By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
The Fort Hays State Tigers score the final seven points to rally past Central Oklahoma 80-79 Wednesday night in front of 3,177 at Gross Coliseum. The victory secures the Tigers the No. 4 seed in next week’s MIAA tournament and a trip to the quarterfinals.
Craig Nicholson scored the game winner on a layup with 1.6 seconds left. The Bronchos Aaron Anderson then missed a shot from just inside half court to end the game.
The Tigers led by as many as 12 in the first half and were up 10 at halftime, but UCO opened the second half with a 15-5 run to tie the game 42-42 with 16:46 to play. They would push the lead as high as eight with 3:05 left and were up 79-73 with 1:38 left.
UCO hit eight second half 3-pointers and finished 10-for-23 from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot just 42-percent in the game but outrebounded the Bronchos by 11 and had 16 offensive boards.
Nicholson played all 20 minutes in the second half and finished with 25 points, nine assists and just two turnovers. James Fleming added 15 points, Carson Konrade 14 and Dwayne Brunson 11 along with 11 rebounds.
FHSU is now 22-5 overall and 13-5 in the MIAA. The Bronchos see their six game win streak come to and end and drop to 17-8 and 11-7 I the conference.
Coach Johnson Postgame 2-26-14