Men's Basketball Win Over the Beavers in their Conference Opener

Fort Hays Tech Northwest Men's Basketball won over the Pratt Community College Beavers on Wednesday evening, 87-62, in their conference opener.

The Beavers struck first, putting five points up on the board before Tech put up 9 straight points to take the lead, up 9-5 with 15:50 left in the first. The Beavers would quickly strike back, with a quick three to cut their lead back to one. Both teams would have to work to get the ball in the bucket, with tough defense being played both ways. Pratt would eventually tie up the game 18-18 at 9:25 before taking a lead. The Tigers quickly stole the lead back, going on a 13-0 run to take a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining. Tech would extend their lead out 36-23 about a minute remaining before Pratt narrowed it down to 36-27 at the half.

Pratt struck first again to start the second half, firing off a 10-0 run to briefly take the lead back. Unfortunately, for the Beavers, that would be their last lead, as Riccardo Marzetti and Marquentez Dixon would take over the game. Riccardo Marzetti would go off for 24 points in the second half alone, shooting 8-for-8 from the field, 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 3-for-3 from the foul line. Dixon would also have an excellent second half, contributing 12 points coming off the bench. The Tigers would ultimately extend their lead all the way out to 27 points, ending the game 87-62.

Looking further into the stats, Riccardo Marzetti would end the game with 32 points, going 11-for-11 from the field and 7-for-7 from three. Marzetti's seven three-pointers would tie him for 3rd for most single game three-pointers made. The rest of Tech's scoring would be pretty evenly distributed, with Kaleel Kelly and Marquintez Dixon being the only other Tigers in double-digit scoring. 

Tech will return to competition at home on Tuesday, November 25th, against the Garden City Broncbusters for their home opener.