Box Score
The 12th-ranked Tigers pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in school history on Thursday night (Feb. 10) at Truman in Kirksville, Mo. Down 19 at halftime, the Tigers put together a furious rally early in the second half to erase the deficit and go on to win 81-74. Fort Hays State improved to 20-3 overall and 14-3 in the MIAA with the win.
Truman (6-14, 4-12 MIAA) was practically unconcious shooting the ball in the first half, hitting 58.1 percent of its shots. Coupled with very sluggish play from the Tigers, the Bulldogs built their largest lead of 21 points just before the half. The Tigers cut the lead to 19 by the break with Truman leading 48-29.
The Tigers chipped away early, scoring the first five points of the second half to cut the lead to 14. The Tigers used another five-point burst after a conventional 3-point play by the Bulldogs to cut the lead down to 12 with 15:43 remaining.
After the trading points on the next few possessions, the Tigers started an amazing 19-0 run at the 13:19 mark trailing by 13. Dominique Jones was instrumental in the run, scoring five of the first seven points in the run and then hit a 3-point field goal to give the Tigers a two-point lead with 10:20 remaining. He had the final two points in the run at the free-throw line to push the FHSU lead to six with 7:18 remaining.
A pair of free-throws by Stefan Garrison of Truman snapped the run at the 6:53 mark, but the Tigers had all the momentum in their favor. Fort Hays State held Truman without a field goal from the 13:57 mark to the 4:10 mark, a span of 9:47. The Tigers built their largest lead of 10 points before Brian Nwelue snapped that drought.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to five with a short burst, but a Ben Congiusta 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining was huge to push the lead back to eight. Truman cut the lead to four eventually with 32 seconds remaining, but a break-away layup by Dijon Smith against the full court pressing defense slammed the door shut.
Free-throw shooting, which was shaky all game long for FHSU, was the key in the end as Truman tried to make a late push. After starting the game a horrendous 1-of-10 from the charity stripe, the Tigers hit 15 of their last 20 attempts to finish 16-of-30 at the line (53.3 percent). That was their lowest free-throw percentage of the season.
Dominique Jones scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. He finished 10-of-19 from the field, including three 3-point field goals, and 3-of-6 at the free-throw line. Dijon Smith and Corbin Kuntzsch also reached double figures in scoring, each with 14.
Ethan Freeman paced the Bulldogs with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Tom Norton, who lit up the Tigers in the first half with 14, finished with 17. Vesko Filchev chipped in 10.
The Tigers get just a day of rest before facing a tough Central Missouri squad (15-8, 10-7 MIAA) on Saturday (Feb. 10) in Warrensburg, Mo. The Mules, like the Tigers, are very tough on their home floor, where they are 10-1 this season. They, like the Tigers, suffered their only home loss on a last-second play (a half-court despiration heave at the hands of Nebraska-Omaha). Fort Hays State defeated Central Missouri earlier this year in Hays by a score of 83-59. Game time is set for 3:30 pm.
