EMPORIA, Kan. – Emporia State used an 18-4 second half run to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead and beat the Fort Hays State Tigers 69-66 Saturday afternoon and end a seven-game White Auditorium losing streak to the Tigers who drop their second straight. The Hornets (7-3, 2-0 MIAA) close out first semester play with their fourth straight win and their first win at home over the Tigers since 2011.
Fort Hays State (4-4, 0-2 MIAA) got off to a slow start, falling behind by 11 in the first six minutes of the game. They responded with a 20-9 run and tied the game at 24-24 on a Devin Davis basket with 7:57 to play in the first half and led by four at halftime.
A Jake Hutchings 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half pushed the lead to seven.
Two Nyjee Wright free throws pushed it back to seven at the 18:37 mark but the Hornets scored the next nine points to take a two-point lead with just under 15 minutes to play.
Calvin Herrington hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Tigers within two at 51-49 but a 15-6 ESU run pushed their lead to nine with just over four minutes to play.
Nyjee Wright scored on a layup then hit a three to close the gap to 68-66 with 46 seconds to play. A missed jumper by the Hornets gave the Tigers a chance to tie but
Devin Davis missed a shot near the rim with six seconds to play.
The Hornets hit one to two free throws with two seconds on the clock. Aaron Nicholson’s mid-court 3-pointer missed as time expired.
Wright led three Tigers in double-figures with 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Davis added 15 points and seven rebounds. Nicholson scored 11. Jared Vitztum added nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Jumah’Ri Turner led the Hornets with 18 points.