HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State have made a habit of producing instant classics the last three years. After FHSU claimed two straight wins in Maryville, each by one point, the Bearcats countered with a 36-33 double overtime at Lewis Field Stadium Saturday in front of 6.137 at Lewis Field.

Dante Brown’s 56-yard field goal as time expired tied the game 26-26 to force overtime. Both teams scored touchdowns on their first overtime possession. After the Tigers fumbled on 3rd-and one on their second possession, the Bearcats Parker Sampson hit a 38-yard field goal to lift the Bearcats to a 36-33 win which in all likelihood ends the Tiger playoff hopes.

The Tigers (7-3) came out on fire, scoring the game’s first 17 points and led 17-0 at the 13:36 mark of the second quarter. Dante Brown hit a 25-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive. Harley Hazlett crossed the goal line on a nine-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. An NWMSU fumble deep in Tiger territory set up 20-yard touchdown pass from Hazlett to Manny Ramsey.

The Bearcats (9-1) used big plays to get back in the game. Quarterback Braden Wright found Gus Gomez for a 54-yard pass that took the ball down to the FHSU one yard line. Wright then plunged into the endzone one play later to get teh Bearcats on the board.

The Bearcat defense stuffed a Tiger run on fourth and one near midfield then scored three plays later when Wright found Imoni Donadelle on a 42-yard touchdown pass to pull within 17-14.

Chance Fuller threw the first of his two interceptions near midfield on the Tigers next possession which led to a 41-yard Parker Sampson field goal which tied the game 17-17 just over six minutes after FHSU built its 17-point lead.

After a Northwest punt pinned the Tigers at their own one, the Bearcats tackled Te’Corey Tutson in the endzone for a safety to give the Bearcats a 19-17 lead at halftime.

The Tigers retook the lead on the first possession of the third quarter, getting down to the NWMSU 10 before Dante Brown booted a 27-yard field goal top put FHSU up 20-19.

The Bearcats responded with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a 9-yard pass from Wright to Justin Rankin to put Northwest back on top 26-20.

Brown’s third field goal, a 38-yarder with 12:25 to play cut the gap to 26-23. After neither team could muster much over the next five possessions, FHSU got the ball back with 1:05 to play. Three straight pass completions of 12, 24, and 15 yards moved the ball to the Northwest 30 yard line with 12 seconds remaining. A sack pushed the ball back to the 39 with five seconds to play setting up Brown’s career-long 56-yard field goal to force overtime.

Northwest scored a touchdown on a five-yard pass from Wright to Donadelle on thier first overtime possession. The Tigers responded with a 25-yard strike from Fuller to Dandre Reed.

Harley Hazlett fumbled when he reached the ball out trying to convert on third an one. The Bearcats then kicked to game-winning field goal.

Fuller had 342 passing yards, completing 30-of-54 attempts. Ramsey finished with a team-high 115 receiving yards, followed by Hazlett with 86. The Tigers struggled to just 33 rushing yards, led by Te’Corey Tutson with 26. Jordan Starks led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles and an interception, while Drew Harvey added 10 tackles.

Wright led the Bearcat offense with 279 passing yards and 96 rushing yards. Donadelle had a team-high 70 receiving yards for NWMSU. Blake Bayer and Jackson Barnes had a team-high eight tackles each.

The Tigers close out the 2019 regular season next Saturday at Northeastern State.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Fort Hays State limited Southwestern Oklahoma State to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field to grind out a low-scoring battle on Saturday by a score of 58-53. The Tigers moved to 2-0 on the season after a 10-point win over Arkansas Tech the night before. The Bulldogs moved to 1-1 overall.

The Tigers built a 27-20 lead by halftime, limiting the Bulldogs to just nine points in the first 10 minutes and 11 in the next 10 minutes. Calvin Harrington provided a third of the team’s scoring in the opening half with nine points, canning a pair of three-point field goals and adding an old-fashioned three-point play. Jake Hutchings made a one-point lead seven in the final minute of the half with a three-point play and three-point field goal. Fort Hays State’s largest lead in the half was eight when it led 11-3.

Southwestern Oklahoma opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 30-29 lead, but that was the only advantage it enjoyed in the second half. SWOSU tied the game twice before FHSU took the lead for good on a Hutchings layup with 9:10 remaining. That bucket triggered an 11-2 run by the Tigers to lead by nine, their largest advantage of the game. The margin reached nine one more time on a Jared Vitztum 3-point field goal with 4:15 to play, but SWOSU trimmed the lead back down to three with just 1:15 on the clock.

Southwestern Oklahoma had one possession with a chance to tie or pull within one, but missed two chances. Aaron Nicholson closed out the game for FHSU from that point, hitting all four of his free throws inside the final 23 seconds. Nicholson was 8-of-8 at the charity stripe in the game for all eight of his points.

Vitztum led the way for FHSU with 15 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. He was 2-of-2 beyond the 3-point line. Harrington finished with 12 points, canning three shots beyond the 3-point line, while Hutchings added 11. FHSU shot 38.3 percent as a team, but made up for it with a 94.1 percent effort at the free-throw line (16-of-17).

Damion Thornton led the Bulldog scoring effort with 14 points, while Marquis Johnson added 10.

Fort Hays State heads to Colorado next weekend for another pair of games. FHSU takes on Colorado School of Mines on Saturday (Nov. 16) before facing UC-Colorado Springs on Sunday.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas needed a win to keep any lingering Big 12 title hopes alive.

The Longhorns got it behind the same fourth-quarter formula they used a few weeks ago: Give up a late lead before quarterback Sam Ehlinger engineers a long drive to set up a Cameron Dicker field goal as time expires.

Dicker’s 26-yarder lifted the Longhorns to a 27-24 victory over No. 20 Kansas State on Saturday. The victory keeps Texas in the hunt for a return trip to the Big 12 championship game with three games left.

With two losses already, they’ll still need some help. But the Longhorns (6-3, 4-2) at least are still alive. They fought back after falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, then rallied again after letting their own big lead evaporate.

“It could have been a really, really bad scene,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “The win is obviously very important for us. The way that it happened, to be down 14-0 in the blink of an eye … We put ourselves on the ropes (this season) and we took a step toward swinging and scratching and clawing our way off.”

Dicker has booted two-game winners on the final play in Texas’ last three games. His 33-yarder beat Kansas in a wild 50-48 finish on Oct. 19.

Against Kansas, Ehlinger had 71 seconds to get the Longhorns within scoring range, and he did it with a frantic but crisp push. Against Kansas State, the Longhorns went 65 yards in 13 plays and sucked the final 6 minutes, 45 seconds off the game clock.

This time, Texas looked to be setting up for the field goal until Ehlinger surged into the end zone on a keeper. After an illegal formation penalty nullified the touchdown, Ehlinger fell on the ball the next play and Dicker trotted on for the kick

“As bad as we all wanted to score to cap off that drive, the smart thing was to set up the field goal and not let them get back on the field,” Ehlinger said.

Even that might have had some uncertainty.

Dicker’s regular holder, punter Ryan Bujcevski, didn’t play because of a broken collar bone. That left backup holder Chris Naggar handling the ball on the final play. The snap, hold and kick were flawless.

Dicker, who was seen entering the stadium before the game with his shirt untucked and unbuttoned under his sport coat, was as cool as ever.

“When Sam kneeled the ball, I saw the time,” Dicker said. “Whatever wins is cool.”

The win also made Texas bowl eligible.

Keaontay Ingram rushed for 139 yards and two second-half touchdowns for the Longhorns. His second one put Texas up 24-14 early in the fourth quarter. Kansas State rallied to tie it on Joshua Youngblood’s 98-yard kickoff return and Blake Lynch’s 45-yard field goal.

Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson passed for a career-high 253 yards. Thompson’s touchdown passes of 70 yards to Malik Knowles and 19 yards to Wykeen Gill had the Wildcats (6-3, 3-3, No. 16 College Football Playoff) rolling early. But Thompson passed for just 36 yards in the second half.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kansas State: Thompson was excellent early until Texas’ press coverage neutralized his receivers, and the Wildcats’ running game never developed. The Wildcats also got a bit sloppy with a rare fumble that ended a promising drive in the first half, and a dropped pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter. The drop would have been a difficult catch for Dalton Schoen, but he got both hands on the ball and was pulling it in before a Texas defender knocked it away.

Kansas State didn’t convert a third down in the second half.

“I thought he hung in there really well,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “They were bringing pressure and we were barely getting guys free.”

Texas: After early miscues, the Texas defense looked better than it has all season. A healthier secondary that returned All-Big 12 safety Caden Sterns locked down the Kansas State offense over the final three quarters. The secondary didn’t force any interceptions, but for once opposing receivers weren’t running wide open all over the field.

“We showed you all that this is what happens when we’re fully healthy,” Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn said. “This is a great team. Our defense is really good. We’ve just been hurt.”

POLL IMPLICATION

The loss will knock the Wildcats down and maybe out of the Top 25. The Longhorns, who were still among those getting votes, could return to the rankings. Voters may wait to see what Texas can do the next two weeks on the road at Iowa State and undefeated Baylor.

BIG PUNT RETURN

Texas came in ranked dead last among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in punt returns with negative total yardage. Then Brandon Jones returned a punt 53 yards in the fourth quarter to set up Ingram’s second touchdown.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts West Virginia on No. 16.

Texas plays at Iowa State on Nov. 16

LAS VEGAS (AP) — As Xavier Sneed clutched his right ankle and writhed in pain on the floor in front of Kansas State’s bench near the end of the first half Saturday and coach Bruce Weber was more concerned with his senior guard’s long-term health just two games into the season.

The concern didn’t last long.

Sneed started the second half, eventually buried back-to-back 3-pointers that tied the game, finished with 19 points including the game-winner in overtime, and Kansas State defeated UNLV 60-56.

“He’s our senior, he’s our go-to guy, obviously he has the most points, he guards the best players,” Weber said. “He came back and he was huge.”

Montavious Murphy gave Kansas State a 54-52 lead with 1:10 left in overtime when he drove the baseline, drew a foul and converted the free throw. UNLV’s Amauri Hardy answered by dribbling around and through a pair of Kansas State defenders to hit a short jumper and tie the game at 54 with 44.2 seconds left.

But Sneed dropped in a mid-range jumper from the baseline to give K-State a 56-54 lead with :28 to play.

Mike McGuir and Sneed each drained two free throws in the final seconds to put the game out of reach.

“We had a tough shooting night in the first half, got it going, got some good, big time buckets from everybody,” Sneed said.

Cartier Diarra added 12 points and six assists for Kansas State, while McGuir contributed with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Wildcats overcame 37.3 percent shooting, as they hit just 22 of 59 from the floor, to erase a double-digit first-half deficit.

“Our guys just gutted it out,” Weber said. “I thought our guys stayed together. We had a lot of guys make big plays; we finally got some stops without fouling in the second half. At the end we made some big shots, made some big stops and that’s how you win games.”

Hardy led UNLV with 27 points, while Elijah Mitrou-Long chipped in with 10 points and Cheikh Mbacke Diong had four points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas State’s 19-10 run to start the second half, bolstered by Sneed’s 3-pointers, triggered its comeback.

After the Wildcats took a 35-33 lead with 10:20 left in the game – their first lead since the 18:33 mark of the first half – UNLV answered with a 5-0 run to get back in front, 38-35.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with neither taking a lead bigger than three points until overtime.

The Runnin’ Rebels led 68.8 percent of the game, spanning 30 minutes and 58 seconds while Kansas State only held a lead for a little more than five minutes, 11.4 percent of the game.

“We gotta stay true to ourselves, gotta hang our hats on defense, not on offense,” Hardy said. “If we continue to get stops we put ourselves in chances to have more offensive possessions. A couple of times we slipped up and let guys get to the paint. Easy drives, give up the baseline, which puts us in rotation and that’s things we don’t want to do.”

UNLV also committed 25 turnovers, which Kansas State capitalized on by scoring 19 points.

“I was hoping we’d play little better, but we hung in there, we found a way to win (and) made the plays when it counted,” Weber said. “Our guys learned about game plan, staying together, fighting, persevering; you can win games in different ways.”

The Runnin’ Rebels seized control of the momentum in the first half after falling behind 4-0 early, using a 14-0 run to open a 10-point lead. Hardy led the charge with UNLV’s first 10 points of the game, including a pair from behind the 3-point line.

Outside of Hardy’s outburst for UNLV, neither team was impressive offensively, often showing signs of sloppiness to the tune of 23 first-half turnovers combined.

The Wildcats took advantage of UNLV’s miscues and stormed back with runs of 6-0 and 12-4 to get within two, at 18-16. But it was UNLV’s domination on the boards that helped it close the half with the last two buckets, including Hardy’s third 3-pointer to that point, giving the Rebels a 23-16 lead at the half.

UNLV outrebounded the Wildcats in the game 43-37.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Otzelberger said. “We probably need more ball movement, but they’re a top five defensive team in the country. It’s really impressive to hold a Big 12 champion program we have a lot of respect for to 16 first half points. We have to do better coming out and starting the second half.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats are coming off a 25-win campaign and a loss to UC Irvine in the first round of the NCAA tournament. And while they were 7-5 in true road games last season, they were 0-3 vs. non-conference foes. Coach Bruce Weber said he wanted to schedule a true road game early in the season so his young team could “grow up fast.” It was the earliest non-conference road game in school history.

UNLV: Coach T.J. Otzelberger was looking for his players to match Kansas State’s physicality with an aggressive approach in the second half, knowing the defending Big 12 champions liked to pressure the ball and disrupt offensive rhythm the length of the court while forcing teams into tough shots. The much bigger Wildcats outscored UNLV 44-33 in the second half and overtime.

TURNING POINT: While Sneed’s back-to-back 3-pointers capped a 12-point burst to start the Wildcats in the second half, Murphy’s baseline drive in overtime that drew a foul, and his ensuing made free throw, gave Kansas State the momentum it needed down the stretch.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Runnin’ Rebels extended their NCAA-record streak for most consecutive games scoring at least one 3-pointer. Since the 3-point field goal was adopted by the NCAA in 1986-87, UNLV has converted at least one 3-pointer in all 1,072 games played.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Host Monmouth on Wednesday.

UNLV: Visits California on Tuesday.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The No. 7/3 Fort Hays State women’s basketball team dominated early and late in a 67-54 win over Concordia-St. Paul Saturday (Nov. 9) The Tigers move to 2-0 to start the year for the fifth-consecutive year, while the Golden Bears finish the opening weekend 1-1.

Kacey Kennett led the team with 20 points in the win, including a pair of free throws with 8:05 to play that gave the Tigers the lead for good. The shots did more than that, however, as the first make gave the senior 1,000 points for her career. Kennett now sits at 1,004 career points, becoming the 21st player in program history to reach that threshold.

Lanie Page opened the game with a 3-pointer for the second time in as many days, propelling the Tigers to an early 9-2 lead. Concordia-St. Paul scored 10 of the next 12 points to take a 12-11 lead later in the quarter, handing the Tigers their first deficit of the season. FHSU responded by scoring the final 11 points of the quarter, holding CSP scoreless for the final 2:53 of game action.

Whitney Randall opened the run with a made jumper off a pass from Taylor Rolfs before Page made a put-back layup following an offensive rebound. The Wamego, Kan. senior tallied two more points at the charity stripe before Randall finished off the quarter with five points in less than a minute. Both Randall and Page scored seven points in the opening 10 minutes of action.

After knocking down 45 percent (9-of-20) from the floor in the opening quarter, FHSU went cold from the floor over the next 10 minutes. The Tigers made just one field goal in the second stanza on their final shot of the quarter, finishing 1-for-13 (7.7 percent). FHSU was able to maintain a halftime lead thanks to a 7-for-8 effort from the free-throw line. The Golden Bears mounted a rally thanks to five made 3-pointers in the frame (5-of-8, 62.5 percent).

Fort Hays State built the lead back up to nine midway through the third quarter thanks to six more points from Kennett, but another ice cold stretch from the Tigers allowed CSP back into the game. The Golden Bears closed the period on a 12-2 run, including a buzzer-beating layup to take a 46-45 lead into the final frame.

Kennett buried a 3-pointer early in the fourth to put the Tigers back on top before CSP answered right back with a triple of their own. Fort Hays State responded with a ferocious finish to the contest, using 19-2 run over the next seven minutes to seal the victory. The Tigers shot 6-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line over that stretch while forcing eight turnovers and making six steals on defense.

Kennett swiped an astounding five steals in the final quarter to help the Tigers take back control. She finished the game by matching her career-best with seven steals, becoming the first Tiger with at least seven steals in a game since December 2017 (Kennett, 7 steals vs. Midland, 12/19/17). The Olathe, Kan. senior also matched her career-high with a team-best five asssits.

After setting a new career-best with 14 rebounds Friday, Belle Barbieri eclipsed that mark with 16 boards in Saturday’s win. She added 13 points to record the eighth double-double of her career.

Page added 13 points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe. Taylor Rolfs totaled six points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Jaden Hobbs totaled eight points, three assists and one steal, including six points in the final quarter to help the Tigers reestablish the lead.

Fort Hays State finished the game with a 35.4 percent (23-of-65) effort from the floor, just above CSP’s shooting percentage of 33.3 percent (18-of-54). The Tigers took care of the ball much better than they did on Friday, turning the ball over just 12 times. The defense was busy for the second day in a row, forcing 20 Golden Bear turnovers thanks in part to 12 steals. FHSU held a 45-38 edge in rebounding, including a 16-8 margin on the offensive glass.

The Tigers return to Hays next weekend to host a pair of non-conference opponents. FHSU makes its home debut against Adams State on Friday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. before hosting Cameron at 5 p.m. Saturday. Additionally, Nebraska-Kearney will take on the opposite teams two hours prior to FHSU’s first tip.

SHAWNEE, Okla. – Following their 6-1 rout of Southern Nazarene, Fort Hays State men’s soccer headed on the road Saturday night to face off against Oklahoma Baptist. FHSU proved victorious at the conclusion of 90 minutes plus an additional one minute and 20 seconds of play, defeating the Bison 3-2.

The Black and Gold, entered the contest 11-5-1, and now improve to 12 wins to round out the regular season.

FHSU struck first against the Bison when Arsenio Chamorro grabbed his third goal of the season. Chamorro, along with Agudelo began the fast break for the Tigers. With Agudelo running strong, he played an early cross to Chamorro who finished his shot at the far post.

Just three minutes later, Agudelo was in action again. Having already created one assist in the match, the senior forward turned his defender, took a big touch into the box, and finished at the far post for his 13th goal of the season.

Out of the half, Oklahoma Baptist began finding control within their play. In the 51st minute, Nalan Kentner was the receipient from a grounded cross by Dominic Gibson. Gibson played the ball across the six-yard box and Kentner tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Not even two minutes later, the Bison struck again and tied up the contest when Bruno Feirrera’s touch deflected off of a Tiger defender. Feirrera continued to collect the ball off of the defender and finished past the outstretched arms of Cullen Fisch.

Following the pair of Bison goals, the match was played evenly throughout the rest of the second half.

It wasn’t until the 91st minute that the a lead was regained. Santiago Agudelo was lead by a long ball down the middle of the field from Agustin Meza. Agudelo collected the bouncing ball and finished it past goalkeeper Elias Diaz, who had sprinted off of his line.

Agudelo finished the contest with two of the three FHSU goals on eight total shots, four of which hit the target. Collectively, the Tigers registered 17 shots in the 91 minutes of play. Chamorro also finished the night with a goal and an assist.

On the other end of the pitch, Fisch was needed for four saves during the match.

Ending the 2019 campaign atop the GAC, the Tigers clinched the regular season GAC title as well as home field advantage for the Great American Conference tournament next weekend (Nov. 15-Nov. 17).

Rogers State, who has accumulated a streak of five wins has been locked in as the second seed for the tournament, while the rest of placements are to be determined.

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s cross country team posted a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships Saturday (Nov. 9). It is the Tigers’ best finish at the regional meet since 2006 when the Tigers placed fourth in the South Central Regional in Warrensburg, Mo. Fort Hays State totaled 144 points in the race that featured 27 teams and 192 individuals.

With the strong performance, the Tigers made a firm case for an at large bid into the 2019 NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships. The top three teams in each of eight regions earn an automatic bid, with 10 more teams being selected from the remainder of the top-finishing teams across the country. FHSU will learn its fate when the full national championship field is announced on Monday (Nov. 11).

Three runners earned All-Region status for the Tigers, with all five scorers finishing in the top 46. Reed Rome finished 19th to earn All-Region honors, completing the 10-kilometer course in 31:21.4. Israel Barco (31:30.5) and Seppe van ‘t Westende (31:30.8) earned two of the final four spots on the All-Region podium, placing 22nd and 24th, respectively. Justin Moore navigated the course in 31:30.8, good for 33rd place. Robbie Schmidt turned in a time of 32:05.6, finishing 46th.

Host Missouri Southern captured its second consecutive regional title with a team score of 52 points, placing five runners in the top 20. Northwest Missouri State finished second, followed by Augustana in third. MSSU’s Gidieon Kimutai won the race for the second year in a row, turning in a time of 29:14.5.

After finishing fourth at the conference championships two weeks ago, the Tigers were the third-highest MIAA finisher Saturday. FHSU comfortably defeated Nebraska-Kearney, Pittsburg State, Central Missouri, Emporia State, Missouri Western, Washburn and Rogers State.

Complete FHSU Results
Place – Name – Time
19 – Reed Rome – 31:21.4
22 – Israel Barco – 31:30.5
24 – Seppe van ‘t Westende – 31:30.8
33 – Justin Moore – 31:50.5
46 – Robbie Schmidt – 32:05.6
49 – Peter Franklin – 32:15.8
65 – Kaleb Crum – 32:34.9

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team wrapped up its 2019 schedule with a 13th-place finish at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships Saturday (Nov. 9). Missouri Southern hosted 32 teams and 223 runners in the six-kilometer race at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. The Tigers accumulated 371 points on the day.

Brooke Navarro led the Tigers with a time of 22:38.11, good for 36th place. Abigail Stewart finished 42nd after crossing the line in 22:43.17. Tessa Durnell moved up seven spots from her regional finish a year ago, placing 81st with a time of 23:17.89. Averi Wilson turned in a time of 23:51.59 to finish in 104th place, while Emily Salmans rounded out the top five in 115th place (24:01.93).

Augustana won the regional with a team total of 41 points. U-Mary, winners of the last two Central Region titles, finished second. MIAA champion Pittsburg State placed third. Ida Narbuvoll of U-Mary won the race with a time of 20:08.11.

After placing sixth at the MIAA Championships, the Tigers were the fifth-best league program this week, defeating Missouri Western, Emporia State, Washburn, Northwest Missouri State, Rogers State and Newman.

Complete FHSU Results
Place – Name – Time
36 – Brooke Navarro – 22:38.2
42 – Abigail Stewart – 22:43.2
81 – Tessa Durnell – 23:17.9
104 – Averi Wilson – 23:51.6
115 – Emily Salmans – 24:02.0
141 – Carson Pierce – 24:35.7
158 – Mya Navarro – 24:59.7