Fort Hays State picked up a huge 82-72 win over Central Oklahoma on Thursday night (Jan. 15), but it unfortunately came at a cost with the loss of All-American point guard Craig Nicholson. With 14:16 remaining in the game, Nicholson went down with a leg injury and the Tigers rallied to an inspiring win for their floor leader, ending the game on a 16-5 run for the 10-point win. FHSU moved to 10-6 overall, 4-4 in the MIAA, while UCO dropped to 12-5 overall, 5-3 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State opened the game hot, knocking down several jump shots to eventually build a 16-point lead, 31-15, by the 8:07 mark of the first half. That would be the largest lead of the night for FHSU, reaching the margin one more time at the 5:30 mark of the opening half. UCO ended the half on a 14-8 run to cut the FHSU lead back to 10 by halftime, 41-31.

After Fort Hays State pushed its lead back to 15 on a Royce Williams jumper at the 18:01 mark of the second half, UCO went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead down to five with 15:55 remaining in the game. It was the closest UCO had been since the 12:37 mark of the first half.

The lead was at seven points when Gross Memorial Coliseum went silent at the 14:16 mark as Craig Nicholson suffered a leg/foot injury as he was driving to the basket late in the shot clock. A long delay ensued as trainers and medical staff tended to the injury. Eventually, he was carted off the floor and taken to the hospital and official word on the extent of the injury is still unknown at this time. As he left, the entire crowd, coaches and players in the arena rose to their feet and delivered a resounding ovation of appreciation and respect for the Tiger All-American.

Following the injury the Tigers had to dig deep to find a way to win the game, even with a seven-point lead at the time, and that is exactly what they did when it came to "winning time", a phrase often heard from Coach Johnson late in tight games.

Following a Williams 3-point field goal to push the lead back to 10, UCO looked to seize an opportunity to get back in the game. The Bronchos would go on a 14-5 run to whittle the lead down to one with 10:06 to go in the game. After tying the game once, the Bronchos finally overtook the Tigers for a one-point lead on a pair of Mahlon Jones free-throws with 5:35 to go.

The Tigers played inspired basketball the rest of the way to keep UCO from stealing a game that was in their favor for the majority of the night. Dom Samac gave the Tigers the lead back by one point with a layup at the 4:36 mark, then he stepped up to hit his first 3-point field goal of the year at the top of the arc to make it a four-point game with 2:50 to go. He tacked on another layup driving hard to the rim at 2:10 to push the advantage to six, giving him seven consecutive points. Jake Stoppel cleaned up a James Fleming miss with a stick-back to make it an eight point game and Achoki Moikobu would cap a 10-0 run by the Tigers with a free-throw at the 1:02 mark to make it a nine-point game. UCO could not cut the lead closer than six the rest of the way as the Tigers went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line inside the final minute.

Williams led the Tigers in scoring with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a 3-of-4 effort beyond the 3-point line, and a 4-of-4 effort at the charity stripe. Nicholson, despite leaving with the injury, still scored 16 points and dished out a team-best seven assists. Stoppel and Samac each finished with 10 points.

Mahlon Jones led UCO with 16 points, while Philip Brown had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 49 percent from the field as a team and 50 percent beyond the 3-point line (7-of-14). FHSU had a solid night at the free-throw line, hitting 27-of-33 for 81.8 percent. FHSU limited UCO to just 39.7 percent shooting overall, including a 15.8 percent effort beyond the 3-point line (3-of-19).

The Tigers remained two games back in the loss column of the lead in the conference standings. Northwest Missouri State and Lindenwood currently lead the conference, each at 6-2, while the Tigers are 4-4. Fort Hays State returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 17) hosting Northeastern State at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 4 pm.

University Bookstore Discount
For the game, Fort Hays State hit 7 3-point field goals. As a result, you can take advantage of a 21% discount at the University Bookstore all day Friday (Jan. 16).
Valid on 1/16/15 only.  May not be combined with any other offer. Valid in-store and on FHSU clothes and gift items only. Excludes textbooks, gift cards, diploma frames, previous purchases, calculators, computer supplies/hardware/software, and professional reference. Void where prohibited by law. See store for details. Discount is only available the next business day following a home double-header FHSU basketball game.
FHSU Virtual College students must enter the code phrase (Roll Tiges) in the comments section when finalizing your online purchase at: http://www.fhsushop.com