Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Fort Hays State junior post Dwayne Brunson scored 35 points as the Fort Hays State Tigers overcame a slow start to beat Nebraska-Kearney, 82-70, Saturday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
 
The Tigers (17-6, 11-4) have now won seven straight, currently tops in the MIAA, to be tied for first place in the league standings with Central Missouri.
 
UNK (6-16, 3-11) came out red hot, shooting well over 70% from the field to grab a 29-19 lead by the 7:15 mark. This early stretch included nine points from sophomore wing Pierre Newton (Laveen, Ariz.) and two threes by junior point guard Taylor Shipley (Pacific Palisades, Calif.).
 
However, Hays used an 11-0 run to grab its first lead of the day. This spurt included five straight points by freshman point guard Craig Nicholson and four straight points by senior wing Lance Russell.
 
The Lopers briefly led 31-30 before the Tigers closed the half on a 9-6 run to lead by two at the break. Coming in a 6-7 and 220 lbs., Brunson had 18 of his points in the first 20 minutes.
 
In last Saturday's 94-68 win over the Lopers, Hays shot close to 69.7% (23-33) in the first half. This time around, they shot 69.6% (16 of 23) in the second half as Brunson and Russell combined for 29 points on 12 of 14 shooting.
 
The Tigers opened up a 58-45 advantage with 13:18 to play as Brunson scored 10 more points, two coming on a dunk.  The lead grew to 19 points before UNK rallied, getting a three from senior Jon Henderson (Salt Lake City, Utah) to make it 73-64 by the 2:47 mark.
 
But, Brunson scored the game's next seven points to cap his big day. The Queens, N.Y., native reached his career-high point total by going 14 of 16 from the field and 7 of 7 at the line. He also had seven rebounds (five offensive) and five blocks in  27 minutes of work.

Also, Russell finished with 18 points and five assists with Nicholson, saddled witg foul trouble, at 11 points and four dimes.
 
Making 34.5% (10 of 29) of its shots after the break, UNK got 19 points from Newton and 17 from Henderson. The pair combined to go 6 of 13 from behind the arc with Newton going 7 of 9 at the line.
 
Off the bench, Lincoln senior post Drew Sankey had nine points, five rebounds and two steals.
 
UNK is at 25th-ranked Washburn Thursday night.