Box Score Fort Hays State had senior night spoiled by Northeastern State on Friday evening (Feb. 28) at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, falling by a score of 75-72. After already locking up a bye in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, the Tigers finished the regular season fourth in the MIAA standings at 22-6 overall and 13-6 in the MIAA.

Up by seven at halftime (43-36), the Fort Hays State could not close out Northeastern State on its home floor. Fort Hays State held a nine-point lead with 15:02 remaining, but NSU went on a 9-0 run to tie the game with 11:03 remaining. The game remained tight the rest of the way. Dwayne Brunson hit a jumper with 3:55 remaining to put the Tigers up by three, but the RiverHawks responded with a 6-0 run to take a 71-68 lead with 33 seconds to go, capped by a pair of field goals from All-American Bryton Hobbs. Hobbs closed out the game for NSU at the free-throw line where he remained perfect on the night (10-of-10) and finished with 30 points.

Entering the game as the third-best free-throw shooting team in the nation (79.4 percent), Fort Hays State struggled to its worst free-throw shooting performance of the season, just 6-of-14 (42.9 percent). Free-throws were the key to the NSU when as they buried 22 of 26 attempts (84.6 percent). Despite the poor effort at the line, the Tigers still shot a solid 49.2 percent from the field and 53.3 percent beyond the 3-point line and buried seven more field goals than NSU, but the 16-point margin at the free-throw line was too much for the Tigers to overcome.

Another key moment late was when Craig Nicholson fouled out of the game on a charging call with 1:20 to play and FHSU trailed by just one. Nicholson did not have a foul at halftime, but was whistled for all five in the second half, including two charges. He led FHSU with 13 points at halftime but did not score in the second half.

Dwayne Brunson led FHSU with 22 points and nine rebounds. Carson Konrade added 18 points and three 3-point field goals.

Landon DeMasters was the only other NSU player to reach double figures in scoring with 15 points.

Fort Hays State is now a lock for the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Tournament and will await to see its potential opponents after the MIAA Tournament bracket is released following conference games on Saturday. The Tigers will play next Friday (Mar. 7) in Kansas City.