HAYS, Kan. – MSU Denver turned in a strong effort but came up just short Sunday in a 68-66 loss to Fort Hays State (Kan.) in a non-conference men's basketball game.
The Roadrunners held the halftime lead, then fell behind by as many as 10 points with 8:06 left in the second half before rallying.
Caleb McGill's 3-pointer with 54 seconds left got the Roadrunners within 64-63, but Fort Hays State answered with a basket with 28 seconds to go to make it 66-63.
Tyrei Randall's 3-pointer on the next possession was no good, but McGill dunked after Jaden Kennis' offensive rebound, making it a one-point game again with seven seconds left.
MSU Denver fouled and Fort Hays State made two free throws for a 68-65 lead with five seconds left, and the Tigers then fouled two seconds later.
Brayden Maldonado made the first free throw before missing the second intentionally, and both Randall and McGill had shots in the closing seconds that didn't fall.
"If we can continue to compete and fight that way and never give in, we've got a chance to compete with anybody," MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke said. "Fort Hays State came out of halftime and made a good run, which a good team should do at home, and we weathered that and had a chance to win at the end. That's all you can ask for on the road."
McGill led MSU Denver with 22 points – all of which came in the final 26 minutes of the game.
"The last 10 minutes of the first half and all through the second half, he was physical and aggressive," Ficke said. "Caleb is starting to realize how good he can be after two years of not getting much of a chance to play (at Division I UC Davis). He's really finding his rhythm."
Redshirt freshman guard Kennis scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and veteran wing Randall scored nine of his 11 in the first 10 minutes of the game to keep MSU Denver close early.
Fort Hays State, picked to finish third in the rugged Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association after going 23-6 last season, pulled down 16 offensive rebounds and forced 19 turnovers to give itself 13 more field goal attempts than the Roadrunners.
"If we can clean up the defensive rebounds and turnovers – they scored 28 points off our turnovers – we probably win, potentially by double-digits," Ficke said. "They're a hard-nosed, physical, man-to-man defensive team that gets its hands on you without fouling. We're a young team, but we're growing up fast."
Fort Hays State improved to 3-1.
MSU Denver (2-2) plays its first home games of the season Friday at 4 p.m. against Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Saturday at 4 p.m. against Cal Poly Humboldt.
