By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State fell to No. 18 ranked Missouri Southern on Saturday (Jan. 4) in Hays by a score of 85-67. The Tigers trimmed a 17-point deficit down to seven with a 10-0 run from 8:05 to 5:21 remaining, but the Lions withstood the run to pull away late. FHSU is now 6-5 overall, 0-3 in the MIAA, while MSSU moved to 10-2 overall, 3-0 in the MIAA.
The 18th-ranked Lions never trailed, building a 17-point lead of 41-24 by halftime. The Lions shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, including eight 3-point field goals for a 57.1 percent effort beyond the arc. Kinzer Lambert was a perfect 4-of-4 beyond the arc and 5-of-5 overall, leading the Lions at halftime with 16 points.
MSSU maintained its double-figure lead until the late 10-0 run by the Tigers. Alvin Thompson had the first four points of the run before Calvin Harrington buried a pair of 3-point field goals to cut the lead to seven.
FHSU had the ball with a chance to cut the lead to five or four, but a turnover triggered a fast-break opportunity for MSSU that turned into much more when officials assessed a few technical fouls following a flagrant foul on the breakaway layup attempt. FHSU and MSSU each had players receive offsetting technicals, but one more assessed to the Tigers gave the Lions an additional two free throws on top of the two for the flagrant foul on the shot. MSSU buried all four free throws to push the lead back to 11, then Lambert’s sixth 3-point field goal of the game upped the lead to 14 with 3:52 to go.
Jared Vitztum led the Tiger scoring effort with 17 points, while Harrington also reached double figures with 11. FHSU shot only 39.3 percent from the field for the game (22-of-56), even though it brought the overall percentage up in the second half from a 33.3 percent rate at halftime.
The Lions finished at 52.5 percent from the field and 56.5 percent beyond the 3-point line. Lambert led the Lions with 24 points, going 6-of-9 beyond the arc, while Braelon Walker and Elyjah Clark each added 14. Walker buried four 3-point field goals. The Lions as a team had 13 marks beyond the arc. Reggie Tharp led the Lions with six assists, while chipping in 12 points. The hot shooting helped the Lions offset a rough night for their All-American Cam Martin, who had just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting. Martin averaged 22.5 points entering the game.
This was the first win for Missouri Southern in Hays since the 2011-12 season, snapping a five-game skid in Hays. The Lions were also ranked nationally the last time they won, holding a No. 14 ranking in the meeting that season.
The Tigers will look for their first conference win of the season on Monday (Jan. 6) when they play host to Pittsburg State at 7:30 pm. The Gorillas enter the meeting at 4-8 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA