Box Score

Fort Hays State edged Central Missouri by a score of 67-66 in Hays on a tip-in by Karron McKenzie with two seconds remaining on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11). Down by one, the Tigers forced a jump ball on Central Missouri's in-bounds pass to get the ball back and that set up the final-second heroics by McKenzie. Fort Hays State moved to 16-6 overall and 10-6 in the MIAA, while Central Missouri moved to 16-6 overall and 12-5 in the MIAA.

***Click on the photo above for highlights from the game, including the game winner

After struggling on offense in the first half to just 29.2 percent shooting from the field, the Tigers trailed by seven at halftime by a score of 36-29. FHSU heated up quickly out of the break, going on a 12-2 run to open the half. That gave FHSU a 41-38 lead with 15:04 to go.

Central Missouri made two straight baskets to take the lead back, but FHSU went on a 13-5 run from that point to push its advantage to seven with 8:50 remaining. But the Mules would not die and kept chipping away at the Tiger lead until they took the lead back on a Dominique Long 3-point field goal to make it 60-59 with 3:26 to play. Another bucket gave the Mules a three-point advantage with 2:40 to play.

The Tigers pulled within one point twice before a pair of free-throws by Boo Hunter of Central Missouri made the score 66-63 with 20 seconds to play. Instead of settling for a 3-pointer or long jumper, Moses Dayee slashed to the basket along the baseline with 14 seconds remaining to pull the Tigers back within one.

That's when the Tigers created their opportunity to win the game. The Tigers trapped Hunter in the corner on the inbounds out of a timeout and Lance Russell tied him up for a jump ball. Fort Hays State had the possession arrow.

The Tigers had 10 seconds remaining for their final play. Karron McKenzie drove baseline and missed a tightly contested layup in close, but the ball was tipped in the air to Matt Simmons, who shot from the mid lane and missed. However, McKenzie stayed active and tipped the rebound up in the air and in the basket to give the Tigers the winning basket. The Mules had one last shot by Hunter from about seven feet beyond the 3-point line at the end of the game, but it was too strong as the Tigers held on in thrilling fashion.

Matt Simmons had a great all-around effort for the Tigers posting the seventh double-double of his career at FHSU with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He also added two assists, two blocked shots and two steals.

Kendrick Morse and Moses Dayee each reached double figures. Morse finished with 13 and Dayee had 12, each hitting two 3-point field goals in the game. Omar McDade finished with 10, burying two huge buckets late in the second half to keep the Tigers in the game. McDade also had a great all-around effort with seven assists and five steals.

Fort Hays State plays its final two road games next week at Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern. FHSU returns home for the final two regular season games against Pittsburg State on February 22 and Emporia State on February 25.