Box Score

The Fort Hays State men's basketball team advanced to its first ever MIAA Championship Tournament Final with a 74-71 win over Emporia State on Saturday (Mar. 5) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Tigers struggled shooting free-throws, but hit seven of their last eight attempts in the final minute to pull out the win.

Fort Hays State shot its second-lowest percentage (.500) of the season at the line, hitting just eight of its first 22 attempts for the game before going 7-of-8 to end the game when it mattered most.

It was a grind-out style game, with both teams shooting under 40 percent from the field in the first half. The Tigers led by just three at the half, 31-28.

A seesaw battle early in the second half, the Tigers finally took the lead for good at the 13:59 mark on a Dijon Smith layup to make it 44-42. A 12-3 run by the Tigers extended the lead to 13 with 4:13 remaining, but ESU would not go away as they countered with a 13-4 run to cut the lead back to four with 1:54 remaining. The Hornets moved within two with 44 seconds remaining, but the Tigers sealed the game at the free-throw line from that point.

Fort Hays State heated up to 57.1 percent shooting in the second half, hitting 9-of-12 attempts from the field to open the half. They started 5-of-5 from the field in the second frame.

Dijon Smith led FHSU in scoring with 16 points, going 5-of-8 from the field but just 6-of-14 at the free-throw line. Dominique Jones and Corbin Kuntzsch each finished with 14 and Karron McKenzie added 13 points.

Xavier Burnette led ESU with 21 points, with three of his five field goals beyond the arc and an 8-of-9 performance at the free-throw line. Robert Moores had 19 points, followed by Michael Tyler with 14 and Adam Holthaus with 10.

Fort Hays State, the No. 2 seed, plays conference regular season champion and No. 1 seed Missouri Southern in the finals on Sunday at 1 pm. Fort Hays State is looking for its first win over the Lions this year as MSSU swept the season series. The game will be on statewide cable television. Check the link below for channel listings...

MIAA Network