Box Score

The No. 3 ranked FHSU men's basketball team held off Pittsburg State for a 78-71 win at home on Saturday (Jan. 15) in Hays. FHSU built double-digit leads against PSU multiple times in the game, but could never quite deliver the knock-out blow in a game they led by as many as 16 in the first half and 15 in the second half. Fort Hays State improved to 14-2 overall and 8-2 in the MIAA, while Pittsburg State dropped to 9-5 overall and 5-5 in the MIAA.

Despite a slow offensive start, the Tigers gradually built a large lead in the first half that grew to 16 at the 3:50 mark. However, the Gorillas closed the first half on a 16-4 run to cut the lead back to just four at the half (39-35).

The Gorillas cut the lead to three early in the second half twice, but the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead back to double digits. Another run by the Gorillas later cut the lead to five at the 12:21 mark, but the Tigers used another burst to eventually grow the lead to 15.

The game looked all but over with the 15-point Tiger margin at the 3:54 mark, but a rash of turnovers in the pressure defense allowed PSU back to within seven with 1:49 remaining. That was as close as the Gorillas would come as Moses Dayee and Karron McKenzie buried each pair of their free-throws under a minute to seal the win for FHSU.

The Tigers shot 47.4 percent from the field, the first conference game at home they shot under 50 percent this year. They shot just 25 percent beyond the 3-point line, but made 20-of-27 free-throw attempts (74.1 percent). FHSU held PSU to 42.9 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent beyond the arc.

Dijon Smith put the Tigers on his back in the first half, scoring 19 of his career high 21 points to lead the Tigers. He finished 8-of-13 from the field and 5-of-7 at the free-throw line. Ben Congiusta also had a strong first half, hitting three 3-point field goals in the opening frame on his way to 12 points for the game. Corbin Kuntzsch, who battled foul trouble early, and Karron McKenzie each added 11.

Eric Ray led Pittsburg State with 15 points, followed by Chris Ware with 12 and Eric Marshall with 11.

The Tigers host Emporia State on Wednesday (Jan. 19) at 7:30 pm, which follows the women's game at 5:30 pm. The game will mark the midway point of conference play. The Tigers remain in second in the standings after Missouri Southern edged Nebraska-Omaha in Omaha Saturday night 98-95.