Box Score
Fort Hays State fell to Lindenwood on Thursday evening (Jan. 24) in St. Charles, Mo. by a score of 69-58. Shooting struggles in the first half led to a 15-point halftime deficit for the Tigers, which was too much to overcome against a solid team on the road. FHSU moved to 10-6 overall and 4-4 in the MIAA, while Lindenwood improved to 12-4 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA.
Fort Hays State shot just 23.1 percent from the field in the first half (6-of-26) and trailed Lindenwood 33-18 at halftime. The 18 points marked the lowest scoring output by the Tigers in a half this season by 10 points, as 28 was the previous low recorded in the first half of a two-point loss to Northwestern Oklahoma State in Hays. Consequently, the Tigers finished with their lowest overall shooting percentage of the season at 36.8 percent even with heating up to 48.4 percent in the second half. Fort Hays State's 58 points was also a season low, with 61 as the previous low in a 15-point loss at Northeastern State.
Lindenwood shot the ball extremely well in the first half at 54.5 percent to build the 15-point halftime lead. The Lions got the Tigers in foul trouble in the second half and used free-throws down the stretch to keep the Tigers from making a late run. Despite the Tigers holding the Lions to 29.2 percent shooting in the second half, the Lions made 20-of-22 second half free-throw attempts. Lindenwood shot 33 free-throws on the evening and made 26. FHSU was good at the line, but shot 18 less attempts, going 11-of-15 at the charity stripe on the evening.
Fort Hays State trimmed the Lindenwood lead to seven points early in the second half, but a 7-0 burst by the Lions put the lead back to double digits. FHSU attempted to make runs late in the game, but could never get closer than seven points with under two minutes to play.
Ben Congiusta led FHSU in scoring with 16 points, going 7-of-11 from the field.
Craig Nicholson also reached double figures with 11 and
Nick Capiti gave FHSU a scoring burst off the bench late, finishing with 10 points.
Dwayne Brunson hauled in 12 rebounds for FHSU, but finished with just five points as he battled foul trouble throughout the night and fouled out a little over midway through the second half. The Tigers entered the game averaging over 18 assists per game, but had just seven, led by Nicholson with three.
Alex Bazzell led Lindenwood with 23 points, cashing in on ample free-throw opportunities late. He was 13-of-15 at the line. His steady play at point guard helped neutralize the Tiger full-court pressure late. Cody Sorenson added 15 points for the Lions.
Fort Hays State looks to snap its two-game slide at Truman on Saturday afternoon in Kirksville, Mo. at 3 pm.
