Box Score
The Fort Hays State men's basketball team survived a hot shooting Oklahoma-Panhandle State team on Saturday evening in Goodwell, Okla. The Tigers pulled out an 87-80 win to move to 6-2 overall. Panhandle State dropped to 4-6 overall.
In a game that saw 17 lead changes and and 12 ties, the Tigers finally took the lead for good at the 4:07 mark of the second half on a layup by
Craig Nicholson to go up 70-69. A technical foul was called on the Aggies for hanging on the rim on an offensive rebound attempt and
Ben Congiusta buried a pair of free-throws to put FHSU up three.
Dwayne Brunson pushed the lead to five on a layup following the free-throws. The lead grew to seven points for the Tigers with one minute remaining and the Tigers made free-throws down the stretch to hold the Aggies at arm's length.
Ben Congiusta led the Tigers with a career-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, which included three 3-point field goals and a 6-of-6 effort at the free-throw line, before fouling out late.
Dwayne Brunson was close behind with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line.
Craig Nicholson had 16 points and had a team-high eight assists.
Lance Russell added 12 points and had a team-high eight rebounds.
Carson Konrade also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points.
Panhandle State edged FHSU in shooting percentage on the evening. The Aggies shot 48.1 percent from the field and the Tigers shot 46.8 percent. OPSU also shot well from 3-point range at 53.8 percent and the free-throw line at 82.1 percent. The difference for FHSU was points off turnovers as the Tigers edged the Aggies in that category 28-12. FHSU forced OPSU into 20 turnovers for the game.
Damar Hill led OPSU with 18 points, followed by Tavien Rosemond with 16. Also reaching double figures were Krys Randolph with 13 and Bill Lee with 11. Rosemond had a team-high seven rebounds and Hill had a team-high eight assists.
Fort Hays State turns around to face Sterling College on Monday (Dec. 17) at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Game time is set for 7 pm.
