even its overall season mark on Saturday (Nov. 22) when it hosts Bethel College at 4 pm. For tickets call 785-628-4050 or buy online at fhsuathletics.com.