EMPORIA, Kan. – SWOSU Men's Basketball fell to Fort Hays State 70-66 on day one of the GAC/MIAA Challenge. The Bulldogs led early by as many as 13 points and took a lead into the halftime locker room but fell victim to a 14-0 Tiger run that stretched between halves which proved to be the difference maker.

A quick turnaround is in store for the Dawgs who will play game two tomorrow at 3:30 pm tomorrow against No. 20 Emporia State.

SWOSU got the start they wanted in the season opener. They led 18-5 out of the gate with 13:07 to play in the half after Jalen Johnson collected a steal and scored on the other end which forced an early FHSU timeout. The Dawgs were getting contributions from multiple spots on the offensive end and coming up with stops on defense.  

From there, the Tigers seemed to settle down and began to chip away at the deficit. By halftime, they had the margin back within three points after scoring the final two buckets before the break. SWOSU led 31-28 at intermission.

Fresh out of the locker room in the second half, FHSU used a 10-0 run to grab their first lead of the game and flip momentum. From that point on, they would lead the rest of the way – though not without timely shots from SWOSU to stay in it.

The Bulldogs kept the margin within single digits the entire second half but could not string together the runs needed to overtake the Tigers on the scoreboard.

Ben Smith led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-12 (75%) shooting which included a 3-for-5 mark from beyond the arc. Off the bench, Jalen Johnson gave a nice lift with 14 points in 21 minutes.

SWOSU shot 48% in the first half but dropped down to 41% in the second.  They finished 8-of-23 (35%) from three-point land and 8-of-13 (62%) at the free-throw line.

Fort Hays shot 45% for the game including a 50% mark in the second half. They were held to just 4-of-17 from deep but went 12-for-15 (80%) at the free-throw line.

A key stat was in rebounding, where SWOSU was outrebounded 38-28 and surrendered 22 second chance points to the Tigers. SWOSU got 11 off second chances.

Mark Berry led all Bulldogs with seven rebounds.