By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State fought an uphill battle all afternoon against No. 2 ranked Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Jan. 26), one that it ultimately lost 81-69. A hot-shooting Bearcat team took a seven-point lead into halftime and held off every second-half comeback attempt from the Tigers to remain undefeated at 19-0, 9-0 in the MIAA. The Tigers took their first home loss of the season and moved to 13-6 overall, 7-3 in the MIAA.
Northwest Missouri State was just too good shooting the ball early. The Bearcats shot over 70 percent (8-of-11) from the field in the first nine minutes of the game, and even better beyond the three-point line in that stretch at 77.8 percent (7-of-9). The Tigers were just as hot in that stretch, hitting seven of their first nine shots overall, but the difference was they had just two three-point field goals to that point. FHSU led 11-6, but NWMSU went on a 24-9 run to take a 30-20 lead all on points from Joey Witthus (16) and Trevor Hudgins (8). Witthus had four three-point field goals in that run, along with two from Hudgins.
The game turned into the Witthus and Hudgins show throughout as they scored 44 of the team’s first 51 points of the game, only interrupted by a three-point field goal from Ryan Welty and a field goal and pair of free throws from Kirk Finley. They combined for 35 in the first half to give NWMSU a 42-35 halftime lead.
Fort Hays State trimmed the NWMSU lead to six four times in the first nine minutes of the second half. But, every time the Tigers pulled within six in that stretch, Northwest Missouri had an answer with either a three-point field goal (three times) or old-fashioned three-point play (one time). The Tigers clawed to within five at the 10:42 and 9:19 marks, but the Bearcats had a third player catch fire from the field with Witthus out on the bench in foul trouble.
Diego Bernard, who had not scored the entire game, hit a three-point field goal to extend the Bearcat lead with 10 with 8:07 to play. The lead growing to double figures proved to be the back breaker for the Tigers, who never got within more than nine points the rest of the way. Bernard went on to add two more three-point field goals and a pair of layups over the final eight minutes of the game to finish with 13 points. When the dust settled, Hudgins and Witthus combined for 54 points for the game (Hudgins 30, Witthus 24). Hudgins was 10-of-15 from the field with three three-point field goals and a perfect 7-of-7 effort at the free-throw line, while Witthus was 6-of-12 from the field all on three-point field goals and he went 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.
Brady Werth finished with a team-best 18 points for the Tigers on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. He was 4-of-6 from three-point range and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line. Devin Davis also reached double figures with 10 points. Marcus Cooper dished out four assists, while Kyler Kinnamon added three.
Northwest Missouri finished at 49 percent shooting from the field for the game, while FHSU finished at 46.9 percent. The Bearcats finished with 14 made three-point field goals, shooting 46.7 percent beyond the arc, and they were rock-solid at the free-throw line going 17-of-18. FHSU finished 8-of-20 beyond the three-point line and 15-of-18 at the free-throw line.
The Tigers dropped back into a three-way tie for third place in the MIAA standings with Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State, a pair of teams they have to play twice yet this season. FHSU tries for a season sweep of Nebraska-Kearney when they head to Kearney next Saturday (Feb. 2).