Tech Comes Up Short Against Cloud County

FHNW men's basketball fell to the Cloud County Community College Thunderbirds on Saturday, 86-87, capping off their remaining home game of the semester. 
 
The Thunderbirds got out to a quick start against the Tigers, going on a 7-0 scoring run in the first two minutes before FHNW was able to get their offense going. After some back-and-forth Cloud would extend their lead out to 10 points. As Tech scored a bucket to cut into the lead, Cloud would answer back, often with their excellent outside shooting. The Tigers eventually cut into the Thunderbirds' lead, with the half ending with Cloud ahead, 49-45.

The second half would start with slower scoring, as both teams locked down on defense. Tech would eventually cut the lead down as John Troolin would tie the game, 56-56, hitting his first three-pointer near the 13-minute mark. Tech would eventually take the lead briefly as the game became a boat race to the finish. The theme of tough defense would continue throughout the rest of the game as most of the scoring by both teams was hard earned. The Tigers would only be able to extend their lead out to four points before Cloud pulled them back in again, tying the game, 66-66. Cloud would turn the tables again on the Tigers, working on a lead of their own, with a scoring run of 10-2 with the score at 70-79 at the four-minute mark. FHNW would quickly get back to work on offense, with Troolin drilling a three-pointer and-one. With the Thunderbirds still maintaining a narrow lead, 84-81, going into the last minute, Tech would call a full timeout. Chase Harris would execute a quick jump shot to put the score at 83-84 before Cloud called a full timeout of their own. After the timeout, Cloud County would miss a three-point shot. With Tech letting the clock tick down, Idris Williams would make a clutch layup, and-one to put the Tigers ahead, 86-84 with 17 seconds left. Then with time running out Cloud would move the ball down the court and hit an even more clutch three-point shot to end the game with less than a second to go.

The game was an overall exciting matchup with the Tigers unfortunately coming up just short. One factor that contributed to Tech's loss was Cloud's outstanding three-point shooting, especially in the first half, shooting 58.3 percent. One notable positive stat line from the game shows that the Tigers won the turnover battle, with Cloud having six more turnovers while Tech also scored 26 points off of turnovers. FHNW had a total of five players in double figures.
 

Fort Hays Tech Northwest will return to competition on Wednesday, December 4th, to take on the Cowley County Community College Tigers, at Arkansas City.