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Tigers start homestand with blowout
12/8/2009
By RANDY GONZALES
rgonzales@dailynews.net
With important conference games looming, here was NAIA Tabor College on the schedule for the Tigers.
The Fort Hays State University men's basketball team, part of the NCAA Division II Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, rolled past an outmanned Tabor squad, winning 109-49 Monday night at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
"We tried to use this like an opportunity for a practice," Fort Hays coach Mark Johnson said of Monday's rout. "I thought the guys did a good job respecting the game of basketball, played hard, did the right things on offense."
The Tigers will play host to Northwest Missouri State University on Wednesday, and will be at home again Saturday against Missouri Western State University in another MIAA game. The Tigers then play a non-league home game against Doane on Dec. 16 before winding up the homestand after Christmas against conference rival Washburn University.
Saturday's road win in the Tigers' MIAA opener at University of Nebraska-Omaha was big, and so are the home games coming up.
"It's really important," Johnson said of the homestand.
"We've gotten off to miserable starts in conference the last couple years.
"We got a road win. It's nice to have three in a row at home, if you count Washburn after Christmas," Johnson added.
Tabor (3-6) led three times early in the game, the last time at 6-4, before Fort Hays took over. The Tigers went on a 22-0 run to take a 28-6 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Fort Hays (6-1), which led 53-18 at halftime, used the second half to get players off the bench playing time. Junior forward Dijon Smith and sophomore guard Ben Congiusta, both members of the Tigers' regular rotation, got extended minutes, as did players deep on the team's bench.
Smith had a double-double to lead the Tigers, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Congiusta and junior guard Dominique Jones each scored 14 off the bench. Junior Ken Bowman, who starts in the middle, added 12 points. The Tigers -- who shot 65 percent from the floor for the game -- led by as many as 65 points in the second half en route to their highest point total of the season.
"Guys like Ben Congiusta got minutes, guys like Dijon got minutes," Johnson said.
Junior Greg Schmidt, sophomore Sean Dreiling and freshman Jason Ball also saw plenty of playing time. Johnson said they contribute so much to the program, and he was glad to get them on the floor.
"It was nice for several of them to get quality minutes," Johnson said.
Senior Kyle Kroeker led Tabor with 15 points.
The Fort Hays women will play Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at GMC, followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.
"We can't take it for granted, that we're at home," Johnson said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| TS | 04/06 | Emporia State | L 8-1 |
| SB | 03/30 | Panhandle State | W 10-2 (5 inn.) |
| SB | 03/30 | Panhandle State | W 13-3 (5 inn.) |
| BB | 03/30 | Washburn | W 3-1 |
| BB | 03/30 | Washburn | W 3-1 |
| TS | 03/23 | Kansas Wesleyan | L 6-3 |
| BB | 03/23 | Metro State | W 20-8 |
| BB | 03/23 | Metro State | W 6-5 |
| SB | 03/19 | Nebraska-Omaha | L 4-2 |
| SB | 03/19 | Truman State | W 4-1 |
| SB | 03/18 | Mo. Western | L 6-2 |
| 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 |