HAYS, Kan. – Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, ranked No. 2 nationally in the NABC and Media Polls, held off a late charge from Fort Hays State to escape Gross Memorial Coliseum with a win on Saturday (Jan. 20). The Bearcats won 72-67, improving to 16-2 overall, 8-2 in the MIAA, while the Tigers moved to 12-6 overall, 5-4 in the MIAA. It was the first home loss of the season for FHSU, snapping its 11-game win streak at home that dated back to last season.
Even without the 2017 National Player of the Year and floor general Justin Pitts, who was out due to injury, the Bearcats rallied to shoot a super-efficient 65.7 percent from the field (23-of-35). However, without Pitts, the Bearcats survived turning the ball over 17 times and poor free-throw shooting to escape with a five-point win. NWMSU entered the game averaging just 8.2 turnovers per game.
Northwest Missouri State led 20-18 with 7:32 remaining before going on a 13-2 run to end the first half. The Bearcats took a 33-20 lead into the locker room, holding FHSU scoreless over the final 5:38 of the half. The Bearcats shot 65 percent from the field in the first half (13-of-20) and buried 50 percent of their 3-point shots (3-of-6). They forced the Tigers into 10 first-half turnovers.
Fort Hays State cut Northwest Missouri State's lead inside 10 points four times before finally keeping the margin inside 10 on the fifth occurrence. Free throws from
Hadley Gillum and
Grant Holmes cut a 10-point lead down to six, then a
Marcus Cooper fast-break dunk electrified the crowd with 7:20 to go, cutting the lead back to six a second time.
Brett Dougherty was the go to player for NWMSU as Fort Hays State made its push, making three consecutive solid post moves for buckets to keep the Tigers at arm's length. The Tigers kept chipping away and brought the lead down to four on a Holmes layup with 3:32 remaining, and once again on a
Kyler Kinnamon layup with 2:38 remaining. However, with Northwest Missouri State struggling at the free-throw line late, the Tigers could not get key shot attempts to fall allowing the Bearcats to hang on down the stretch.
Marcus Cooper had a big second half for the Tigers, scoring 17 of his team-leading 24 after the break. He finished 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-11 at the free-throw line. He also led the team in rebounds with six. Gillum finished with 18 points and
Aaron Nicholson added 10. FHSU shot 48.9 percent from the field overall, but just 27.8 percent (5-of-18) beyond the 3-point line.
Chris-Ebou Ndow led the Bearcats with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. From the post, Brett Dougherty finished with 13 points and seven assists. Joey Witthus scored 15, Ryan Welty had 12, and Xavier Kurth had 10. The Bearcats shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 65.7 percent overall. They were 53.8 percent from beyond the 3-point line (7-of-13), but just 57.6 percent at the free-throw line (19-of-33).
This marked the first time a No. 2 ranked team in the nation won inside Gross Memorial Coliseum during Fort Hays State's NCAA Division II history. The Tigers were 2-0 against No. 2 ranked teams at home before the loss on Saturday.
The Tigers head on the road next week to Lincoln (Jan. 25) and Lindenwood (Jan. 27) before returning home games against Emporia State and conference-leading Washburn.
