HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State snapped its three-game losing skid with an 81-54 blowout win over Central Missouri on Thursday evening (Feb. 4). The Tigers hit 15 3-point field goals and dished out 21 assists, fueled by a double-double from Craig Nicholson, as they improved to 14-7 overall and 8-7 in the MIAA. Central Missouri dropped to 13-8 overall and 7-8 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State led by 10 at halftime, 33-23, but used a big offensive second half to seal the deal with 48 points after the break. Up by 13, the Tigers scored eight points in a matter of 30 seconds from the 6:53 to 6:23 marks of the second half to put the game out of reach. Rob Davis started the burst with a 3-point field goal, then Craig Nicholson got after it defensively.
With UCM rolling the ball in-bounds to conserve time on the clock, Nicholson caught the Mules off guard by diving for the loose ball and triggering a fast-break opportunity. Nicholson missed a layup, but Jake Stoppel was there for the stick-back bucket. Moments later, Nicholson swooped in from behind a UCM guard and stole the ball again and finished the frantic series of events by burying a pull-up 3-pointer. FHSU had a 21-point lead in the blink of an eye, thanks to Nicholson’s tremendous effort on the defensive end. A 10-0 run late pushed the FHSU lead from 17 to 27 with just over a minute to play.
Nicholson finished with his first double-double of the season and 10th overall in his career, scoring 14 points to go with a season-high 10 assists. A Trey O’Neil 3-pointer off a pass from Nicholson inside two minutes to play sealed the double-double. Nicholson hit four of Fort Hays State’s 15 3-point field goals while Davis finished with six and a team-high 22 points. O’Neil had three of the triples. Jake Stoppel had 10 points and Dom Samac had a team-high eight rebounds.
FHSU shot well in its home confines once again, going 52.6 percent from the field overall and 55.6 percent beyond the 3-point line (15-of-27). The Tigers held the Mules to 40.4 percent shooting overall and an abysmal 21.1 percent effort beyond the 3-point line.
Jakob Lowrance led UCM with 14 points while Marquiez Lawrence and D’Marnier Cunningham each had 12.
Fort Hays State swept the regular season series with the Mules after a one-point win in Warrensburg. The Tigers now turn their focus to Southwest Baptist on Saturday (Feb. 6). Tipoff is set for 4 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum.