Box Score (HAYS, Kan.) – The Central Missouri Mules dropped their second straight game, a 67-66 last second loss at Fort Hays State on Saturday afternoon. The Mules held a late lead, but the Tigers got a tip-in with just over two seconds to play to steal the win.
            The Mules (16-6, 12-5 MIAA) opened a quick 4-0 lead on a pair of buckets from Alex Dean. After the Tigers (16-6, 10-6 MIAA) got on the board the Mules scored five quick points on a dunk from Dominique Long and a three-pointer from Lance Beckwith to go up 9-2.
             The Mules were able to extend the lead to nine on a couple of occasions before a three by DJ Slifer, one of his three in the half, gave UCM a 24-14 lead at the 8:25 mark. A 7-3 spurt by the Tigers brought it back to 27-21, but five straight points by the Mules gave them their biggest lead of the half at 32-21.
            The teams traded buckets on the ensuing possessions with Long's second thunderous dunk of the half putting the Mules back in front by 11 at 34-23. Fort Hays State closed the half on a short 6-2 run and cut UCM's lead to 36-29 at halftime.
            The Tigers opened the second half on a 12-2 run as they grabbed their first lead of the game 41-38, but the Mules responded with four quick points to regain the lead 42-41 with just under 14 minutes to play in the game. The teams traded buckets with Widgett Washington's traditional three-point play giving UCM a 45-43 lead with 12:37 left,  but an 11-2 run by the Tigers gave FHSU a 54-47 lead with 8:50 remaining.
            The Mules used a 10-3 run of their own to tie the game with 4:16 to play. After the Tigers went back in front by two, Long nailed a three from the top of the key to give UCM a 60-59 lead with 3:26 on the clock. Beckwith's layup on the next possession gave the Mules a 62-59 advantage, but the Tigers came right back with a bucket of their own to cut the lead back to one with 2:11 to play in regulation.
            On the Mules' next possession they got three offensive rebounds in a row before Boo Hunter was fouled and made two free throws to give UCM a 64-61 lead with 59.6 seconds to play. Fort Hays State got a bucket from Omar McDade on the next trip to cut the lead back to one with 38 ticks left. Hunter went back to the free throw line on UCM's next trip down the court and made both to push the lead back to three with 22.7 remaining.
            Moses Dayee made a driving layup with 13.7 on the clock to trim Central Missouri's lead back to one and the Mules turned the ball over on the inbounds play when the Tigers forced a jump ball. FHSU missed two shots on their final possession, but got a tip-in on the second miss from Karron McKenzie to grab the 67-66 win. The Mules had one last shot, but Hunter's long three at the buzzer was off the mark.
            The loss is Central's second straight and drops the Mules into third place in the MIAA standings.
            Long led UCM with 14 points, while Dean had 10. Beckwith had nine points and five assists, while Hunter had eight points and eight rebounds. The Mules shot 41 percent from the field, 29-of-49, and 5-of-15 for 33 percent from three point range. UCM was 21-of-25 from the foul line for 84 percent.
            Matt Simmons led four Tigers in double figures with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kendrick Morse had 13 points as well. FHSU was 22-of-53 from the floor for 42 percent and 4-of-18 from beyond the arc for 22 percent. The Tigers made 19-of-22 from the charity stripe for 86 percent.
            UCM out-rebounded FHSU 33-28, but the Mules committed 17 turnovers to just 11 for the Tigers.
            The Mules look to snap their two-game skid as they step out of MIAA play to host future conference foe Central Oklahoma on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the UCM Multipurpose Building.