BY CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS
Fort Hays State men’s basketball team faced off against Northeastern State Friday evening at Gross Coliseum. A thriller is an understatement for this matchup as the Tigers took down Northeastern State, 69-65.
The Tigers found themselves in a small hole early as the NSU RiverHawks went up 12-4 with 15:25 left in the first. Devin Davis checked into the game and put his mark on the floor early. Davis went 3-6 from the field with 7 points in 11 minutes in the first half.
A few missed offensive transitions left crucial points off the board for FHSU in the first half. NSU shot 3-4 from three-point range in the half due to missed assignments that left wide open opportunities. On the other side, Fort Hays State was dry from beyond the arc and finished the half 2-9 from three.
FHSU needed everyone’s best in the first half to keep them afloat as they struggled to pull any momentum away from NSU. Seven Tiger players made the scoring list in the first half and leading the way was Marcus Cooper with ten points. Fort Hays entered into halftime down 29-27.
A very close game continued down the stretch, as both teams were left in a cutthroat ending. Fort Hays State settled into the game and forced the RiverHawks into some tough situations.
The Tigers held NSU to 41.4% from the field in the second half.
Devin Davis continued his impact from the bench and hit a quick three-pointer just past the midway point of the game. The ensuing possession was followed by a fast break lay-in by Davis as well. Davis finished the game with 14 points in 19 minutes. Davis also came up with two big free-throws with just over the six-minutes remaining and finished the game 3-3 from the free-throw line.
With 5:48 left to play the RiverHawks made back-to-back three-pointers to go up 58-55. NSU finished the game 8-14 from three-point land, good for 57.1%.
A few missed opportunities for FHSU to close the gap in the game came up short and the RiverHawks held a decent lead down the stretch.
The Tigers came up with huge defensive stops, which led to a Marcus Cooper three to tie the game at 64. Then, on the next play, Cooper jumped a pass and stole the ball for a chance at taking the lead. A backdoor cut by Cooper led to an easy dunk on the Tigers’ next offensive possession. Cooper led all scorers with 22 points.
Fort Hays State led the rest of the way and secured the victory with strong rebounds and stretching the lead at the free-throw line.
The men’s team improves to 10-4 overall and 4-1 on the season. You can catch the Tigers back in action January 12th at 4 p.m. in the Coliseum.