Down by 13 with 3:44 to play, Fort Hays State went on a frantic 16-3 run to tie the game on a Jeremy Wilson 3-point field goal with 10 seconds to play to force overtime at Northwest Missouri State on Saturday (Dec. 20). However, the Tigers went without a field goal in the extra period as the Bearcats escaped on their home floor 74-66.

The Tigers had to play catch-up all game long as they trailed by 14 with 9:50 to go in the first half. However, they reeled the Bearcats back in with a 12-0 run to cut the lead to just two points at the 6:48 mark. FHSU pulled within one at the 4:58 mark before NWMSU would eventually lead by three, 36-33 at halftime.

The Tigers trimmed the lead back to one early in the second half, but could never overtake the Bearcats in regulation. Field goal droughts by the Tigers after halftime took their toll. Down four with 8:04 to go, the Tigers went without a field goal until a Nick Capiti layup with 3:15 remaining. In that drought, the Bearcats went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-point lead.

The Tiger comeback started with a Dom Samac free-throw, followed by the Capiti layup to cut the lead to 10. The Tigers got two consecutive defensive stops, coupled with layups from Wilson and Capiti to cut it to six points with 2:09 to go. NWMSU converted one free-throw with 1:08 to go before Craig Nicholson hit a 3-point field goal with 1:00 to play to cut the lead to four. NWMSU hit two free-throws to push it back to six, but James Fleming quickly drove to the basket and converted an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup then free-throw, cutting the margin down to three. After NWMSU missed a jump shot with 18 seconds to play, Achoki Moikobu found Wilson at the top of the arc as he drilled the game-tying three pointer with 10 seconds to go. Northwest Missouri's last second jump shot attempt came up short.

A key issue for the Tigers going into overtime was the loss of Craig Nicholson just before the end of regulation as he fouled out of the game. Even with all the momentum, the Tigers struggled without their starting floor general as they could not buy a basket in overtime, going 0-of-9 from the field. Jared Tadlock hit a pair of free-throws with 1:39 remaining to cut a NWMSU lead to three points, but Zach Schneider hit a dagger three-point field goal for NWMSU at 1:09 pushing the lead back to six. The Bearcats went on to win by eight, outscoring the Tigers 10-2 in overtime.

Nicholson led the Tigers with 16 points, scoring 11 in the first half, but he finished with just one assist. As a team, the Tigers struggled to just 10 assists after entering the game averaging 19 per game. The Tigers committed 15 turnovers as well after entering the game as one of the top assist/turnover ratio teams in the nation.

James Fleming finished with 12 points, while Dom Samac and Wilson each added 11. Samac and Royce Williams tied with a team-high six rebounds and Achoki Moikobu had six of the 10 Tiger assists. FHSU finished at 41.7 percent from the field as a team and just 29.4 percent (5-of-17) beyond the 3-point line. The Tigers were solid at the free-throw line, going 11-of-12 (91.7 percent). Half of Fort Hays State's points came from the bench, a perfect 33-33 split between the starters and reserves.

The Bearcat starting five scored 73 of the team's 74 points. Justin Pitts led with 19 points, followed by Zach Schneider with 18, Grant Cozad with 17, and Conner Crooker with 15. Cozad had a team-best eight rebounds and Pitts had a team-best six assists. NWMSU finished at 47.1 percent overall, 40.9 percent beyond the 3-point line (9-of-22), and 70.8 percent at the free-throw line (17-of-24).

Fort Hays State returns to action on Saturday, January 3 at home as it hosts Missouri Southern in Hays. Game time is set for 4 pm at Gross Memorial Coliseum.