Sterling came out of the gates red hot, but the FHSU weathered the storm to eventually defeat the Warriors 81-66 on Saturday (Nov. 26) at Gross Coliseium. Sterling led by six midway through the first half, but FHSU stormed back with a 19-4 run to take control and eventually lead by seven at halftime. They kept the Warriors at arm’s length in the second half to secure the win to move to 5-0 on the year.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half. Fort Hays State was just a smidge better at 53.8 percent, compared to 52.4 percent for Sterling. Karron McKenzie (13 points) and Kendrick Morse (10 points) did the most damage for FHSU in the first half, scoring over half of the team’s 40 points in the opening frame. Trenton Stutzman was red hot from beyond the 3-point line for Sterling and had all 16 of his points in the first half on perfect shooting from the field with four makes beyond the arc.

McKenzie went on to finish with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. He was perfect at the free-throw line, 3-of-3. Morse and Tyrone Phillips each finished with 15 points. Morse finished with a team-high five assists. Markus Yarbrough added 10 off the bench.

The Tigers scorched the nets in the second half, shooting 65.4 percent from the field to finish at 59.6 percent for the game. Sterling finished at 47.1 percent from the field, but 55.6 percent beyond the 3-point line (10-of-18) to stay in the game.

Fort Hays State comes right back on Sunday (Nov. 27) to host Baker University at 3 pm, which closes out non-conference play.

– FHSU Sports Information –

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview
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Jason Ball Postgame Interview
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Game Highlights
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