KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A pair of free throws by Hadley Gillum with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime pushed Fort Hays State past Missouri Southern 86-85 in a thrilling overtime battle at Municipal Auditorium in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals. The No. 7 seeded Tigers knocked out the No. 2 seeded Lions and will now play No. 3 seed Washburn on Saturday (Mar. 3) in the semifinals. The Tigers are now 19-11, while the Lions went to 20-9 overall.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

It was an intense battle throughout as neither team led by more than four points in the first half. Missouri Southern held a 34-30 lead at halftime after CJ Carr hit a jumper as time expired.

In the second half, Missouri Southern pushed its lead out to eight twice before FHSU stormed back to lead by one with an 11-2 run between the 15:14 and 13:08 marks. From that point, the advantage went back and forth. By the end of the night, the game saw 28 lead changes and 21 ties.

Marcus Cooper helped spark a 6-0 burst by the Tigers, scoring the first four points in the run between 4:33 and 2:49 remaining in regulation. Brady Werth capped the run with a layup, pushing the Tigers in front 70-69. The lead changed hands six more times and FHSU had a one-point lead with 37 seconds remaining. With eight seconds remaining on the clock, Kinzer Lambert of MSSU went to the free-throw line and was only able to convert one of two attempts. Kyler Kinnamon drove to the basket late, but the shot was blocked away with a second remaining. Gillum tried a desperation three-point attempt off the inbounds, but it was off the mark and the game went to overtime.

The seesaw battled continued in overtime with Missouri Southern eventually taking an 85-84 lead on a pair of free throws by Carr with 47 seconds remaining. An Aaron Nicholson 3-point attempt from the right corner with 28 seconds remaining rattled in and out and luckily the ball went out of bounds off a Lion. Eventually, with time nearly expired, Marcus Cooper went to the basket, missed a layup, but Hadley Gillum cleaned up the miss and was fouled as he started to go back up with a second-chance attempt. Gillum went to the line, calmly dropped one toss, and Missouri Southern called timeout. Out of the break Gillum toed the line again, hit his second attempt, and then Cooper stole a long inbounds pass that went the length of the floor to end the game. The Tigers survived the epic battle, 86-85.

Gillum had a team-best 26 points and nearly produced a double-double by finishing with nine rebounds. Cooper scored all 23 of his points after halftime. Brady Werth added 16 points. The Tigers as a team shot 45.1 percent from the field. Most importantly, they shot 15-of-17 at the free-throw line (88.2 percent).

Getting as many free throws to drop was crucial for the Tigers, as they finished with six more field goals made in the game than the Lions (including three more 3-pointers). The Lions went to the line 39 times in the game and hit 29, holding a 14-point advantage over the Tigers at the line. That helped the Lions overcome shooting just 40 percent from the field and 17.4 percent beyond the 3-point line. Also, the Tigers were able to overtime a disparity of 20 rebounds as the Lions pulled down 52 compared to 32 for the Tigers.

Carr finished with a game-high 28 points for the Lions, while Lambert added 17 points. Elyjah Clark had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Enis Memic nearly was just shy of the same feat with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Fort Hays State has now played five overtime games this season. After falling in the first three, the Tigers have taken the last two (double overtime win at Northeastern State and Missouri Southern in the MIAA Quarterfinals).

Fort Hays State will try to extend its season further when it faces Washburn in the semifinals of the tournament on Saturday at 6 pm.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women held Emporia State without a field goal for over six minutes to start the fourth quarter and turned a five point deficit into a five point lead then held on a for a 57-54 win to advance the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.

The win avenges a loss the Hornets (17-11) in last year’s tournament quarterfinals and ends ESU’s 16-game MIAA Tournament win streak.

The Tigers (24-5) hit only one of their 15 three point attempts but were good from the free throw line, hitting 24-of-32 for the game. They knocked down 14 of 16 in the final five minutes and scored their final 12 points from the line including eight in the last 1:30.

ESU finished with 18 turnovers, eight of them coming in the fourth quarter.

FHSU Postgame Press Conference

Game Highlights

FHSU fell behind by seven midway through the first quarter but used a 10-3 run to tie the game at 13-12 with a little over two minutes left in the opening frame. An 8-1 run built their lead to five and they led 30-26 at halftime.

The Hornets closed the third quarter on a 5-0 run and led 42-37 entering the fourth.

FHSU stCarly Heim played all 40 minutes and was the only Tiger to reach double-figures with 13 points. The Hoxie junior had five rebounds and four steals. Tatyana Legette and Taylor Rolfs both scored nine. Legette led the team with nine rebounds.

Tyra Jones scored 14 and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets (17-11). Jessica Wayne added 11 points and 12 boards.

The Tigers advance to the semifinals at noon on Saturday.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State snapped its nine-game losing streak by sweeping a doubleheader with Wayne State (Neb.) on Wednesday (Feb. 28) at Tiger Stadium. FHSU won both games in come-from-behind fashion by scores of 6-4 and 10-5, moving to 4-14 overall on the season. Wayne State dropped to 1-4.

Fort Hays State 6, Wayne State 4

Wayne State scored three runs in the top of the second to take an early 3-0 lead, but the Tigers rallied right back in the bottom half of the inning to take a 4-3 lead. A pair of runners reached before Terran Caldwell drove home two with a single up the middle. Veronica Knittig also singled up the middle to bring in Caldwell from second to tie the game. Bailey Boxberger knocked in Knittig two batters later on a single through the left side.

The Wildcats tied the game with a run in the top of the third, benefitting from a leadoff triple, but the Tigers took the lead back with a pair of runs in the fourth. Sara Breckbill brought home both runs with a double to left field.

Starting pitcher Hailey Chapman went four innings before turning the ball over to Sierra Rodriguez, who went three innings to earn her first save of the season. Rodriguez allowed only two hits and struck out one. Chapman picked up her first win of the season, allowing four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.

Fort Hays State 10, Wayne State 5

Wayne State took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of run in the first, but the Tigers rallied back with a pair in the second to knot the score. Sierra Rodriguez had a two-RBI single to get the score evened.

Wayne State went back on top 4-2 with single runs in the third and fourth, but the Tigers turned the game in their favor with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Run-scoring singles from Rodriguez and Sydney Harsh tied the game and later, Veronica Knittig had an RBI single and Candace Bollig had a sacrifice fly RBI to put the Tigers on top.

Rodriguez, who started the game in the pitching circle for FHSU, ran out of gas in the fifth, allowing back-to-back hits that plated Wayne State’s fifth run. Roles reversed from game one and Chapman had Rodriguez’s back this time, mowing through the Wildcats over the final three innings. Chapman stranded a runner at second by striking out three consecutive hitters on 10 pitches (all strikes). Chapman went on to strike out seven, getting all three outs in the seventh in that fashion as well. She allowed only two hits. Rodriguez allowed five runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts over the first four innings, but it was enough to earn the win and move to 3-4 on the year.

The Tigers sealed the win with a four-run sixth inning, all on unearned runs. Two errors in the inning benefitted the Tigers. Sara Breckbill had an RBI single and Chapman had a two-RBI double. For the day, Chapman and Rodriguez both earned a win and a save, and combined for five RBI at the plate in game two. Sarah Kay led the team with three hits in the second contest.

Riley Vanderveen took the loss for Wayne State, allowing 10 runs (six earned) on 13 hits with two walks.

Fort Hays State is slated to begin MIAA play on March 9 when it travels to Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State baseball team manufactured a season-high five home runs in an offensive shootout victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State 18-16 on Wednesday (Feb. 28) at Larks Park. The Tigers avenged a 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Rangers (Feb. 7) in Alva, Okla. from earlier this season. FHSU improved to 8-6 overall, while NWOSU dipped to 8-7 on the year.

In a game full of offense for both teams, Fort Hays State scored the most runs in a single game since last season against New Mexico Highlands (Feb. 12) and hit the most home runs in a game since 2016.

Easton Palmer got the start for the Tigers, but a couple FHSU defensive miscues and two home runs from the Rangers gave NWOSU a quick 5-0 lead to begin the contest. Addison Kaasch collected his first home run of the season with a lead off blast to straight center, putting the Tigers on the board in the home half of the first.

The Rangers chased Palmer out of the game with two outs in the second frame, building a 9-1 lead before Austin Weiser came on in relief, producing a fly out to escape the inning with no further damage.

The Tiger bats soon heated up in the bottom of the second inning, as they plated ten runs on eight hits. Jordan Wilkerson began the scoring affair with a solo shot to right for his fourth deep ball of the season. Marcus Altman came around to score on Jason Nicholson’s triple to left-center, giving the Tigers some life. Nicholson then crossed home plate via Jonathan Mariani’s RBI single to the outfield.

Clayton Basgall roped a 2-run single up the heart of the diamond, plating Kaasch and Mariani. Dayton Pomeroy then cleared the bases with his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a two-run blast over the wall in left-center, scoring Basgall and closing the gap to 9-8 in favor of the Rangers.

Sophomore Marcus Altman kept the inning alive, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game sending a 3-run shot to left-center. The Tigers grabbed an 11-9 lead after two wild innings of play. Grasser tacked on a couple more runs in the third with a 2-RBI single through the left side of the field, increasing the Tiger lead to 13-9 after three frames.

In the fourth inning, the Rangers third-baseman, Justin Bundy, knocked in his first of three home runs in the contest, cutting the Tiger lead to 13-11.

Kaasch demolished his second long ball of the season in the fourth frame, a three-run opposite field blast, extending the Tiger lead to 16-11. Nicholson put the Tigers up for good with a sacrifice fly to center, plating Grasser in the fifth frame. Pomeroy recorded an RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth inning, giving the Tigers the 18-12 advantage.

NWOSU stormed back in the game with Bundy hitting two more big flies, most notably a two-run home run in the top of the ninth, collapsing the Tigers’ lead to 18-16 before Sam Capps struck out the side to end the game, giving the Tigers the victory.

Weiser (1-0) picked up the win for FHSU, going 1.2 innings of relief. Tanner Smith came out of the bullpen and pitched 2.2 solid innings of work, surrendering only a run on three hits while striking out five batters. Cole Schumacher and Cody Rottinghaus each pitched one inning of out the pen before Capps came on to prevent the Rangers from coming back in the game.

Senior Jonathan Mariani collected four hits in five at-bats in the contest, scoring two runs and producing one run batted in.

The Tigers will be back in action as they resume conference play over the weekend when they host Northwest Missouri in the MIAA home opener for a three-game series. Game one with the Bearcats is set to commence at 2 p.m. on Friday (Mar. 2).

INDIANAPOLIS – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team is ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 28). This is the Tigers’ first appearance in the regional rankings this season.

Eight teams in the region will earn the right to play in the NCAA Championship, with the bracket set to be released Sunday evening (March 4). The winners of the MIAA and GAC Tournaments will join Augustana, NSIC champions, with an automatic bid into the national tournament. The next five teams in the final region rankings will receive an at-large bid into the tournament.

Fort Hays State is one of five MIAA programs listed in this week’s regional top 10 list. The NSIC has three teams represented, while the final two teams are from the Great American Conference.

The Tigers will open play in the MIAA Tournament Thursday (March 1) at noon against Emporia State.

The full Central Region rankings from February 28, 2018 can be found below.

Rank Team Overall DII Record In-Region Record
1. Central Missouri 22-2 22-2
2. Southwestern Oklahoma State 25-3 25-3
3. Augustana 24-3 22-3
4. Northern State 24-5 24-5
5. Pittsburg State 21-6 21-6
6. Central Oklahoma 22-6 22-6
7. Minnesota State-Moorhead 23-5 21-5
8. Arkansas Tech 23-3 23-3
9. Fort Hays State 19-5 19-5
10. Nebraska-Kearney 17-6 17-6