Box Score

Hays, Kan. - SBU forward Finn Delany hit a last second layup to propel the men's basketball team to a 72-70 victory on Monday evening over Fort Hays. With the win, Southwest Baptist improves to 7-7 (2-3 MIAA) on the season.

The Bearcats opened the game up with five straight points off of a layup from Finn Delany and a three from David Gabrovsek, and held an 8-3 lead six minutes into the contest. The Bearcats continued to hold a small margin, and another three from Gabrovsek gave SBU a 19-14 with 6:55 left in the first half. Over the next two minutes, FHSU used a 10-0 run to take a 24-19 lead with 4:23 left in the half. The Bearcats would go into the break trailing 34-27.

In the second half, the Tigers pushed their lead to a game high 10 at 44-34 with 16:14 left in the contest. The Bearcats continued to battle, using a 10-2 run to get right back into the game. A Robert Shaw three with 11:33 gave SBU their first lead of the second half at 49-48. A pair of free throws from Delany pushed the SBU lead to seven (65-58) with 5:06 to go, but Fort Hays quickly responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game up at 65-65. Over the final two and a half minutes of action, the Bearcats continually took a lead, and Fort Hays would respond to tie the game back up. After forcing a FHSU airball with 1.8 seconds left, Patrick Burke sent a halfcourt pass to Finn Delany who drove to the basket to lay in the game winning shot at the buzzer as SBU claimed a 72-70 victory.

David Gabrovsek led all SBU scorers with 16 points and a career high 7 rebounds while Finn Delany added 13 points and 4 rebounds. Patrick Burke had 8 points off of the bench, while Daymond Cowlah, Menas Stephens, and Robert Shaw all added 7 points a piece. As a team, SBU shot 42.6% from the field, 47.4% from beyond the arc, and 88.5% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats will be back in action on Thursday, January 8 when they host Northeastern State. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.