Fort Hays State Downs UNK Men, 79-57

Graduate lefty guard Kaleb Hammeke had 27 points, five rebounds, and five assists to lead Fort Hays State to a 79-57 win over Nebraska Kearney Thursday night in Kansas.

This was a makeup date for a postponed game on Jan. 7 due to the weather. The Tigers (19-8, 12-6) finish up the year a solid 15-1 at home and beat the Lopers (11-15, 9-9) for an eighth straight time.

One of the nation’s top defensive squads, Hays had one of its best offensive nights of the year. They shot 57% from the field, went 10 of 21 from deep, and 19 of 22 at the line. UNK shot 50% in the first half but cooled off after the break and was just 15 of 24 from the line.

“Some of it is the environment but a lot of it is how hard they play. They are a tough, disciplined team,” said UNK head coach Marty Levinson. “We knew about their home success and were up for the challenge but didn’t shoot the ball very well and gave them too many points. There were 13 over their average.”

UNK led 8-7 early on thanks to triples from senior Chase Thompson (Omaha Westside) and junior Ja’Bryant Hill (Duncanville, Texas). However, Hays responded with a 21-5 run and never looked back. The Lopers whittled the deficit to single digits in both the first and second halves but didn’t get closer than eight points.

A two-time All-District nominee who is the Tigers all-time leading scorer (1,997), Hammeke had his third career 20-point performance against UNK. He went 9 of 12 from the field (3 of 4 threes), 6 of 6 at the line and had just one turnover in 38 minutes.

“He’s aggressive and aggressive off the ball as well. He moves really, really well and they do a good job of coming back to him. Their team knows their role and the importance of getting him the ball,” said Levinson. “They know it because he makes such good decisions. When they come back tohim, they trust he’ll make the right decision.”

Three others scored in double figures, including sophomore guard Kyle Grill (14), who went 4 of 4 from deep. Finally, six Tigers grabbed between three and five rebounds.

For UNK, graduate guard Allen Taylor (Bradley, Ark.) drew seven fouls and made five shots to finish with a team-best 19 points. Next, Hill also made five shots to score 13 with redshirt freshman Clayton Moore (Mullen) at 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting. Playing just 15 minutes, he also grabbed five rebounds to lead the team

“We were a lot more aggressive and got downhill in the second half,” said Levinson. “This hurts but we’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”

These teams will close out the regular season on Mar. 1 at the Health & Sports Center.