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get to the game? Don't worry, we've got ya covered.
No. 3 Tigers win thriller at GMC
1/28/2010
By RANDY GONZALES
rgonzales@dailynews.net
Game tied with 19.8 seconds left.
Tiger coach Mark Johnson thought about a timeout, but wanted to make sure he got the ball in the hands of junior point guard Dominique Jones.
Good decision.
Jones hit a 10-foot jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining to lift the third-ranked Fort Hays State University men's basketball team to an 82-80 victory over University of Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday night in front of 4,129 raucous fans at Gross Memorial Coliseum.
Fort Hays, also No. 1 in the first South Central Regional rankings, improved to 17-1 overall and 11-0 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
"As the season goes, we're going to get everybody's best effort," Johnson said.
Nebraska-Omaha (14-5 overall, 7-5 MIAA) gave the Tigers all they wanted -- and then some. After Fort Hays led by as many as 15 points in the first half, Nebraska-Omaha went on an 11-0 run to end the first half to trail 38-34 at the break.
Johnson said foul trouble hurt the Tigers in the first half as the lead dwindled. Junior forward Ken Bowman played three minutes in the first half and junior guard Corbin Kuntzsch was on the court for seven minutes.
"That was a big part of it," Johnson said.
The Tigers went on another spurt early in the second half. After UNO got within a point, Fort Hays went on a 13-0 run to lead 53-40 with 15:00 left in the game.
But the Mavericks responded with a 10-0 run to get within three points. Maverick junior guard Tyler Bullock, who finished with a game-high 32 points, scored eight points in the run.
"(Bullock) was phenomenal," Johnson said. "He's not really a jump shooter.
"Didn't really have an answer for him. He hit tough shot after tough shot," Johnson added.
A Kuntzsch 3-pointer put the Tigers up 56-52, but Bullock answered with a jumper and then a 3-pointer to keep the Mavericks close.
The game was tied at 58 when Fort Hays went on an 8-2 run, highlighted by a rim-rattling dunk by Bowman that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
UNO quieted the crowd by scoring the next eight points, including 3-pointers from junior guard Jeff Martin and Bullock.
"Seems like we've got to win games two or three times," Johnson said.
Tiger senior forward Tim Peintner responded with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Fort Hays a 69-68 lead with 5:46 remaining. Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way to a nail-biting finish.
Bullock swished a jumper with 3:57 left for a 73-71 UNO lead, but Tiger senior guard Willie Hassell hit a 3-pointer. Martin buried a trey from the right wing for UNO and junior forward Eugene Bain scored inside to give the Mavericks a 78-74 lead with 1:44 left.
Kuntzsch drove the baseline for a basket and foul for a conventional three-point play with 1:34 left. Hassell added a pair of free throws with 42 seconds remaining to give the Tigers a 79-78 lead.
Bullock missed a 3-pointer and senior forward Matt Newman missed a wide-open tip-in under the bucket before Peintner got the rebound and was fouled. Peintner made his first free throw for an 80-78 lead with 23 seconds left. Peintner missed the second, got his own rebound but was stripped in the lane. UNO got the turnover, and senior guard Andrew Bridger canned two at the line with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 80.
Johnson eschewed the timeout.
Instead, he had Jones take over.
"I just wanted it in Dominique's hands and make a good play," Johnson said.
Jones calmly dribbled the ball between his legs near halfcourt as the clock wound down. With seven seconds left, Jones made his move, driving into the lane for a pull-up jumper that found nothing but the bottom of the net with 2.1 seconds left.
"I just wanted to win the game," Jones said. "Happy coach had a lot of confidence in me."
Jones said he wasn't necessarily looking to score at the end.
"I was just reading the defense," he said.
UNO appeared to inbound the ball and Bullock tried a 3-pointer from halfcourt that just missed. Tiger students started to rush the court, but were herded back into the stands because UNO had called a timeout.
After the timeout, Kuntzsch intercepted a long inbounds pass to preserve the victory.
"I tell everybody we're going to get everybody's best shot," Jones said. "We've got to work on finishing games."
Hassell led the Tigers with 17 points. Bowman and Kuntzsch each scored 13, and Jones finished with 12. Peintner had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. For Nebraska-Omaha, after Bullock's 32, Martin scored 15, Bain added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Bridger scored 10.
In the end, the Tigers sent the fans home happy with their 13th straight victory.
"I think the crowd had a lot to do with us winning tonight," Johnson said.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |