FHSU Sports Information Department
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State had a 10-point halftime lead, but quickly saw it evaporate early in the second half and battled past a hot 3-point shooting Northeastern State team, 87-84, on Thursday night (Feb. 25). The win locked up a first-round bye in the MIAA Tournament and vaulted the Tigers into a tie for second place in the conference standings.
Fort Hays State never trailed in the first half and used a 14-0 run to build a 14-point lead of 26-12 midway through the first half. The lead hit 14 once more in the first half before settling at 10 by halftime, 47-37.
The turning point in the game happened only a minute into the second half. FHSU scored the opening bucket of the second half to go up 12, but then Northeastern State had a little luck go its way in building an 8-0 run and cutting the lead down to four in the blink of an eye.
Craig Nicholson made a good defensive play, stripping the ball loose, but straight to an NSU player that was in the right place at the right time who buried a jumper. As the ball went through the net, FHSU’s Jake Stoppel was whistled for a foul. NSU got the ball back, made a layup, then FHSU turned the ball over twice in a row leading to easy buckets and the lead was instantly down to four with just under 18 minutes to play in the game.
Rob Davis and Dom Samac briefly countered the run with a pair of 3-point field goals, pushing the Tiger cushion back to 10, but then Northeastern State caught fire from 3-point range. The RiverHawks would go on to bury nine 3-point field goals over the final 16:11 of the game. NSU finally caught the Tigers at the 8:01 mark on the sixth of those nine 3-point field goals, tying the game 67-67.
The RiverHawks led by two twice before FHSU fought back with a 5-0 burst to take a 75-72 lead. But once again, an NSU 3-pointer tied the game at 77-77 with 1:16 to play.
Nicholson had the key play for FHSU with 51 seconds remaining, driving to the hoop and getting an old-fashioned 3-point play by drawing a foul. After NSU missed a shot, Davis headed to the line and buried two free-throws to put the Tigers up five. Hadley Gillum hit three of four free-throws down the stretch to keep the Tigers in front by two posessions, but an NSU 3-point field goal with 0.7 seconds left cut the lead to one. The RiverHawks fouled without any time coming off the clock, but Stoppel calmly knocked down a pair to give the Tigers the 87-84 win as a long desperation attempt by NSU fell off the mark.
Davis and Samac led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points each, while Gillum scored a career-high 14 and Nicholson added 11. Gillum led the Tigers in rebounds with seven. FHSU shot 54 percent from the field, including 47.4 percent beyond the 3-point line, to overcome 19 turnovers in the game.
Northeastern State buried a total of 12 3-point field goals in the game. Tanner Mouse and Montre’ Williams led the RiverHawks in scoring with 16 points each. Mouse led the 3-point shooting effort by hitting four.
The Tigers can now finish anywhere between second and fourth in the MIAA standings, pending results on Saturday (Feb. 27). FHSU is currently tied for second with Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Southern. UNK plays at Northeastern State, while Missouri Southern hosts Pittsburg State. The Tigers play at Central Oklahoma with tip off set for 3:30 pm.