Second half turnovers costly in two-point loss at Northeastern State

Fort Hays State University men’s basketball held a 15-point lead early in the second half, but turnovers proved costly down the stretch in a 79-77 loss at Northeastern State on Saturday in Tahlequah, Okla. The Tigers finished the regular season at 16-12 overall, 9-10 in the MIAA. The Tigers will be the No. 9 seed in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament and went on the road to No. 8 seed Washburn on Monday evening.In a game where the Tigers looked in control, shooting the ball at a 50 percent rate overall, 16 second-half turnovers proved to be their undoing against a RiverHawk team that needed a win to get in the MIAA Tournament. FHSU only had six first-half turnovers, but finished with 22 in the game. Northeastern State scored 28 points off turnovers in the game and turned the ball over only nine times.

The Tigers led by 12 points at halftime, 45-33, and the lead grew to 15 with 18:04 remaining in the game. FHSU then went scoreless for nearly four minutes and NSU used an 8-0 run to pull within seven. The RiverHawks continued to inch closer and closer until a 6-0 run gave it them the lead by one with 7:54 remaining. FHSU briefly took the lead back by one, but NSU went on an 8-0 run to go up seven with 6:05 to play. FHSU immediately went on a 5-0 burst to get back within two, but could never overtake the RiverHawks the rest of the way.

FHSU had a chance to get the game tied or take the lead on a possession with 10 seconds remaining, but turned the ball over with only two seconds to play. NSU missed each of its last two free-throws, but a last second half-court heave was off the mark for FHSU.

James Fleming finished with a team-high 20 points for FHSU. He hit four 3-point field goals and went 6-of-7 at the free-throw line. Royce Williams had the hot hand early for FHSU, hitting 5-of-6 first half 3-point attempts, but only shot one time beyond the arc in the second half. He finished with 19 points and went 7-of-9 from the field overall. Jake Stoppel added 13 points. Drew Kite pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, helping the Tigers outrebound the RiverHawks by 13 overall.

NSU had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by Demone Harrison with 16. NSU shot 55.2 percent from the field in the second half after just 37.5 percent in the first half.

The Tigers turn around and head to Topeka on Monday for a first-round MIAA Tournament match-up with Washburn. Expected game time is 7 pm, but check the men’s basketball schedule soon on fhsuathletics.com for confirmation.