By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- On Feb. 13, the Fort Hays State University men's basketball team tried to guard University of Central Missouri All-American senior forward Sanijay Watts with two big men. Watts, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and South Central Region MVP, delivered 30 points and 17 rebounds as Central Missouri defeated Fort Hays, 79-63.

"It was almost like we got there too late and he had already scored," Tiger coach Mark Johnson said.

A month later, the Tigers changed defensive tactics versus the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Watts. They had a forward play behind Watts and doubled down with a guard, forcing him to kick the ball out.

In the first half in Sunday's South Central Regional semifinals, FHSU held Watts to seven points. However, Central Missouri hit 10 3-pointers and built a 46-34 halftime lead. Fort Hays cut the lead to six late, but lost 80-73 in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

"We just did not want Sanjay Watts to beat us," senior forward Ryan Herrman said. "That was our game plan from the beginning. Our guards were flying around. Their guards just hit shots. Shots that on most days, they don't make. They did a good job, they stepped up and hit them."

Central Missouri, which shoots 39 percent on 3-pointers, finished 12-of-24 for 50 percent from beyond the arc. That was one off the Mules' season-high. Senior All-American point guard Alex Moosmann, the conference's leader in 3-point percentage, hit four 3s for a game-high 22 points, while junior Ryan Harris made five treys for 17 points, six more than his average.

Central Missouri's long-range shooting trumped Fort Hays' big edge in rebounding (47-31) and was the backdrop for an aggressive game that featured 44 fouls, including two technicals and an ejection for Johnson.

"I think they played with a tremendous amount of intensity," Central Missouri coach Kim Anderson said of Fort Hays. "If we hadn't shot the ball well, I wouldn't be saying maybe we deserved to win. I would say they deserved to win because they got every 50-50 ball."

Fort Hays was whistled for 27 fouls, 10 more than Central Missouri (27-3), and the most the Tigers have been called for in a game this season. They had three players foul out, Herrman, senior forward Tim Peintner and senior guard Orrin Greer.

With 2:50 left in the game, Johnson came out to midcourt to argue a call made under Central Missouri's basket. Johnson received two technical fouls and was ejected.

"One, I don't want to take anything from Central Missouri," Johnson said. "They deserved to win the game. They were the better team. They won the game.

"At the same time, I've just finished my ninth year and I can count as many technicals as I have on my fingers and I have never been ejected, so that was my opinion of what was going on," he added.

The loss completed one of the most successful seasons in Johnson's tenure. Fort Hays finished 23-7, tied for the second-most wins in his nine years. The Tigers picked up an NCAA tournament victory, joining the 27-4 squad in 2005-06 as the lone teams under Johnson to win an NCAA tournament contest.

Fort Hays scored the first seven points Sunday and held Watts without a field goal until 12:15 remained in the first half. However, by then, Central Missouri, which was 12-of-35 (34.2 percent) from 3-point range in two games against the Tigers this season, had hit six 3s and built a 20-12 lead.

Anderson called the start the "key to the game." Central Missouri worked the ball inside to Watts, who averages 21 points and nine rebounds. Watts (who finished with 21 points) was double-teamed, but passed out and found shooters.

"When you get to this stage of the game, everybody is pretty good and it really comes down to who is going to shoot the ball well," Johnson said. "I thought Central Missouri shot the ball well. I felt like we had to take it out of Sanijay's hands; he is a great player."

Fort Hays' guards often got back and guarded the 3s, but the Mules still hit shots.

"We made extra passes because when Sanijay got doubled, he would kick it out and then they would have to scramble a little bit," Moosmann said. "I think we just did a good job of being unselfish and finding the open man."

Fort Hays, which struggled from long range in the final six weeks of the season, shot 38 percent in the first half, including 2-of-11 on 3-pointers. Overall, Fort Hays finished 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.

Junior Corbin Kuntzsch didn't score in the first half and finished with a season-low two points, including 0-of-3 from long range. Junior guard Dominique Jones, the Tigers' leading scorer and a first team all-MIAA player, was held to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.

'I felt like at times, we were getting the same looks they were getting," Johnson said. "We were getting some open 3s and we didn't make them. Sometimes it's not as complicated as you all make it out to be. Give their guys credit. I thought they stepped up in the moment and they made the shots they needed to to win the game. We struggled."

Central Missouri pushed the lead to 17 early in the second half and led by 16 with 12 minutes left. Peintner, who had 12 points, fouled out with 10:24 remaining. Fort Hays, though, went on a 14-2 run and cut the lead to 65-60 with five minutes left. Hassell (team-high 17 points) keyed the run with two 3s and a mid-range jumper.

With less than three minutes left, Watts received the ball on the low block and banged with Smith. Watts missed the shot, grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled by Kuntzsch. Johnson came out onto the floor to argue the call and quickly received two technicals. Central Missouri shot six free throws and made five, pushing the lead to 12.

"I think that was definitely a turning point, gave us the opportunity to make a lot of free throws and get the game back to where we wanted it to be," Moosmann said.

Led by Hassell, Fort Hays cut the lead back to six, but couldn't get any closer.

"I really felt like if we could shoot it well, we had an opportunity to win. if they shot it well, it was going to be hard for us to beat them," Johnson said.