Box Score The 23rd-ranked Fort Hays State men's basketball team had its 10-game win streak snapped on Wednesday evening (Feb. 5) at the hands of red-hot Nebraska-Kearney by a score of 90-83. The Lopers won their fifth-straight, capping three straight against the top three teams in the west side of the MIAA. Fort Hays State is now 18-4 overall, 9-4 in the MIAA.
Nebraska-Kearney, now 10-10 overall, 6-7 in the MIAA, completed a home sweep of Washburn, Emporia State, and Fort Hays State to vault back into the middle of the pack in the MIAA standings. The Lopers will go on the road to Washburn on Saturday. Washburn is now just a game back of FHSU for fourth place in the MIAA standings after defeating Emporia State on Wednesday night in Topeka. FHSU heads to Emporia State on Saturday to face a Hornet team that has lost three straight, which started with the double-overtime loss at FHSU last week.
With the game knotted at 14-14 early, Nebraska-Kearney went on a 19-5 run to seize control of the game, leading by 14 points with 6:20 to go in the first half. FHSU managed to cut the lead down to four at 37-33, but UNK pushed its lead back to seven by halftime, 42-35.
Fort Hays State hit the opening bucket of the second half, but then went cold from the field going without a bucket for over four minutes. Luckily, UNK only scored three points during the dry spell, keeping the Tigers within eight. The Tigers would cut the lead back down to four once again with 7:04 remaining, but UNK answered with a quick 7-2 run to push the lead back out to nine.
The Lopers continued to answer every time FHSU hit a big shot. A
Craig Nicholson 3-pointer cut the UNK lead to five with 4:37 to play, but UNK answered with a 3-point play and a pair of free-throws to stretch the lead back to 10. FHSU hit a flurry of 3-point field goals late, but the Lopers were rock-solid from the free-throw line on the evening at 92 percent (23-of-25).
Fort Hays State's top two scorers,
Craig Nicholson and
Dwayne Brunson, were held to just four first half points. Brunson battled foul trouble early and Nicholson couldn't find any rhythm offensively early. Nicholson came on strong late in the second half to finish with 14, while Brunson finished with 10.
James Fleming, who knocked in three 3-pointers inside four minutes to play, led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points.
Tomislav Gabric had 14 points,
Carson Konrade had 11, and
Jake Stoppel finished with 10.
Connor Beranek led UNK with 25 points, followed closely by Ethan Brozek with 24. Brozek has been a huge difference maker for the Lopers since becoming eligible mid-season and has been a big part of the Lopers getting back into the thick of the MIAA standings. Mike Dentlinger and Kevin Dineen each had 13.
Fort Hays State looks to refocus with a tough road contest at Emporia State on Saturday. Game time is set for 5:30 pm in Emporia.
