Box Score

Fort Hays State claimed its first MIAA Championship in any sport as the 19th-ranked men's basketball team defeated No. 8 ranked Missouri Southern 89-83 in the MIAA Championship Tournament Final on Sunday (Mar. 6). The Tigers knocked off the regular season champs for the first time this year to claim the title.

The Tigers looked hungry for their first title all game long, shooting 51.6 percent overall from the field. They shot 45 percent from beyond the 3-point line. FHSU held Missouri Southern to 36.9 percent shooting, including 26.3 percent beyond the 3-point line, with stiff defensive pressure. They held the top two scorers for the Lions (Skyler Bowlin and Jason Adams) to a combined 8-of-29 effort from the field.

Dominique Jones led the Tigers to the championship with a monumental effort of 30 points and seven assists. He was 12-of-19 from the field, including a 3-of-7 effort beyond the 3-point line, and 3-of-5 at the charity stripe. He also had a game-high four steals. Jones was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He averaged 20.3 points per game in the tournament. It was his third game of scoring at least 30 points in a game this season. He tied the MIAA Tournament Finals game record for points, tying Ronny Rankin of Southeast Missouri State in 1985 and LaKeith Humphrey of Central Missouri in 1991.

Joining Jones on the all-tournament team was Corbin Kuntzsch and Dijon Smith. Kuntzsch tied his season high of 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, which included a pair of 3-point field goals. Smith was a force inside with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Kuntzsch averaged 15.3 points per game in the tournament and Smith was right on his tournament average of 14 points.

The win secures the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the Tigers and will find out on Sunday night what seed they will be and where they play next week for the South Central Regional. Most likely locations are either Joplin, Mo. (Missouri Southern) or Edmond, Okla. (Central Oklahoma). Fort Hays State enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 25-6.

The NCAA Tournament selection show for NCAA Division II will be held on www.ncaa.com at 9 pm central time on Sunday evening (Mar. 6).

Skyler Bowlin, the MIAA Player of the Year, led MSSU with 22 points. He did a lot of damage at the free-throw line, where he was 10-of-10. Free-throws helped keep the Lions in the game, where they were 30-of-35. Keane Thomann finished with 20 points and Marquis Addison added 11.