FHSU Sports Information Department
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Fort Hays State led by 14 points with 7:54 to play, but had to hold off a furious late rally from No. 15 ranked Central Missouri for a 69-68 win on the road. Central Missouri had a shot from about 18 feet miss at the buzzer as the Tigers improved to 8-2 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA. UCM also moved to 8-2 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State opened the game on an 8-0 run, fueled by a pair of 3-point field goals from Kenny Enoch. However, the hot start turned cold quickly as UCM would go on a 13-0 run to take a 17-10 lead. FHSU went without scoring for just over seven minutes until Rob Davis snapped the UCM run with a runner. That shot would start a 24-9 run for FHSU to close out the opening half. Within that run, FHSU had a 9-0 run to take the lead back at 24-20. The Tigers eventually led 34-26 at halftime.
The Tigers scored the first five points of the second half to extend its lead into double figures for the first time in the game. But a 9-2 UCM burst left the Tigers leading by just six, 41-35, with 14:45 to play. Up by eight, FHSU countered with an 8-2 run, capped on a 3-point field goal by Trey O’Neil to take a 14-point lead at the 10:23 mark.
O’Neil would have the other two buckets that pushed the FHSU lead back to 14 later, a 3-pointer at 8:26 and a break-away layup out of the UCM press with 7:54 to play to make it 60-46. Unfortunately, that would be the second-to-last field goal of the game for FHSU as it had just one inside the final seven minutes of the game.
Following the layup, UCM turned up its defensive pressure and went on an 11-1 run to cut the lead down to four, 61-57, with 5:41 to play. FHSU held UCM scoreless over the next 3:30, but could only counter with Dom Samac hitting one of two free-throws twice to put the lead at six with 2:32 to go in the game. UCM then scored layups on consecutive trips to cut the lead to two with 1:36 to go.
The final field goal by the Tigers was key as Kyler Kinnamon found Samac for a wide-open layup at the 1:10 mark, pushing the lead to 65-61. UCM hit a 3-pointer with 58 seconds left, but Jake Stoppel would step up at the free-throw line for the Tigers late. Stoppel hit a pair of throws at the 35 second mark to put the Tigers up by three, then needed another pair at 16 seconds to push the lead back to three.
The Mules made a layup with just over five seconds to play and then fouled Kinnamon on the in-bounds. Kinnamon would miss both free-throw attempts, giving UCM a chance to race to the other end of the floor and get a potential game-winning shot off. Fortunately for FHSU, the shot was off the mark as they survived the late run of the Mules.
Stoppel produced his second double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. He also added three assists. He went 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. Samac added 15 points and O’Neil had a season-high 12. Kinnamon had a team-high four assists.
FHSU shot 46.4 percent overall and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the 3-point line. Free-throw shooting was rough though as the Tigers hit at just a 47.6 percent clip (10-of-21).
Luckily, Central Missouri struggled at the line throughout the night too. The Mules hit just 20-of-33 attempts (60.6 percent). FHSU held the Mules to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half, but UCM shot 55.6 percent in the second half to finish at 45.8 percent for the game. UCM also struggled beyond the 3-point line, just 22.2 percent (4-of-18).
Spencer Reaves led UCM with 20 points, while Marquiez Lawrence had a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds. Tereke Eckwood had 13 points and D’Marnier Cunningham had 10.
FHSU returns to action on Saturday (Dec. 19) at Southwest Baptist. Tipoff is set for 3:30 pm in Bolivar, Mo.