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Sims' performance helps Tigers to win No. 19 in MIAA first round
3/8/2008
By RICK DUNAWAY
Special to The Hays Daily News
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jake Sims had not hit a bucket the entire second half, but his 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining gave fifth-seeded Fort Hays State the cushion it needed to cling to a 68-59 victory over No. 4 Missouri Southern on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Tournament.
The Tigers (19-9) had seen their lead of 17 points dwindle to just a bucket with 1:39 left, as Missouri Southern's press gave them fits.
Rob Igbawua's free throw put the margin to three, but Fort Hays was far from safe.
Then, with the shot clock running down and a defender running at him, Sims drained the trey from about three feet behind the arc on the left wing to put the Tigers up 64-58.
"I wouldn't necessarily say that was the game, but if there was a momentum swing, it put it in our favor and then we just had to make free throws to close out the game," said Sims, who finished with 14 points.
Sims hit 4 of 6 treys and 5 of 9 field goals overall, while guard Terry Jeffries led the Tigers with 17 points, sharing game honors with Southern guard Octavius Hawkins.
Corbin Kuntzsch chipped in 11 for Fort Hays.
Sims had hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes, staking the Tigers to a 37-23 lead at intermission. He also led the Tigers in rebounding as they opened a lead of as many as 17 points.
It was Sims' 3-pointer from the left wing that put the Tigers up 35-18 with 3:11 left in the half and forced Southern to step up its backcourt pressure.
And that's when the Tigers ran into trouble. The Lions (17-11) converted a short spate of turnovers into some easy points until the Tigers were able to adjust.
"We knew it was coming," Sims said. "When we got the lead we knew it was going to come. It was just matter of us taking care of the ball. We didn't really do that at the start of the half, but toward the end we took care of it a little better."
Overall, the Tigers withstood the storm of pressure well. They committed only 14 turnovers, although nine came in the second half.
"We didn't come out with that reckless abandon we need," Southern coach Robert Corn said. "We were very lethargic, very mechanical in the first half."
Fort Hays coach Mark Johnson said he didn't think before the game that 7-for-20 shooting from beyond the arc would have been enough to win. However, he was happy to see Sims' production, which led to the hot start.
"Jake really gave us a boost. He's the one that really knocked it down for us," Johnson said. And if we come out of the blocks and have success the first 10 minutes of the game, usually we're going to be there the rest of the game."
The victory set up a meeting Saturday with Emporia State in the tournament semifinals. The eighth-seeded Hornets stunned top-ranked Southwest Baptist 83-79 earlier in the day. It was only second time in tournament history a No. 8 seed had knocked off the No. 1 seed, the last time coming in 1996 when Pittsburg State upset Northwest Missouri State.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
