Box Score Fort Hays State finished it's regular season non-conference slate perfect with an 84-69 win over South Dakota Mines on Thursday evening (Jan. 23) in Hays. FHSU ran its win streak to seven games and now sit at 15-3 overall.

The Tigers led the entire game, but felt a bit of pressure from the Hardrockers in the second half. Fort Hays State led by 16 with 2:38 to go in the first half, but South Dakota Mines closed the half on a 6-0 run to make it 41-31 in favor of FHSU at the break. A 12-5 run by the Hardrockers to open the second half trimmed the lead all the way down to three with 14:29 remaining in the game, but a pair of old fashioned three-point plays by Dwayne Brunson and Carson Konrade extended the lead back to nine. The Tigers pushed the lead into double figures for good with 12:31 remaining.

Craig Nicholson led the Tigers with 20 points and eight assists, going 8-of-11 from the field with four free-throws. Brunson finished with 17 points and tied for a team high in rebounds with Konrade, each with seven. James Fleming scored 14 points, Konrade added 13, and Tomislav Gabric had 10.

Michael Dietz and Trevor Zacher tied for high-point honors for South Dakota Mines, each with 14. Andrew Rebol added 11.

Fort Hays State shot 50.9 percent overall from the field, compared to 38 percent by South Dakota Mines. The Tigers, ranked second in the nation in free-throw shooting entering the night, had a bit of an off-night at the line hitting just 23-of-32 attempts (71.9 percent).

Fort Hays State now heads back into MIAA play for the remainder of the season. The Tigers are currently 6-3 in conference play, tied for fourth, and head to Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 25). Tip-off is set for 3:30 pm in Pittsburg, Kan.