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Senior Day for Tigers
2/28/2010
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Five years ago, Ryan Herrman joined the Fort Hays State University men's basketball team after an all-state career at Abilene High School. He redshirted the 2005-06 season, a year that produced a 27-4 record and two weeks as NCAA Division II's No. 1 team in the Tigers' last season as a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The next season, Scott City's Tim Peintner signed with FHSU. He and Herrman were role players in Fort Hays' first year in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association as the Tigers finished 13-15, Fort Hays' worst record since 1992-93.
In the last three years, though, Herrman and Peintner grew into starting roles and helped restore the Tigers among the nation's elite. This afternoon, the duo, with nine years of combined experience in the Fort Hays program, will play their final regular-season game at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Senior guards Willie Hassell and Orrin Greer, both first-year transfers, will also celebrate Senior Day.
"We had a lot of challenges the first year (in the MIAA) and a lot of players that we lost that first year, so it was a big struggle for us and Ryan and Tim have really been a big part of it," Tiger coach Mark Johnson said. "They never wavered. They always had confidence in our program and they knew we were going to have success."
The Tiger men, ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division II and third in the South Central Regional, at 21-5 overall, 15-4 MIAA, will play host to Emporia State University (13-13, 9-10) in a 4 p.m. tipoff.
Fort Hays is in line to reach its second NCAA tournament in three seasons and has been ranked since mid-December. Herrman and Peintner have seen their roles change this winter. Herrman started every game as a junior, while Peintner earned all-conference honors in 2008-09.
"I have hung in there. Been in the starting lineup, out of the starting lineup and I just kept with it," Herrman said. "Me and Tim we have been on this journey together the whole time and to kind of come out like this and have a great year like this, we wish it would be a little bit better, but it just means the world to us that we are going to end our career on such a high note."
Herrman, known for his defense and rebounding, has started 13 games and averaged 2.9 points and 4.6 rebounds this season.
Peintner, slowed by an ankle injury in the first part of conference that limited his minutes, has started 16 games and averages 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. For his career, Herrman has collected four points and four rebounds per game; Peintner has averaged 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds. Both have played more than 110 games.
"We feel like we have a lot of guys that can score," Johnson said. "They have had to sacrifice a lot. It's their senior year. That's the quality of kids those two guys are. There is not everybody that would accept that situation and that is what has allowed us to have the success this year. They are about winning and let's win and I can sacrifice minutes and I can sacrifice my own personal success for us as a group to be successful."
The Tigers have locked up second place in the conference, the highest finish in any sport for a Fort Hays team since the school switched to the MIAA.
Herrman and Peintner have been part of the Tigers' solid eight-man rotation this year. All eight play at least 18 minutes a contest and eight different players have led the team in scoring. Peintner and Herrman have paced FHSU in rebounding in 11 games.
"That's a lot of leadership," said junior guard Dominique Jones, the Tigers' second-leading scorer at 13.4 points per game. "Tim being here four years and Herm being here five years, with all their experience, they helped us out a lot on the court and off the court just being leaders. Everybody lacks a good leader. That's what hurts a lot of teams, but on this team, we have good seniors that help us out a lot."
Off the court, Herrman and Peintner are the only two married players on the Tigers. Both got married this summer and have plans after college. Peintner, who married Terra Fraser, a former Tiger softball player, is a pre-physical therapy major. Herrman has an accounting job lined up in Salina after school.
"Kind of been a running joke within the team," Herrman said. "We are the old guys being married. We are sitting there talking about insurance and stuff like that. They always give us heck for that, but it's fun. I enjoy it and I am sure he does to. After basketball, we will be ready to start our lives."
First though, Herrman and Peintner want to win today and enjoy a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
"Me and Tim both want to end our careers on a winning note," Herrman said. "Leaving Fort Hays on a winning note is going to be big for us."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| TS | 04/06 | Emporia State | L 8-1 |
| SB | 03/30 | Panhandle State | W 10-2 (5 inn.) |
| SB | 03/30 | Panhandle State | W 13-3 (5 inn.) |
| BB | 03/30 | Washburn | W 3-1 |
| BB | 03/30 | Washburn | W 3-1 |
| TS | 03/23 | Kansas Wesleyan | L 6-3 |
| BB | 03/23 | Metro State | W 20-8 |
| BB | 03/23 | Metro State | W 6-5 |
| SB | 03/19 | Nebraska-Omaha | L 4-2 |
| SB | 03/19 | Truman State | W 4-1 |
| SB | 03/18 | Mo. Western | L 6-2 |
| BB | 03/17 | Missouri S&T | W 2-1 (10) |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 6-1 |
| SB | 03/17 | Bethany | W 8-1 |
| BB | 03/16 | Misosuri S&T | L 13-4 |
| MB | 03/14 | Central Missouri | L 80-73 |
| BB | 3/13 | NW Missouri | W 13-10 |
| BB | 03/13 | NW Missouri | W 4-3 |
| MB | 03/13 | Central Oklahoma | W 80-64 |
| SB | 03/08 | Fort Lewis | W 5-4 |