Box Score

The Fort Hays State men's basketball team used a strong second half to pull away from Emporia State for a 73-48 win on Saturday night (Feb. 25) in Hays. The Tigers finished the regular season at 18-8 overall, 12-8 in the MIAA, and alone in 5th place in the MIAA after a Southwest Baptist loss at Missouri Western on Saturday.

FHSU started out sluggish in the first half, scoring just two points in the first eight and a half minutes. Emporia State opened the game on an 11-2 run. The Tigers clawed their way back in the game from that point, going on a 15-2 run of their own to take a 17-13 lead on a Sean Dreiling 3-point field goal. FHSU maintained the lead from that point and led 29-23 at halftime. Dreiling sparked the Tigers with 10 of his 12 points in the first half.

ESU cut the lead down to three at the 17:49 mark of the second half, but a quick 9-0 burst by FHSU capped by a Lance Russell 3-point field goal pushed the lead to 12 at the 13:10 mark. The Tigers led by double figures the rest of the way with the lead eventually growing as large as 27.

Matt Simmons led the solid senior effort on senior night with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. He was 8-of-10 from the field. Dreiling was the only other Tiger to score in double figures. Seniors Moses Dayee, Karron McKenzie, and KC Rodenburg combined for 22 points as starters. McKenzie dished out six assists.

The Tigers go to Kansas City as the defending MIAA Tournament champion and get a rematch of the championship game last year in the first round. They are slated to play No. 4 seed Missouri Southern, which is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, in the first round at 2:15 pm on Friday (Mar. 2). Missouri Southern fell to fourth in the conference, falling out of a four-way tie for first place in the conference standings on Saturday with a loss at Northwest Missouri State. Northwest Missouri shared the regular season title with Washburn and Central Missouri.