LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s basketball team gave the Kansas Jayhawks all they could handle in the first half Tuesday evening (Nov. 7), leading as late as 29-28 before heading into the locker room down by five, 38-33. But the perennial powerhouse showed why it is the #4/#3 team in the land after the break, using a strong second-half performance to outlast the Tigers, 86-57.
Mark Johnson Post game interview
Highlights
Historic Allen Fieldhouse did not seem to faze the Tigers, as they hit 34.9 percent (22-of-63) from the floor on the night. The Jayhawks countered with an efficient 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from the floor. KU used its significant size advantage to dominate under the basket, outrebounding the Tigers 45-29 while doubling up FHSU on points in the paint, 44-22.
Hadley Gillum and Brady Werth each scored 14 points to lead the Tigers, while Jared Vitztum grabbed a team-high five rebounds. The Tigers kept Jayhawk standout Devonte’ Graham in check in the first half, limiting the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year to three field goals before halftime. Graham got things rolling out of the locker room, knocking down 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc to help him reach a game-high 27 points.
Fort Hays State went toe-to-toe with the Jayhawks for the entirety of the first half, never trailing by more than six and taking the lead five different times. The sides traded buckets for the first five minutes of the game before KU went on an 8-3 run to go in front 16-10, the largest lead of the half.
The Tigers bounced back in a big way, holding KU scoreless over the next four minutes while scoring seven-straight points to creep back in front, 17-16. Gillum knocked down a turnaround hook shot before Grant Holmes dropped in a layup on the next possession. After a two-minute scoring draught for both teams, Gillum drilled a three from the right wing to give the Tigers the lead.
The Jayhawks rallied to take a five-point lead before the under-four timeout, but Trey O’Neil drilled back-to-back triples in a 25 second span to singlehandedly take back the lead, 29-28. The junior knocked one down from the left wing before sinking a long ball from the top of the key while being knocked down on the next possession.
Gillum drilled his second three-pointer late in the half to tie things up at 33, burying one from the left wing off a pass from Aaron Nicholson. The Jayhawks finished the half on a 5-0 run to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
Gillum led all scorers in the first half, picking up 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting including both of his three-point attempts. O’Neil added eight points in the half while Nicholson dished out to assists to go along with four points. The Tigers drilled 40.6 percent (13-of-32) of their shots over the first 20 minutes of action.
After Werth dropped in put-back layup after grabbing an offensive rebound to trim the deficit to three, the Jayhawks started to pull away. KU went on a 16-5 run over the next six minutes before scoring 15-straight to go in front by 27 with six minutes to play, 71-44. The Jayhawks led by as many as 32 late in the half, but Isaiah Nunnery drilled a pair of three-pointers down the stretch to help break up the KU rhythm.
The Tigers are set to open the regular season this weekend when they head to Emporia, Kan. for a pair of neutral site contests. FHSU will open the season on Friday (Nov. 10) against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State before facing off with Sioux Falls on Saturday (Nov. 11). Both contests begin at 5:30 p.m.