Men’s Basketball Holds on to Top Gorillas, 72-67

FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT

PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Fort Hays State men’s basketball team shook off a cold start to pick up its first MIAA victory of the year Saturday afternoon at Pittsburg State, 72-67. The Tigers are now 5-3 on the year and 1-1 in conference play, while the Gorillas fall to 1-8 overall and 0-2 in the league.

The Tigers poured in nearly 49 percent of their shots on the day (23-of-47), including a 7-of-11 effort from behind the arc. The rest of the stat book was fairly balanced, with neither team pulling away in any category.

The Gorillas came out of the gate on fire, jumping out to a 15-4 lead in just over four minutes behind 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-5 from downtown. The Tigers would match that run with a 13-2 run of their own, tying things up at 17 after Brady Werth sunk a free throw. The Fort Hays State lead grew as high as 12 after the Tigers finished up a 35-12 run over a span of 13 minutes, 25 seconds on a Lake Reed layup.

The teams traded blows in the second half, with the Gorillas slowly chipping away at the FHSU lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from the home team made it a one possession game with five minutes to play, but layups from Werth and Kyler Kinnamon on the next two FHSU trips down the floor inflated the lead back to seven. The Tigers made their free throws down the stretch to secure the victory, connecting on 8-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe in the last two minutes.

Kinnamon dropped in a game-high 14 points, sinking a personal-best seven free throws and finishing 3-of-4 from the field. Rob Davis added 13 points to keep his double-digit streak alive while Brady Werth scored a career-high 10 points. Reed grabbed a team-best six rebounds to go along with one steal and one assist.

The Tigers will return to Gross Memorial Coliseum for two more MIAA matchups next week, beginning with a Wednesday evening date with Washburn (Dec. 7). First tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

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