EMPORIA, Kan. – Fort Hays State got out to a big first half lead, but found itself trailing in the second half and fought to force overtime against Sioux Falls on Saturday evening (Nov. 11). FHSU went up by one with a minute to go in the extra period, but Sioux Falls scored the final five points to take an early-season barnburner by a score of 96-92. FHSU starts the season 1-1, while Sioux Falls won both of its games this weekend to start 2-0.
Fresh off a win over the No. 15 ranked team in the nation, Fort Hays State looked on its way to a second straight win holding a 16-point lead with 6:19 to go in the first half. But, the Cougars had other plans as they stormed back with a 20-8 run to close the half and trailed the Tigers by just four at halftime, 42-38. The previous two years, Fort Hays State defeated Sioux Falls on last-second shots to win by two each time. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not prevail in yet another thriller between the teams.
The momentum remained in Sioux Falls' favor early in the second half as it finally took the lead at the 16:40 mark. The USF lead swelled to eight with 13:59 to go before FHSU chipped away to eventually take the lead once again at the 8:45 mark, 67-66, with a 7-0 run. The rest of the way it was a back-and-forth battle.
The Tigers looked to be pulling away once again with a 7-1 run to lead by six with 2:47 to go, but Sioux Falls answered again with three straight buckets, including a 3-pointer, to take the lead back by one with 1:17 to go. A pair of
Brady Werth free-throws with 59 seconds remaining, which capped his career-high scoring night of 30 points, gave the Tigers a one-point advantage again. USF answered with a layup, then after a missed FHSU shot, hit two free-throws to go up by three.
Kyler Kinnamon got a quick layup to cut the lead back to one, then the team's traded 1-for-2 efforts at the free-throw line, leaving Sioux Falls in the lead by one with eight seconds remaining.
The Tigers fouled Zach Wessels, who hit 1-of-2 free-throws for the second straight trip, leaving the lead at just two points. Kinnamon raced down the floor and was fouled at the rim with two seconds remaining. He buried both free-throws to send the game to overtime with the teams tied 87-87.
Both teams struggled to put the ball in the hoop early in overtime, tied 2-2 in the extra frame through the first 3:30. Sioux Falls took the advantage on a layup with 1:26 to play, but
Aaron Nicholson answered with a big 3-point field goal on the other end to give the Tigers a 92-91 advantage with a minute to play. But Sioux Falls' hot handed Drew Guebert his 12
th field goal of the game with 43 seconds remaining to give USF the lead for good. FHSU could not get anything to fall in the final minute and a 3-of-4 effort by Trevon Evans down the stretch made the final margin of four in favor of Sioux Falls.
Guebert and Evans proved to be too much for the Tigers to fend off as they combined for 63 of Sioux Falls' 96 points. The pair only had five of Sioux Falls' 18 points at the time of Fort Hays State's 16-point lead (34-18) with 6:19 to go in the first half. Then the pair caught fire.
Guebert had 32 on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, which included four 3-point field goals, and a 4-of-5 effort at the free-throw line. Evans finished with 31 points on a 10-of-20 effort from the field, which included three 3-point field goals, and an 8-of-9 effort at the line. Evans finished with 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Guebert was close to the same feat with eight rebounds. Drew Maschoff also chipped in 14 points as the three players combined for 80 percent of Sioux Falls' points.
Werth's career-high 30 points and double-figure efforts from
Hadley Gillum and Nicholson were not enough to hold off the Cougars. Werth finished 9-of-13 from the field with one 3-point field goal, and a solid 11-of-12 effort at the free-throw line. Gillum had 15 points and Nicholson had 10. Marcus Cooper led the Tigers in rebounds with six, while adding seven points.
Kyler Kinnamon (9 points) and
Trey O'Neil (8 points) tied with a team-high five assists each.
The Tigers look to shake off the tough loss and in their home opener on Wednesday night (Nov. 15) at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. FHSU hosts Central Christian at 7 pm.
