Box Score
 
Fort Hays State erased a 10-point halftime deficit at Missouri Western on Monday night (Jan. 30) and pulled out a hard-fought 62-58 win. Moses Dayee buried a huge 3-point field goal with 20 seconds remaining to put the Tigers up four, then Kendrick Morse sealed the win for the Tigers with a pair of free-throws with 13 seconds remaining. FHSU, ranked No. 23 in the latest NABC Division II rankings, moved to 14-5 overall and 8-5 in the MIAA with the win.
 
For the second straight game, the Tigers had a rough offensive first half. They shot just 25 percent (8-of-32) from the field and 15.4 percent (2-of-13) behind the 3-point line before the break, compared to 47.6 percent overall by the Griffons. Karron McKenzie was the only Tiger starter to score in the first half with eight points as 13 points came from the bench.
 
Fort Hays State forced 12 first half turnovers out of the Griffons to stay in the game and trail 31-21 at the half. The 21 first-half points matched the same amount scored in the opening half at Northwest Missouri State on Saturday.
 
The offensive woes went away quickly at the start of the second half as 3-point field goals started to fall for the Tigers. FHSU buried five of its first seven attempts beyond the arc after the break. Three of those came within a 19-7 run between the 16:37 and 8:22 marks by the Tigers that erased a nine-point deficit and gave them a three-point lead of 46-43. A layup by Markus Yarbrough with 9:58 remaining gave FHSU its first lead of the game.
 
The game was tight the rest of the way as there were four lead changes and three ties up to the 4:05 mark. Moses Dayee, as he did a few times last year in tight games, rose to the occasion and buried one of his four 3-point field goals with 2:07 remaining to give FHSU a five-point cushion.
 
Free-throw shooting became critical down the stretch and the Tigers left the Griffons in the game when both Kendrick Morse and Karron McKenzie missed the front end of a pair of 1-and-1 situations at the line. After the McKenzie miss, James Harris of Missouri Western hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to cut the FHSU lead back to one.
 
The Tigers had to score on their next possession to keep the Griffons from having the last possession possibly to win the game. With ice water in his veins, Dayee buried another 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining that drove a dagger in the Griffons' comeback plans.
 
Missouri Western quickly went down the floor and got a two-point basket with 13 seconds remaining, but Morse got redemption at the free-throw line and buried a pair of free-throws to put the game away for the Tigers. He finished the game 6-of-7 at the line.
 
Dayee led the Tigers scoring effort with 14 points, all in the second half. He was 4-of-11 beyond the 3-point line in the game. Lance Russell and Morse provided huge sparks off the bench, each with 13 points. Russell was 5-of-7 from the field with two 3-point field goals. He had a fast-break dunk that capped the 19-7 run by the Tigers to go up three points with a little over eight minutes to go.
 
FHSU finished 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field in the second half, a complete turn around from the first half. The Tigers forced 19 turnovers out of the Griffons overall and hit 10 3-point field goals (8 in the second half), which allowed them to overcome a poor shooting night overall of 38.6 percent.
 
Lavonte Douglas led Missouri Western (7-13, 2-12 MIAA) in scoring with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Reed Mells and James Harris each had 13.
 
The win keeps Fort Hays State in the hunt at the top of the conference, now just two games back of first place and a half game out of third. Fort Hays State, Missouri Southern, and Pittsburg State are all tied for fourth at 8-5 in the conference and Washburn is just a half game ahead in third at 8-4. Northwest Missouri State and Central Missouri are tied for the MIAA lead at 10-3. Washburn plays at Truman on Wednesday before hosting FHSU in Topeka on Saturday (Feb. 4).