Box Score Fort Hays State fell to Missouri Southern in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Central Regional in Mankato, Minn. The No. 3 seed Lions defeated the No. 6 seed Tigers by a score of 80-69. The Tigers end their season at 22-8 overall, making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Johnson.

The Tigers opened the game on a 6-0 run, but Missouri Southern responded with a 9-0 run to get back in the game. The teams traded the lead a bit before FHSU built a 22-17 lead with 9:15 remaining in the first half, but Missouri Southern responded once again with a 6-0 run to take the lead back. With the game tied 27-27, Missouri Southern went on an 8-0 run and went on to lead by eight at halftime, 40-32.

The teams traded field goals three times to start the second half before FHSU trimmed the MSSU lead to six with 17:42 to play, but Missouri Southern responded once again with a 14-2 run to build an 18-point lead with 13:06 to go. FHSU would never get the lead back inside single figures as the Lions coasted to the 11-point win.

In the final game of his collegiate career, Dwayne Brunson led the Tigers with 21 points and eight rebounds. He went 10-of-15 from the field, shooting his mid-range jumper effectively throughout the game. Craig Nicholson finished with 15 points and nine assists. Senior Carson Konrade led FHSU with four steals and added six points.

Missouri Southern shot the ball too well in the second half for FHSU to make a comeback. The Lions were 60 percent from the field after the half (15-of-25). MSSU finished the game 51.7 percent from the field (30-of-58). All-MIAA First Team selection Marquis Addison was on fire from the field, going 9-of-13 (2-of-2 beyond the 3-point line). He added six free-throws to finish with 26 points. Lane Barlow and Jordan Talbert each had 11 and Greg Renfroe added 10.

Craig Nicholson finished the year with a new FHSU single-season record of 190 free-throws made. He was just two attempts shy of the single-season attempts record with 237. His 222 assists on the season were the third-most in a single season at FHSU and his 7.4 assists per game broke his single-season assists average record of 6.9 he set last season as a freshman.

Brunson finished the season with 500 points for FHSU and 918 for his career. He also added 445 career rebounds and shot 84.5 percent from the free-throw line in his career at FHSU. Carson Konrade finished with 126 career 3-point field goals and shot 48.8 percent beyond the arc this year, tying the third-best percentage in a single-season at FHSU. Konrade had 610 points in his two years at FHSU.