By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Central Missouri outscored Fort Hays State 13-4 over the final 3:31 Thursday night as they erase a seven-point second half deficit and defeat the Tigers 80-71 in front of 2,473 at Gross Coliseum. The Tigers led by five at the half and pushed the lead to seven on several occasions early in the second half , but an 11-2 run by the Mules gave them a 50-48 lead with 11:48 to play.

The Tigers rallied from a five-point deficit with a 7-2 run and tied the game 67-67 on a Royce Williams 3-pointer, but the Mules score the next four and would never trail again.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

The sixth-ranked Mules shoot 65-percent for the game including 7-of-10 from 3-point range. Rakeem Dickerson led UCM with a game-high 20 points.

The Tigers shoot 47-percent including 12-of-22 from beyond the arc but were out-rebounded by seven. Craig Nicholson led FHSU with 19 points. Dom Samac and Royce Williams both add 12.

Game Highlights

The loss snaps the Tigers four-game win streak and drops them to 4-3. The Mules have won 14 straight dating back to last year’s national championship run and improve to 8-0.

FHSU hosts Missouri Western at 4pm Saturday afternoon.