Box Score Fort Hays State men's basketball fought hard, but fell by a score of 69-64 at home to Pittsburg State on Saturday (Jan. 24). The Tigers had a chance to tie the game with four seconds remaining, but a 3-point field goal attempt was off the mark, allowing the Gorillas to hit a pair of free-throws and escape with the road win. Fort Hays State moved to 12-7 overall, 5-5 in the MIAA, while Pitt State moved to 11-7 overall, 7-3 in the MIAA.

The Tigers had a great start to the game, opening on a 12-2 run to build a 10-point lead. However, Pittsburg State countered with a 15-5 run to get the game tied 19-19 at the 10:45 mark of the first half. The Gorillas eventually led by six in the first half before holding just a four-point advantage at halftime.

The Tigers opened the second half with a quick 7-2 burst to take the lead back, but the Gorillas were not rattled as the teams traded leads four times until a 42-42 tie with 13:51 to go in the game. The Tigers would then take leads of four points three times before the Gorillas knotted the game again at 51-51 with 8:08 to go.

Again, the Tigers would pull ahead by four one more time with 6:05 remaining, but a 3-point field goal by the Gorillas kept the Tigers from pulling away. Eventually, the Gorillas pushed past the Tigers with a 5-0 run to go up four, but a Tiger layup with 1:41 to go made it a two point game. The Tigers had a chance to tie the game with about 45 seconds remaining, but a shot was blocked late in the shot clock to force a shot clock violation.

Pittsburg State hit a pair of free-throws to push the advantage back to four with 32 seconds before Royce Williams dialed up a 3-pointer from the right wing to cut it back to one. The Gorillas hit another pair of charity tosses with 15 seconds to go before Achoki Moikobu's 3-point attempt to tie the game missed just to the left with four seconds to go. PSU secured the rebound, hit free-throws, and escaped Hays with a five-point win.

The free-throw line decided the game for Pittsburg State, where it hit 22-of-30 attempts. Unfortunately, the Tigers only reached the line 15 times despite the physical nature of the game. The Tigers hit 12-of-15 attempts. The difference of 10 made free-throws was too much to overcome for a Tiger team that hit more field goals and 3-pointers than PSU in the game. The Tigers were whistled 27 times compared to 17 for the Gorillas. The Tigers even won the rebounding battle in the game, 27-24.

Williams was the only Tiger to score in double figures with 18 points, canning four 3-point field goals. He also went 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. Jeremy Wilson and Moikobu finished with nine points each and Dom Samac added eight. Wilson and Moikobu tied with a team-high five rebounds each. FHSU shot 45.8 percent overall and just 38.1 percent beyond the 3-point line (8-of-21).

The Gorillas were led by Josiah Gustafson with 15 points. He did most of his damage at the free-throw line, where he was 10-of-10. Connor Kjer finished with 12 points and Devon Branch added 11. PSU shot 48.8 percent for the game, but was very efficient beyond the 3-point line, hitting 7-of-12 attempts (58.3 percent).

The Tigers look to bounce back from the frustrating loss in a pair of road games next week at a pair of in-state rivals. FHSU plays at Emporia State on Wednesday evening at 7:30 pm and then at Washburn on Saturday evening at 7 pm.

University Bookstore Discount
For the game, Fort Hays State hit 8 3-point field goals. As a result, you can take advantage of a 24% discount at the University Bookstore all day Monday (Jan. 26).
Valid on 1/26/15 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