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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Matt Brien
Corbey R. Dorsey
46
Neb.-Kearney UNK 3-5,0-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate
64
Winner Fort Hays St. FHSU 8-0,3-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Neb.-Kearney UNK
3-5,0-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate
46
Final
64
Fort Hays St. FHSU
8-0,3-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Neb.-Kearney UNK 12 34 46
Fort Hays St. FHSU 32 32 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Fast Start Propels Tigers

Kearney, Neb. – Senior forward Jared Vitztum and sophomore guard Kaleb Hammeke combined for 41 points to help Fort Hays State get off to a fast start and down Nebraska-Kearney, 64-46, Saturday evening in Kansas.

The Tigers (8-0, 3-0) remain unbeaten while the Lopers fall to 3-5 (0-3). This was the 136th all-time meeting between the two with the last eight contests being split. Hays has taken 10 of the last 11 games in Gross Memorial Coliseum.

"The aggressor usually wins nine out of 10 times and I think they were pretty much the aggressor for much of the game," said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton on the KRVN radio post-game show. "They are one of the better defensive teams in the league … they came in leading the MIAA in field goal percentage defense at about 35 percent and that's about what they held us to."

A sixth-year "Super Senior" and a 2021 All-Central Region selection, Vitztum went for 20 points and 12 rebounds (all defensive). He made 8 of 13 shots and added five assists. Next, Hammeke tallied a game-high 21 points on 7 of 14 shooting. The 2021 MIAA Freshman of the Year also went 5 of 5 at the line and added six times and two steals.

Holding teams to 54 points a night, the Tigers jumped out to a 21-6 lead 11 minutes in and never looked back. Hays sunk three of its first six triples, took advantage of six Loper turnovers and got nine apiece from Vitztum and Hammeke to get out to that 15-point cushion.

"Their top players really stepped up for them. We didn't have the answer for either, especially Hammeke off the dribble. He makes a lot of things happen for them," said Lofton.

Trailing 32-12 at the break, UNK made a bit of a run in the second half. A layup from senior forward Darrian Nebeker (West Jordan, Utah) cut the deficit to 47-34 with 9:19 to play and capped a 22-15 Loper spurt. However, the Tigers followed with a two-pointer and didn't allow a made bucket for the next three minutes.

"Second half we did a little bit of everything better but it wasn't enough to put us in a position to make it that close," said Lofton. "We never got in a flow in the first half in anything we did. We got decent shots at times but couldn't get anything to go. It just snowballed."  

Hays out shot UNK by a 47-35% margin while also being plus six on the glass. Finally, five others besides Vitztum and Hammeke scored with each team sinking eight threes and combining for only 20 free throw attempts.

The Lopers were led by point guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) who had a team-high 15 thanks to 4 of 6 three-point shooting. He's reached double digits in all but one game this year. Next, six others scored including nine from Nebeker and eight from Alliance senior forward Austin Luger. Finally, New Zealand freshman Sean Murphy grabbed a team-best six boards.

UNK has added a game this coming Tuesday (Dec. 14) against NAIA Sterling College. The date helps replaces the Colorado School of Mines home game (Nov. 20) that was canceled due to COVID protocols within the Oredigger program. The game tips at 7 p.m.
 
 
 
 
 
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