By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

The Fort Hays State Tigers scored eight straight points down the stretch, six of them from Dwayne Brunson and defeat the Emporia State 65-59 Saturday at White Auditorium in Emporia. The win improves the 23rd-ranked Tigers to 19-4 overall and 10-4 in the MIAA. The Hornets have lost four straight and are now 14-10 and 7-7 in the conference.

The Tigers got off to a slow start, going nearly four minutes before scoring their first points and fell behind by six. They would eventually build a three-point lead only to see the Hornets go on a 10-1 run to go up six with 1:57 to play in the first half. The Tigers would score the final six points of the half to tie the game 23-23 on a Marty Wendel layup following a steal of the Hornets in-bound pass on the other end of the floor.

Kaleb Wright scored the first five points of the second half to give ESU at five-point lead, but a 12-4 Tiger run gave them a three-point advantage. After falling behind by three, the Tigers used a 12-2 run to so up seven with 6:58 to play. The Hornets answered with a 12-5 run to tie the game at 56 with 3:14 to play. Dwayne Brunson scored the next six points as the Tigers pushed the lead to eight then held on in the final minute to preserve the victory.

The Tigers overcame 39-percent shooting and hit just and were just 18-of-30 from the free throw line. ESU shot only 398-percent including 3-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Brunson led the Tigers with 26 points and seven rebounds. Craig Nicholson added 21 points and hit three of the Tigers five 3-pointers.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights