Box Score

The Fort Hays State men's basketball team moved to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the MIAA with a 74-59 win over Southwest Baptist on Wednesday evening (Jan. 16) in Hays. The win vaulted the Tigers into a tie for second place in the conference and gave head coach Mark Johnson his 236th win at Fort Hays State, passing Bill Morse for sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list at FHSU.

The Tigers took a commanding 40-26 lead at halftime with a 51.7 percent effort from the field in the opening half. SBU trimmed the lead inside 10 just once at nine points with 17:14 remaining in the game, but the Tigers pulled away from that point with the lead growing as large as 25 in the second half before the final 15-point margin since SBU ended the game on a 7-0 burst. The Tigers remained hot in the second half, hitting 54.2 percent of their attempts to finish 52.8 percent for the game, the highest field goal percentage in a game for the Tigers this year. The previous high was exactly 52 percent at Missouri Western in an overtime win.

Ben Congiusta led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points, followed by Lance Russell with 14, Craig Nicholson with 13, and Dwayne Brunson with 12. Rundell Mauge nearly finished with a double-double of nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. He also added three blocked shots in the game. Nicholson was just one assist from a double-double, finishing with a team-high nine.

Rashaad Brown-Peterson led SBU in scoring with 14 points, followed by Damion Hooks and Jalen Loving each with 11. Brown-Peterson also had a team-high eight rebounds and Preston Guiot finished with a team-high eight assists.

The Tigers have a tough road match-up ahead this Saturday at Pittsburg State, scheduled for 3:30 pm. The Gorillas enter the game at 11-4 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.