Box Score

The No. 5 ranked Tigers survived a second half surge from Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., in a 74-71 win Saturday evening (Jan. 8). A three-point field goal attempt by the Bearcats at the end of the game went off the back iron, allowing the Tigers to move to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA.

The win set up a battle for first place in the MIAA on Monday night in Joplin, Mo., between Missouri Southern and Fort Hays State. The Lions moved to 7-1 in the MIAA as well with a win over Washburn at home Saturday. Missouri Southern enters with an overall mark of 11-1.

The Tigers led by 15 points with 13:42 remaining, but the Bearcats clawed their way back to cut the lead to just one with 3:17 remaining. Baskets by Dominique Jones and Ben Congiusta and a free-throw by Corbin Kuntzsch pushed the FHSU lead back to six with 1:40 remaining.

The Bearcats climbed back to within three after converting three of four free-throw attempts down the stretch. The pair made by Ryan Dougherty with 15 seconds remaining set up a nailbiting finish. The Tigers would turn the ball over on a sloppy in-bounds play, which set up a chance for SBU to tie with nine seconds remaining. A three-point attempt by Tomas Brock at the end of the game was off the mark, allowing the Tigers to escape.

Jones led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points and had a team-high seven assists. Dijon Smith finished with a double-double of 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Smith also swatted a career-high six shots in the game. Kuntzsch was the only other Tiger in double figures with 12 points.

For just the second time this year, the Tigers shot under 45 percent from the field. The first time they did so was their only loss of the year at Missouri Western. Their 43.1 percent effort against the Bearcats was a season low. The key was offensive rebounding for the Tigers, grabbing 13 in the game which led to 14 second-chance points. They also shot just 31.3 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

Even with the lower than average shooting performance, the Tigers continued their trend of holding teams under 40 percent overall and under 30 percent from 3-point range. The Bearcats shot just 37.3 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line. The Bearcats entered the game averaging just over 36 3-point field goal attempts per game, but were held to just 5-of-23 shooting beyond the arc.

The showdown for the lead in the conference standings is set for Monday night at 7:30 pm in Joplin, Mo., at the Leggett and Platt Center. Missouri Southern has been ranked as high as No. 19 in the nation this year.