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Tiger men snap skid
1/15/2012
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
PITTSBURG -- Fort Hays State University senior guard Moses Dayee shot 40 percent from 3-point range last season for the Tigers. This year, Dayee couldn't play until Dec. 17 because he had only one semester left of eligibility.
In his first two contests, Dayee tallied 30 points, went 8-of-14 from 3-point range and paced the Tigers to two victories.
In the last three games, Dayee was 3-of-16 from beyond the arc and FHSU lost each contest.
After each defeat, Dayee's teammates said his shot would return. As well, coach Mark Johnson kept motivating Dayee and told the guard he would hit his first shot Saturday.
In addition, Dayee talked with his good friend Dominique Jones, the All-American point guard on FHSU's team last winter. Jones said Dayee's shots would fall, too.
Dayee found his touch in a 76-66 victory against Pittsburg State University at John Lance Arena.
Dayee tied his career-high with 19 points, and shot 7-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
"It's a personal victory," Dayee said. "It feels so good, only because my teammates encouraged me."
After the contest, Dayee and his teammates wore big smiles and celebrated in the locker room. The victory ended a three-game losing streak, longest for the program since 2007-08. Fort Hays, ranked No. 19 in NCAA Division II, moved to 11-4 overall, 5-4 MIAA. PSU dropped to 10-6, 6-4.
"I am really proud of our guys," Johnson said. "Fort Hays obviously numerous, numerous times has had bigger wins than we had today. Obviously, there has been national championships. We probably have had bigger wins in the last two years at times, but I don't know if we have really had a better one.
"This team needed a win," he added. "We have been struggling."
Dayee led a team that shot 57 percent from the field, including 8-of-18 (44 percent) on 3s. In the three losses, FHSU collectively shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
"We played really well, we played hard, we minimized our mistakes," Johnson said. "But also what decides that -- a big difference is, we made some shots."
Pittsburg State led 29-28 at halftime, but FHSU opened the second half hitting 14 of its first 20 shots. They led by 16 with 7:17 remaining.
"The games we have been losing, we have been taking bad shots," Dayee said. "Even when things are going bad, we have been taking quick shots and during our practice, Coach Johnson was telling us, let's slow it down, let's get the best shot, not the first shot. Even though you might be open early in the shot clock, let's move it around a little and get the defense moving."
Dayee was one of four Tigers in double figures. Junior Tyrone Phillips tallied 15, senior Karron McKenzie added 13 and junior Kendrick Morse tacked on 12. Senior Eric Ray led the Gorillas with 14 points. FHSU will play at Emporia State University on Wednesday.
"We really, really needed this win," Dayee said. "It was like all odds were against us."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |