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Tigers stepping it up
12/14/2009
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Fort Hays State University head men's basketball coach Mark Johnson calls it "the Tyrone Evans treatment." Evans, a two-time all-conference guard for FHSU, continually beat opponents from long range. Late last season, opponents focused on Evans. That allowed Tim Peintner, Corbin Kuntzsch and others to step up.
This season, Peintner, a returning all-conference player, is receiving "Evans treatment" from opponents. Peintner has nine points in three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association contests, yet the Tigers, ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II, are 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
"Right now, they are so focused on Tim," Johnson said. "...I think teams are going to figure out, we are not really a 2 or 3 man team this year, we have multiple guys that can score and they are just going to have to play us all the same and not really key on just one guy."
In Peintner's stead, multiple players have stepped up, especially junior forward Ken Bowman, who delivered another impressive contest in a 67-54 victory against Missouri Western State University on Saturday.
Bowman finished with 15 points and six rebounds. In conference play, Bowman has averaged 19 points and 7 rebounds, including a 23-point, 11-rebound performance against Northwest Missouri State University.
"I don't think there is any question he is an elite big guy," Western head coach Tom Smith said.
"This is not a big guys' league. I don't care what people say. It's not. I think Bowman will make a difference because he is a good big man. He is not a project big man. He is already developed," Smith added.
Bowman, along with transfers Dominique Jones, Dijon Smith, Orrin Greer, Willie Hassell and three-year starter Corbin Kuntzsch. have helped Fort Hays enjoy its best offensive production in years. Bowman, one of four Tigers in double figures, leads FHSU with 13 points a game.
"Ken is a great player and the bad thing about it is, you all didn't get to see who he really is yet," Jones said.
A two-year starter for Hutchinson Community College, Bowman earned first team all-KJCCC honors in 2007-08 after he averaged 15 points and nine rebounds a game.
He attracted multiple Division I offers before signing at University of Maryland last season, but Bowman didn't play last year.
"Taking a year off and time off, you don't hit the ground running," Johnson said. "He has really actually come on pretty quick for the first semester. He is really doing a great job for us."
Bowman's performance has helped Fort Hays enjoy its best start in conference play the Tigers joined the MIAA four years ago. The Tigers and University of Central Missouri are the lone teams without a MIAA loss after two weeks of conference play. In addition, FHSU has won its three contests by 11, 12 and 13 points.
Last season, the Tigers won 11 conference games; just four wins came by at least 11 points.
"This was just kind a free game for us," Smith said. "They are a contending team. I got to see who is going to come in here and win. I think we accorded ourself real well and I thought we gave ourselves a little chance to win. ... Right now, I think it's the best (Fort Hays) team that I have seen."
Bowman, the Tigers' biggest player at 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, had a big dunk early in the first half Saturday that helped give Fort Hays an early lead. In addition, he has more active on the glass as well, upping his rebounding average to 5.4 boards a game. Overall, Bowman shoots 59.5 percent from the field and 76.3 percent from the free throw line, helping Fort Hays overcome limited production from Peintner.
"I just feel like we have a lot of depth up there and right now Ken is the guy kind of separating himself, but it's a long season and I just think with those four guys, Tim, Ryan (Herrman), Dijon and Ken, somebody is going to have the effort that night, somebody is going to be playing well," Johnson said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 03/17 | Missouri S&T | W 2-1 (10) |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 6-1 |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 8-1 |
| BB | 03/16 | Misosuri S&T | L 13-4 |
| MB | 03/14 | Central Missouri | L 80-73 |
| BB | 3/13 | NW Missouri | W 13-10 |
| BB | 03/13 | NW Missouri | W 4-3 |
| MB | 03/13 | Central Oklahoma | W 80-64 |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |
| BB | 03/07 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 13-7 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 16-4 |
| BB | 03/06 | No. 9 Emporia State | W 3-0 |
| MB | 03/05 | Emporia State | L 65-61 |
| BB | 03/05 | No. 9 Emporia State | L 10-3 |
| WB | 03/04 | No. 15 Emporia | L 72-66 |
| WB | 02/28 | No. 12 Emporia State | L 87-80 |
| MB | 02/28 | Emporia State | W 94-47 |
| SB | 02/28 | Quincy | L 6-0 |
| SB | 02/27 | Mo Southern | W 9-3 |
| SB | 02/27 | Missouri S&T | L 8-3 |