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Tigers miss burly forward
3/16/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
STEPHENVILLE, Texas -- The Fort Hays State University men's basketball team missed its biggest player against University of Central Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA South Central Region on Saturday afternoon.
Junior forward Shawn Emerick, the squad's tallest and heaviest player at 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, hurt his ankle with 10:38 left in the first half.
Emerick left the game with three rebounds, tied for the team-high at that point with Tiger sophomore Tim Peintner.
Emerick's size might have helped in the final 30 minutes against Central Oklahoma's big front line, including Sam Belt, Michael Sosanya and Terry Tucker; they outweighed the Tigers' main inside players by 15-40 pounds.
The Tigers eventually lost 65-64 and finished the season 19-11.
Emerick landed awkwardly underneath the Tiger basket and immediately grabbed his ankle. He was helped up by Fort Hays officials and eventually, with help, could walk off.
After intermission, Emerick walked slowly out of the locker room under his own power. He didn't return to the game.
"He twisted his ankle pretty good," Tiger coach Mark Johnson said. "He wanted to come back, but I think the way he was moving, he wouldn't have been very effective.
"Not to make any excuse at all, but he is one of our bigger bodies. He would have been able to help us down low," he added.
Sims finishes career
Senior guard Jake Sims, a Div. I transfer from Gardner-Webb, completed his one season with the Tigers and ended his collegiate career. He was the only senior on the Tiger roster.
"We are only losing one guy, but that one guy is a very important part of our team," Johnson said.
A strong shooter and a cerebral player, Sims was called the team's "glue" by Johnson and had respect from his teammates.
"I am so fortunate that I got to coach him," Johnson said. "You don't get to coach a lot of guys like Jake Sims. It has been a great experience."
Sims, in foul trouble for most of the game, still finished with seven points, four rebounds and three assists, numbers that were close or above his season averages. He also helped guard UCO's Sam Belt for most of the game.
Sims, who gave up 15 pounds on Belt, held the Bronchos' top scorer, four-time all-Lone Star Conference and MVP of the LSC conference tournament, to 14 points, nearly six below his season average.
"(Belt) is a tough matchup and is one of the better offensive players we have played all year," Johnson said. "He is a load and I thought Jake and (freshman guard) Corbin (Kuntzsch) did a tremendous job."
The only player to start all 30 games, Sims fouled out for the first time this year when he picked up his fifth foul in the final seconds. Still, the finish didn't tarnish a superb year.
"It is probably the best senior season I could ask for," Sims said.
Defense helps
UCO entered Saturday averaging nearly 84 points per game, one of the best marks in the country. Fort Hays, which plays at a slower pace than the Bronchos, wanted to hold UCO under 70 to have a chance.
UCO tallied just 65 points, its lowest total all season, and made just one 3-pointer. Entering Saturday, the Bronchos had made 10 3-pointers in 11 games and averaged over nine per contest.
"We don't have that ability to put that many points on the board, so we had to hold them to the 60s," Johnson said. "That was our plan and I thought our guys did a tremendous job with that. ... Our effort was extremely good."
Layups
Evans capped a strong season with 22 points and six 3-pointers. After a slow start, Evans finished with 84 treys, one off 10th place in the Tiger single-season record book. In 10th place is Rodney Malloy, who hit 85 treys in 1999-2000. Evans had just three single figure scoring games after Jan. 9 and hit 20 points or more five times. ... Terry Jeffries set a team season-high with six steals on Saturday. He also finished with five assists.
Sports reporter Conor Nicholl can be reached at (785) 628-1081 Ext. 127, or at cnicholl@dailynews.net.
| 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 |
