The 20th-ranked Fort Hays State men’s basketball team moved to 6-0 overall with a 72-48 win over Rockhurst on Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 26) in Kansas City at the Sprint Center. FHSU held Rockhurst to 0-of-15 shooting from the field to begin the game and led by 25 at halftime before coasting the rest of the way.

Fort Hays State opened the game on a 19-3 run to lead by 16 at the midway point of the first half. Rockhurst finally put its first field goal in on a layup with 9:49 remaining before the half. FHSU ended the half on a 19-4 run to lead 41-16 at the break.

FHSU reached its biggest lead of 33 points at the 5:49 mark of the second half by a score of 68-35. Rockhurst closed the game on a 13-4 run to cut the margin back to 24 points.

The tough defense for FHSU was key, as it shot its lowest percentage from the field on the season so far at 43.6 percent. FHSU was just 30 percent from beyond the 3-point line. FHSU held Rockhurst to just 10.7 percent from the field (3-of-28) and 10 percent beyond the 3-point line (1-of-10) in the first half, before Rockhurst improved to 25.5 percent overall and 18.8 percent for the game with a better performance in the second half.

Dwayne Brunson recorded his fifth straight double-double with a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jared Tadlock nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Craig Nicholson led the Tigers in assists with nine.

Adam Fatkin was the only Rockhurst player to reach double figures in scoring at 10 points.

Fort Hays State hosts Sterling College on Saturday (Nov. 30) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Tip off is set for 4 pm, following the women’s game against Tabor at 2 pm.

-FHSU Sports Information-

The Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball team pulled in a nice win against Rockhurst in Kansas City with a final score of 72 to 48.

Mark Johnson Coach’s Postgame Interview

Jared Tadlock PostGame Interview

Game Highlights

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Ron Baker scored 21 points, Tekele Cotton added 17 and No. 12 Wichita State seized control against DePaul with a big first-half run Monday night before cruising to a 90-72 victory in the semifinals of the CBE Classic.

Cleanthony Early added 15 points for the Shockers, who knocked off the Blue Demons last year during a tournament in Cancun before marching all the way to the Final Four.

They’re proving that inspired NCAA tournament run was no fluke, either. Wichita State has barely been tested this season, though that should change Tuesday night. The Shockers will face BYU, which held off Texas 86-82 earlier in the night, in the tournament title game.

Brandon Young had 16 points and Tommy Hamilton scored 14 for DePaul, which has lost 44 consecutive games against Top 25 teams since beating Villanova in 2008.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali had an MRI exam on his sprained left ankle that came back better than expected Monday, while fellow linebacker Justin Houston had an MRI exam on his left elbow postponed because of swelling.

Coach Andy Reid wouldn’t say whether his top two pass rushers, both of them Pro Bowl picks a year ago, would be available for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos.

Hali rolled over his ankle in the first half of Sunday’s 41-38 loss to the San Diego Chargers. He was walking on crutches in the locker room after the game, but Reid said that he was feeling better on Monday. It’s possible he could play vs Denver.

Houston appears to be more doubtful after a subluxation of his elbow.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – After recording a school-record 440 all-purpose yards Saturday against No. 18 Oklahoma, Kansas State wide receiver/kick returner Tyler Lockett was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

The honor was Lockett’s first of the year and the fifth of his career, while K-State has a Big 12-best 24 conference weekly honors since 2011.

Lockett, who reset his own school record with 278 receiving yards, also added 162 yards on five kickoff returns to tally the fifth-best all-purpose output in FBS history and the second best in Big 12 history. His 440 all-purpose yards were nearly 100 more than the previous school record of 351 held by Darren Sproles vs. Louisiana in 2004 and Brandon Banks against Oklahoma in 2009.

During the contest, Lockett also broke the school record for career kickoff-return yards, a mark that now stands at 1,760, while he had three touchdown receptions to tie the school record for a second time this year.

Thanks to his performance, the Tulsa, Okla., product ranks in the school’s top 10 for single-season receptions (6th; 68), receiving yards (4th; 1,103), receiving touchdowns (t9th; 8), all-purpose yards (10th; 1,622), all-purpose yards per game (5th; 162.2) and kickoff return yards (10th; 509).

— K-State Media Relations —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Philip Rivers threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns, the final one a 26-yarder to Seyi Ajirotutu with 24 seconds remaining, to give San Diego a 41-38 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday and end the Chargers’ three-game losing streak.

The Chiefs had taken the lead when Alex Smith hit Dwayne Bowe in tight coverage for a go-ahead score with 1:22 left. But the Chargers (5-6) still had two timeouts, and they used both of them to quickly move downfield. Ajirotutu’s TD was just his third catch of the season.

It also represented the eighth and final lead change in the game.

Smith threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs, who dropped their second straight after a 9-0 start. They also lost top pass rusher Tamba Hali and Justin Houston to injuries and now have to turn their attention to the Denver Broncos next week.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Kansas State arrived in San Juan for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off with lofty goals.

The Wildcats didn’t have a perfect week by any means, but for the most part coach Bruce Weber likes the team he’s taking back home.

Thomas Gipson had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Kansas State cruised to a 52-38 win over Long Beach State in the seventh-place game at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Sunday.

Weber acknowledged that playing three games in four days wore on both teams and that the Wildcats probably benefited from playing Sunday against Long Beach State team that was more tired than them coming from the West Coast.

“Obviously we did a good job defensively,” Weber said. “It’s one of those games … it’s about desire and excuses. We challenged our guys and made some progress.

“Overall I thought we were in a lot of right places and disrupted them.”

Marcus Foster added 10 points, his third double-figures performance of the tournament and fifth straight overall.

For the game the 49ers were held to just 19 percent shooting from the field and 21 percent from beyond the arc.

Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said he didn’t think his team played particularly bad after playing well against VCU in the previous round. He said their inability to score put them in a hole that was unrecoverable, though.

But as much as Long Beach State had its issues shooting, Kansas State didn’t play error-free basketball either, committing 23 turnovers.

“I think young guys just have to understand when to go and when not to,” Weber said. “This next month we have (six) homes game and then Gonzaga and (Kansas on Jan. 11) … We gotta make some strides.”

He said having six freshmen on the roster, including Foster, will demand they learn lessons quickly.

“Part of it is young guys, part of it is figuring our roles,” Weber said. “I hope our young guys learn what it’s about.”

The game was close early before Wildcats (3-3) pulled away in the second half as the 49ers’ shooting percentage fell below 15 percent. They went more than 20 minutes without a field goal, missing 28 consecutive shots at one point.

Long Beach State (1-6) got no closer than 15 points in the second half. Mike Caffey led the 49ers with 13 points.

It was Kansas State’s second win this season over Long Beach State. The Wildcats posted a 13-point win on Nov. 17.

The 38 points is a season-low for the 49ers, which lost their sixth straight.

Kansas State took a 25-13 lead in the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats had a 10-2 advantage in the paint, with most coming from Gipson, who finished the half with 11 points.

Long Beach State tied it at 10, but went cold from the field as K-State closed with a 15-3 spurt.

The 13 points scored by the 49ers was a tournament-record low for a half. The 49ers struggled from all over, shooting just 12 percent (4 for 32) from the field and 16 percent (2 for 12) from the 3-point line.

Despite their struggles at times this week, Weber said he doesn’t think they are that far away from being able to compete in conference play.

“They gotta understand we gotta get better and it’s only going to come through practice and time in the gym,” Weber said. “Little things gotta be important.”

(AP) — Freshman Grant Rohach passed for a season-best 300 yards and two touchdowns and Iowa State beat Kansas 34-0 on a frigid Saturday night for its first Big 12 victory.

James White and Shontrelle Johnson each ran for a touchdown and Cole Netten kicked two field goals for the Cyclones (2-9, 1-7), who broke a seven-game losing streak at home and sent Kansas to its 24th straight road loss.

Just one week after breaking a 27-game conference losing streak, the Jayhawks (3-8, 1-7) failed to capitalize on some early scoring opportunities and never got much going in the second half, either.

Rohach, who had not thrown a touchdown pass in his five previous games, finished 15 of 20 with one interception and scoring throws of 58 yards to Aaron Wimberly and 15 yards to Quenton Bundrage.

It was the coldest game in Jack Trice Stadium history — 8 degrees at kickoff.

Beloit 36, Scott City 13

Class 2-1A State Tournament
Sub-state
LaCrosse 38, Meade 24

8-Man, Division I State Tournament
Championship
Osborne 56, Hodgeman County 8

8-Man, Division II State Tournament
Championship
Baileyville-B&B 42, Wallace County 19

MANHATTAN, KAN (AP) – Brennan Clay ran for a career-high 200 yards and two touchdowns, leading No. 20 Oklahoma to a 41-31 victory over Kansas State on Saturday and moving Sooners coach Bob Stoops past Barry Switzer for the most wins in school history.

It was the 158th victory at Oklahoma for Stoops, and it came against his former mentor. Stoops was a defensive assistant under Kansas State coach Bill Snyder from 1989-95.

Freshman Trevor Knight, filling in for the injured Blake Bell, threw for 171 yards and accounted for two TDs for the Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big 12). He made do without running back Damien Williams and wide receiver Lacoltan Bester, who were reportedly suspended earlier in the week.

Tyler Lockett had 12 catches for a school-record 278 yards and three touchdowns for Kansas State (6-5, 4-4), which had its four-game win streak end.

Jake Waters threw for 348 yards and accounted for four TDs, but he also threw an interception that the Sooners’ Zack Sanchez returned 74 yards for a fourth-quarter score that put the game out of reach.

Lockett finished with 440 all-purpose yards, also setting a Kansas State record.

The Sooners struck first when Knight hit Sterling Shepard from 12 yards out on third-and-goal in the first quarter, but that was about the last pass that Oklahoma called in the first half.

At one point, Stoops called for runs on 17 of 18 plays, including all 14 on a 98-yard TD drive. Clay and Knight did most of the work, with Knight fooling defensive end Ryan Mueller on a fake handoff and running untouched the final 8 yards for a 14-0 lead.

While the Sooners were pounding the ball, Kansas State abandoned the run.

Waters and Lockett took advantage of blown coverage to hook up for the first time for a 48-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter. When the Wildcats got the ball back, Waters found his favorite target with a perfectly thrown 30-yard TD pass in the corner of the end zone.

Oklahoma answered on the ground with Clay scooting to his right, sticking his foot in the turf and turning up field, racing past the secondary for a 69-yard touchdown run.

It took all of one play — a 90-yard pitch-and-catch from Waters to Lockett — for the Wildcats to make it 21-all. The TD catch also allowed Lockett to match the school record for a single game.

Michael Hunnicutt’s field goal in the final seconds gave Oklahoma a 24-21 halftime lead.

As entertaining as the first half was for offensive savants, the third quarter turned into a sluggish affair. Both teams muddled their way to field goals on time-consuming drives.

The Sooners finally seized control when they pinned Kansas State at the 3-yard line. The Wildcats went three-and-out, and Mark Krause’s punt into the wind went nowhere. Jalen Saunder caught it on the run and returned it to the 3, where Clay ran it in on the next play.

Oklahoma put the game out of reach moments later, when Sanchez picked off Waters and returned it up the sideline for a touchdown. The Sooners’ sideline erupted as he crossed the goal line to make it 41-24 with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

Waters added a TD run for Kansas State in the closing minutes for the final margin.