In recent seasons, Metro State, Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Lewis stood above the rest of the men’s teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Denver’s Metro State has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament the past eight seasons and won national championships in 2000 and 2002. Kearney has qualified nine of the past 10 seasons, and Fort Lewis, based in Durango, three of the past four.
While that trio remains in contention for a tournament berth, Fort Hays State of Hays, Kan., is alone at the top. Ranked No. 2 nationally, the Tigers are undefeated in conference play and have only one loss, 60-57 to Southwest Baptist of Bolivar, Mo., on Dec. 2. Two RMAC teams have pushed Fort Hays into overtime, Western State and Kearney.
The Tigers, who last reached the NCAA Tournament in 2003, defeated Metro State 75-62 on Thursday as the Roadrunners shot just 4-for-18 from 3-point range.
Fort Hays took a 12-game winning streak and 28-game home win streak into Saturday’s contest against Regis University.
The Tigers have two Coloradans on their roster – Maurice Henson, a 6-foot-5 senior from Colorado Springs’ Doherty High who started his college career at Otero Junior College, and Kevin Wagstaff, a senior transfer from Colorado School of Mines. Wagstaff, who played prep ball at Colorado Springs’ Rampart, is sitting out this season because of RMAC regulations for in-conference transfers.
Fort Hays has seven players averaging between 6.5 and 12.7 points.
“We play 10 to 11 guys,” coach Mark Johnson said. “Tyrone Shephard is our leading scorer and probably our most talented player. He can put up 30 points in big games.”
Another plus on offense: only 13 turnovers per game.
“It has been a real focus that guys understand about taking care of the ball,” Johnson said.
At the end of the school year, Fort Hays leaves the RMAC for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Fort Hays played against those teams in the mid-1980s when they were all NAIA, but when those teams moved to Division II, Fort Hays stayed at NAIA and joined the RMAC, which eventually left NAIA for Division II.
“The RMAC has been a great league for us, but we’re excited to get back to playing our in-state rivals,” Johnson said.
The RMAC will add Western New Mexico to replace Fort Hays.
Footnotes
Steve Raquet of Colorado State-Pueblo ranks No. 2 in NCAA Division II in rebounding with 11.4 per game. CSU-Pueblo is under the direction of first-year coach Pat Eberhart, a former CSU assistant who helped recruit Jason Smith to Fort Collins. Eberhart played in the RMAC, earning all-conference honors at Adams State, and was an assistant at his alma mater and Colorado Christian. He also coached at Denver East High and Denver’s Bishop Machebeuf High. From 1997-2001, he assisted Joe Folda when CSU-Pueblo was known as Southern Colorado. That stint included the Thunderwolves’ last NCAA appearance in 1998. … Three weeks remain in the RMAC regular season. The top four seeds play host to the first round of the RMAC Tournament on March 1. The semifinals and finals are March 4-5 at the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo.
