HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State put together a strong effort late to get past Missouri Western on its home floor on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) by a score of 67-65. After falling down by 14 with 14 minutes to go, Fort Hays State chipped away over a 10-minute span to get the game leveled and then emerged victorious in a back-and-forth battle over the final 4:23. Lucas Hammeke hit the game-winner with a runner on the left side of the lane with 4.4 seconds to go.
 
Following the basket by Hammeke, the Tigers thwarted the Griffons' scramble to get a shot off as Dan Mukuna blocked a desperation 3-point attempt by Noah King just before the buzzer. The Tigers improved to 10-3 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA, while handing the Griffons their first loss in MIAA play, now 11-4 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
 
Fort Hays State held the lead from the start all the way to the 6:56 mark of the first half. The Griffons' largest lead of the first frame was five before a late back-and-forth between the teams had the visitors leading by one at halftime, 28-27.
 
The Tigers struggled to score out of halftime as the Griffons went on a 10-0 run over the first three and a half minutes, building an 11-point lead. The lead eventually reached 14, but a Tiger team struggling to hit shots finally willed their way back into the game with an 8-0 run, fueled by a Kyle Grill 4-point play when he was fouled on a 3-point bucket. He made another pair of free throws in the run to get the lead down to six.
 
Down eight with 9:12 to play, the Tigers used a 13-4 run to the 4:39 mark to briefly take a 57-56 lead. Grill electrified the crowd with a mid-air adjustment switching hands on an alley oop dunk. Then Grill, Juju Ramirez, and Dan Mukuna put together a string of three-straight baskets in the paint off of dribble driving to the basket.
 
In the final 4:23, the lead changed hands six times and the game was tied twice. The Tigers got a big defensive stop with 33 seconds to go, then Hammeke dialed up some Gross Memorial Coliseum magic with his runner at 4.4 seconds to go. The Tiger defense sealed the victory with smothering defense on the full court scramble by the Griffons in their haste to get a shot off.
 
Mukuna finished with a game-high 21 points, while Grill had 17 and Jahvari Martino had 11. Hammeke pushed into double figures as well on his game-winning runner, finishing with 10. Mukuna led the Tigers with nine rebounds, followed closely by Grill with eight. Martino led in assists with three. Grill had a big effort 5-of-5 effort at the free-throw line, which was key to the Tigers completing their comeback in the second half.
 
Fort Hays State made five more field goals than Missouri Western in the game, which was enough to offset six more made free throws by MWSU. The Tigers held the Griffons to 65 points, their lowest total of the season by four.
 
Marko Pavlovic led the Griffons with 16 points, followed by Gavin Hershberger with 15. King finished with 11. With 10 rebounds, Pavlovic finished with a double-double.
 
Fort Hays State returns to action on Tuesday (Jan. 6) in a road contest at Nebraska-Kearney. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in Kearney.