BY CHRISTIAN PHILLIPS
Fort Hays State men’s basketball squeaked out a win against the 22-5 (13-4 MIAA) Missouri Southern Lions, 89-84. This is the second-straight year the Tigers have upset the Lions inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. Brady Werth led the Tigers in scoring with 19 points, 8-17 from the field, 3-4 from the line, and nine total rebounds.
The Tigers improve improve their overall record to 17-10, and 11-7 in MIAA play. The men also tally their 13th home win on the season (13-2).
Marcus Cooper sparked life into the Tigers offense coming out of the second half and went for back-to-back possession with open scoring opportunities in the lane. Cooper led a 4-0 run, which tied things up a 41 a piece.
Cooper struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first half, as did most of the Tigers starters. However, Cooper finished the game with 18 points, 7-10 from the field, 2-4 from three, and seven total rebounds.
Fort Hays state struggled to contest three-pointers by the Lions, as Missouri Southern went 12-26 at 46.2%. Jared Vitztum was the main victim of the three-ball this evening and Kinzer Lambert for the Lions took full advantage of it. Lambert went 4-6 from three and finished the game 16 points.
Vitztum put aside his defensive woes and helped put points on the board when Werth was off the floor. Vitztum finished the game with 11 points, 5-11 from the field, and six total rebounds.
The Tigers second half adjustments fueled not only better offense, but much better defense as the game reached a double digit deficit for the Tigers in the first half. Clutch three’s by FHSU kept the game within striking distance. The Tigers only hit 5-13 at 35.7% from distance, but they couldn’t have gone in at more crucial times in the game.
FHSU called a timeout with 3:59 left in the second, with the score 75-73, Missouri Southern up. Kyler Kinnamon stayed aggressive out of the timeout for the Tigers and drove the ball in to bring the score to 75-75.
Fort Hays would quickly find themselves in the bonus for the remaining of the game and it paid dividends down the stretch.
FHSU stayed poised defensively and forced Missouri Southern to make a play. The Lions coughed the ball up and it was picked up by Marcus Cooper. Cooper was then intentionally fouled, which led to two free-throws and possession. That ultimately sealed the win for the Tigers and clutch shooting at the charity strike helped extend the lead beyond more than one scoring possession.
The men finished 36-64 from the field 56.3%), 12-18 from the line (66.7%), and outscored the Lions in fastbreak points, 13-2 on the game. The Tigers also dominated in bench production 24-7.
You can catch the Tigers back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Pittsburg State.
