Ninth-Ranked Tigers Hold Off Bulldog Upset Bid

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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The Truman men's basketball team had ninth-ranked Fort Hays (Kan.) State on the ropes Monday afternoon, but the visiting FHSU Tigers managed to hold off the Bulldog upset bid and hand Truman a 63-58 loss to open the calendar year.

The Bulldogs (4-9, 2-4 MIAA) crept to within one on back-to-back possessions in the second half, as senior Vesko Filchev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria, GPCHE) and freshman Seth Jackson (St. Louis, Mo., CBC) hit buckets to help close the deficit to 45-44 with 6:48 to play in the ballgame. Truman's defense held firm, holding the Tigers (10-1, 4-1 MIAA) to just two points for more than six minutes, but Fort Hays ratcheted up its defense as well – never letting the Bulldogs take the lead before the nation's 9^th-ranked squad got triples on two straight trips to push the lead back to seven with 3:09 to play.

An old-fashioned three-point play for Jackson got the FHSU lead down to just four at 51-47, but that was the closest the purple and white would get the rest of the way as Hays held on for a five-point win.

Jackson led all players with 23 points – an MIAA-high for the freshman – behind 6-of-19 shooting from the field and an 11-for-14 effort from the free throw line. He also added a team-high nine rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Junior EJ Hicks (Davenport, Iowa, Davenport Central) added 16 points and six boards, while junior Tom Norton (Bloomington, Ill., Bloomington Catholic) scored seven points off a pair of triples and a free throw off the bench.

Both teams showed signs of a two-week layoff, as FHSU shot 39% for the game and 28% from long-range, while Truman went 31% overall and 18% from distance. Four Bulldog starters put in more than 30 minutes of game time, led by 35 from Hicks and 34 each for Norton and Jackson.

Four Tigers finished in double-figures, led by 14 each by Kendrick Morse and Tyrone Phillips.

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