FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State dropped the series finale to Central Missouri on Sunday by the score of 16-12 and now sits at 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA this season. The Mules took the series 2-1 and improve to 3-6 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA.

Central Missouri started the scoring early with two runs in the top of the first. Caleb Cherryholmes got the Tigers on the board in the bottom half when he hit a solo homer.

The Mules pushed their lead back to two with solo home run from Miles Orscheln in the second, but the Tigers tied it 3-3 in the bottom half when Clayton Basgall singled to right and plated Alex Weiss and Alex King.

Fort Hays State took its first lead of the afternoon in the third, 5-3, on back-to-back singles from Weiss and King that scored Cherryholmes and Joe Mapes.

In the fourth, the Tigers extended their lead on a solo homer from Basgall, then Mapes plated Cherryholmes with a RBI single to center making it 7-3.

The Mules fought back in the fifth and sixth with consecutive three run innings. With one out in the fifth, Matt Elliot singled to left field and later scored on a single by Jake Alexander. Later in the inning Bennett Oliver cut the Tiger lead to 7-6 when he hit a two run home run, then the Mules took the lead 9-7 in the sixth with a three run shot from Elliot.

The Tigers fought back and were on the brink of victory when Connor Ross hit a three run homer in the eighth, pushing the Tigers back in front 10-9.

The Tigers needed just three outs to seal the deal entering the ninth up one. But Central Missouri had other plans as they rallied for seven runs on five hits (a single, two doubles, and two home runs), a walk, and a Tiger error. The Mules led 16-10 heading to the final half inning.

The Tigers put up a fight in the ninth as they were able to score two runs and load the bases to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. However, Central Missouri’s Reece Ponak got the final two outs by strikeout to end the game.

Justin Hersch went 4 1/3 innings to start the game for the Tigers but had to leave due to injury, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits, with three strikeouts and a walk.

Logan Herd took the loss and moved to 0-2 on the year lasting 1.2 innings with six runs (five earned) allowed. Ponak recorded the win for the Mules and is now 2-0.

Next up for the Tigers is another three-game MIAA series against Central Oklahoma, March 4-6, in Hays, Kan.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s and women’s basketball earned first-round byes in the 2016 MIAA Tournament. Both Tiger teams are in the quarterfinals and await the winners of first-round games that will be played on Monday and Tuesday. The quarterfinal through final round of the tournament takes place March 3-6 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

The Fort Hays State women tied for second in the MIAA regular season standings and have the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament. The Tigers will await the winner of No. 6 seed Missouri Southern vs. No. 11 seed Northeastern State. The Lions and RiverHawks meet on Monday (Feb. 29) in Joplin, Mo. The Tigers’ quarterfinal game kicks off the tournament in Kansas Cityon Thursday at 12 pm.

The Fort Hays State men finished alone in fourth place in the MIAA standings and have the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Tournament. The Tigers will await the winner of the No. 5 seed Central Oklahoma vs. No. 12 seed Central Missouri. The Bronchos and Mules meet on Tuesday (Mar. 1) in Edmond, Okla. The Tigers’ quarterfinal game will be the final game on Friday in Kansas City at 8:15 pm.

Below is the schedule for both the women’s and men’s tournaments…

Women’s Tournament

Monday, February 29, 2016 (Campus Sites)
Game 1: #9 Southwest Baptist at #8 Nebraska-Kearney 7 p.m.
Game 2: #12 Lindenwood at #5 Central Oklahoma 7 p.m.
Game 3: #10 Central Missouri at #7 Washburn 7 p.m.
Game 4: #11 Northeastern State at #6 Missouri Southern 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 3, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 5: #3 Fort Hays State vs. winner game 4 12 p.m.
Game 6: #2 Pittsburg State vs. winner game 3 2:15 p.m.
Game 7: #1 Missouri Western vs. winner game 1 6 p.m.
Game 8: #4 Emporia State vs. winner game 2 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 5, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 9: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6 12 p.m.
Game 10: winner game 7 vs. winner game 8 2:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 6, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 11: MIAA Championship game 1:00 p.m.

Men’s Tournament

Tuesday, March 1, 2016 (Campus Sites)
Game 1: #9 Lindenwood at #8 Pittsburg State 7 p.m.
Game 2: #12 Central Missouri at #5 Central Oklahoma 7 p.m.
Game 3: #10 Emporia State at #7 Lincoln 7 p.m.
Game 4: #11 Missouri Western at #6 Washburn 7 p.m.

Friday, March 4, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 5: #3 Missouri Southern vs. winner game 4 12 p.m.
Game 6: #2 Nebraska-Kearney vs. winner game 3 2:15 p.m.
Game 7: #1 Northwest Missouri vs. winner game 1 6 p.m.
Game 8: #4 Fort Hays State vs. winner game 2 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, March 5, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 9: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6 6 p.m.
Game 10: winner game 7 vs. winner game 8 8:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 6, 2016 (Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Mo.)
Game 11: MIAA Championship game 3:30 p.m.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State had their second worst shooting game of the season as they lose 67-54 to Central Oklahoma in their regular season finale Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House. The Tigers (19-9, 13-9 MIAA), who missed their first 10 shot attempts, were held to 35-percent shooting and see their four-game win streak snapped.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and were down 21 with just over six minutes to play.

Rob Davis led FHSU with 15 points. Jake Stoppel added 12.

Trai Jordon led Central Oklahoma (15-13, 11-11 MIAA) with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Fred VanVleet and Anton Grady scored 16 points apiece and Wichita State routed Illinois State 74-58 on Saturday for its fifth-straight win.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

EDMOND, Okla. – Fort Hays State couldn’t overcome an early double-figure deficit and lose 81-73 to Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House. With the loss, the Tigers (24-4, 18-4 MIAA) tie for second in the MIAA with Pittsburg State and will have the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and play at noon on Thursday.

The Broncos (18-10, 12-10 MIAA) used an early 14-2 run to build an 11-point first quarter lead and would never trail the rest of the day. The Tigers trailed  by 19 with 2:05 to play in the third quarter, then put together a 17-2 run over the next four minutes to close the gap to four which would be the closest they would get.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

The Tigers shot 27-percent in the first half and finished at 37-percent for the game but were 7-of-29 from beyond the arc. UCO knocked down 8-of-15 from 3-point range while shooting 55-percent. They were 27-of-32 from the free throw line where they outscored the Tigers by 11.

Paige Lunsford led three Tigers in double-figures with 16 points. Nikola Kacperska added 14 and Beth Bohuslavsky 13.

FHSU Athletics

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State rallied for an 8-7 win in 10 innings over Central Missouri in the MIAA opener on Friday at Larks Park in Hays. Down 5-3 in the eighth, FHSU scored four runs in the eighth to take a 7-5 lead, but Central Missouri tied the game in the ninth. Alex Weiss provided the walk-off solo homer in the 10th to lift the Tigers to victory.

Central Missouri built a 4-0 lead by the top of the fifth, but the Tigers cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Ty Redington and Caleb Cherryholmes. FHSU cut the lead down to one on a Clayton Basgall RBI single in the sixth.

After Central Missouri pushed its lead back to two at 5-3 in the seventh, the Tigers put together a four-run rally in the eighth. Joe Mapes walked and Connor Ross doubled to set up a game-tying two-RBI single by Weiss. Later in the inning, Clayton pushed the Tigers in front with a two-run homer.

Central Missouri led off the ninth with back-to-back doubles to make it 7-6, then tied the game on a sacrifice fly later in the inning. The Tigers got two aboard in the ninth, but grounded into a double play to end the threat. FHSU got out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the 10th to set up the game winning shot by Weiss leading off the bottom half of the 10th.

Weiss and Basgall finished with three RBI each and Weiss had a team-high three hits.

D.J. Carr went 6 2/3 innings in his start, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits and a walk, but struck out six. Casey Sedbrook held the Mules scoreless in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Giles Fox entered in the ninth to try and earn the save, but allowed two runs. He worked out of the jam in the 10th and picked up his second win of the season in relief.

Tyler House lasted 4.2 innings in the start for Central Missouri and used three relief pitchers. Lucas Williams took the loss, allowing three runs in two innings of work.

The Tigers and Mules play the second game of the three-game weekend conference series on Saturday at 1 pm.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Fort Hays State shot 59-percent in the first half, building a 14-point lead then held off a furious second half comeback bid from Northeastern State for an 87-84 win Thursday night at the NSU Event Center. The Tigers (19-8, 13-8 MIAA), who have won four straight, secure a spot in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

 

Northeastern State (8-17, 7-14 MIAA) outscored the Tigers 26-12 over a 10 minute stretch of the second half to take a two-point lead. They were up 72-70 with 5:38 to play when FHSU strung together five straight points to take the lead for good. The RiverHawks tied the game 77-77 with 1:13 to play but a three-point play from Craig Nicholson with 0:51 keyed another 5-0 run. The Tigers knocked down seven of their eight free throws in the final minute as they offset a season-high 12 three-pointers from NSU.

Rob Davis and Dom Samac led four Tigers in double-figures with 18 points each. Hadley Gillum scored a career-high 14 and matched his career-high with seven rebounds. Craig Nicholson added 10 points.

Northeastern State was led by Montre’ Williams and Tanner Mouse who both scored 16.

FHSU Sports Information
INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Central Region Rankings saw a major shake up on Wednesday (Feb. 24) among the top four teams, even though none of the four lost the previous week. Fort Hays State moved up to No. 2 this week from No. 3 last week, but the major shake up was at No. 1.

Even though Missouri Western won its only game played last week, the Griffons plummeted from the No. 1 ranking in the region to No. 4 this week. Taking over the No. 1 ranking this week is Pittsburg State, which sat at No. 2 in the first set of region rankings. The Gorillas went on the road for a pair of wins last week. Winona State, the No. 3 team this week, also picked up a pair of road wins in their final two regular season contests. Winona State starts NSIC Tournament play on Wednesday night.

What the shake up shows is just how close together all four teams are in the race for the No. 1 seed in the region and the right to host the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament. With the No. 1 through No. 4 teams winning all of their contests last week, Missouri Western dropping to No. 4 indicates that all four teams are tightly bunched in the ranking criteria. Several factors weigh into the rankings, but four-loss Pittsburg State is ahead of three-loss FHSU, and a pair of two-loss teams – Missouri Western and Winona State.

Emporia State moved up to No. 5 in the rankings this week after Arkansas Tech took a loss last week. Arkansas Tech checks in at No. 6. Four NSIC teams round out the rankings from No. 7 to No. 10.

Below are the NCAA Central Region Rankings for February 24, 2016.

Rank School Overall DII Record In-Region Record
1 Pittsburg State 22-4 22-4
2 Fort Hays State 22-3 22-3
3 Winona State 23-2 20-2
4 Missouri Western 21-2 21-2
5 Emporia State 20-5 18-5
6 Arkansas Tech 21-3 20-3
7 Northern State 21-6 21-6
8 MSU Moorhead 19-5 18-5
9 Sioux Falls 21-5 19-5
10 Augustana 18-7 18-7

FHSU Sports Information
INDIANAPOLIS – With a pair of big wins at home, Fort Hays State remained No. 4 in the second release of the NCAA Central Region Rankings on Wednesday (Feb. 24). The Tigers remained on top of a cluster of teams battling for the final five spots in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers hit the road for their final week of regular season play with games in Oklahoma at Northeastern State (Thursday) and Central Oklahoma (Saturday). The No. 1 through No. 3 ranked teams are in solid standing, while there is plenty of volatility to the final seven teams ranked in the region. Augustana (S.D.) leads the way in the region, while Northwest Missouri State moved up to No. 2 this week from No. 3 last week, showing the strength of the MIAA as a conference.

Lindenwood, which lost twice last week, dropped all the way from No. 6 to No. 10 in the region. Nebraska-Kearney moved up to No. 6 this week and Pittsburg State is now inside the top eight at No. 8. East Central is the only team from the Great American Conference in the rankings at No. 7. The NSIC has three teams inside the top eight – Augustana, Minnesota State-Moorhead (No. 3), and Minnesota State-Mankato (No. 5).

The Tigers have a lot to play for this week, sitting alone in fourth place in the MIAA standings. If FHSU wins both games on the road, it will lock up a bye in the MIAA Tournament and advance to Kansas City without having to play in the opening round on Tuesday. Anything other than that and the Tigers will likely find themselves in a tie-breaking scenario for which seed they receive. Mathematically, the Tigers are clear of ninth place in the standings, but the top eight teams are all still alive for a first round bye heading into games on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Below are the NCAA Central Region Rankings for February 24, 2016.

Rank School Overall DII Record In-Region Record
1 Augustana (SD) 22-2 22-2
2 Northwest Mo. St. 18-5 18-5
3 MSU Moorhead 23-4 21-3
4 Fort Hays State 15-8 15-8
5 Minn. St. Mankato 16-8 16-8
6 Neb.-Kearney 16-9 16-9
7 East Central 19-6 19-6
8 Pittsburg St. 16-11 16-11
9 Mo. Southern St. 16-11 16-11
10 Lindenwood (MO) 15-11 15-11

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball moved up to No. 9 in the latest WBCA Division II Poll, released on Tuesday (Feb. 23). The Tigers move up one spot from last week, continuing their season-long run in the top 10 of the WBCA Poll.

The Tigers benefitted from a loss by West Texas A&M to move up a spot in the poll. WTAMU was No. 9 in the poll last week, but suffered its third loss of the season.

Fort Hays State joins Missouri Western as MIAA schools in the top 10 of the poll. The Griffons hold steady at No. 7 in the latest poll. Pittsburg State and Emporia State also remained in the same position in the poll, PSU at No. 19 and ESU at No. 22.

The Tigers go on the road for the final week of the regular season. The Tigers play at Northeastern State on Thursday and Central Oklahoma on Saturday. FHSU is only a game back of Missouri Western for first place in the MIAA, while Pittsburg State is lurking only a half game back of FHSU in third place with one game to play.

Below is the WBCA Division II Poll for February 23, 2016.

Rank	Institution – First Place Votes	Previous Rank	Record	Total Points
T1	Lubbock Christian University (Texas) – 11	T1	24-0	581
T1	University of Alaska – Anchorage – 11	T1	30-1	581
3	Limestone College (SC) – 2	3	25-0	550
4	California Baptist University	4	24-1	528
5	Lewis University (Ill.)	6	26-1	489
6	Ashland University (Ohio)	5	26-1	478
7	Missouri Western State	7	24-2	429
8	Winona State University (Minn.)	8	27-2	425
9	Fort Hays State University (Kan.)	10	23-3	387
10	Union University (Tenn.)	11	25-2	367
11	Drury University (Mo.)	12	22-3	330
12	West Texas A&M University	9	23-3	315
13	Virginia Union University	13	22-2	294
14	Benedict College (S.C.)	15	24-2	267
15	Arkansas Tech University	14	21-3	266
16	West Liberty University (W.Va.)	16	23-3	201
17	Azusa Pacific University (Calif.)	18	22-3	200
18	Nova Southeastern University (Fla.)	17	22-4	196
19	Pittsburg State University (Kan.)	19	23-4	177
20	University of California – San Diego	20	21-3	141
21	Anderson University (S.C.)	21	19-4	113
22	Emporia State University (Kan.)	22	21-5	103
23	Quincy University (Ill.)	23	22-4	82
24	Columbus State University (Ga.)	24	21-4	63
25	Bellarmine University (Ky.)	25	20-3	50

Others receiving votes: University Of Sioux Falls (S.D.) 40; Kentucky State University 25; Ursuline College (Ohio) 24; Clayton State University (Ga.) 20; Wheeling Jesuit University (W.Va.) 19; California State University – East Bay 13; Lander University (S.C.) 11; Shaw University (N.C.) 7; Colorado State University – Pueblo 6; Northern State University (S.D.) 5; American International College (Mass.) 4.