By RANDY GONZALES

Hays Daily News

One former Scott City standout got the Tigers off to a fast start.

The other Scott City standout saved the Tigers at the end.

The Fort Hays State University men's basketball team survived an upset bid by NAIA Sterling College Tuesday night, escaping with a 62-60 win at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

"We got outplayed tonight," Tiger coach Mark Johnson said. "We were lucky enough to come out with a win."

Scott City sophomore guard Corbin Kuntzsch scored the Tigers' last six points. His basket with 4:12 left gave Fort Hays a 58-56 lead. After Sterling took a 60-58 lead, Kuntzsch hit a baseline jumper with 1:27 left to tie it.

Then, with the game knotted at 60, Kuntzsch got the rebound after senior point guard Terry Jeffries missed a runner in the lane. Kuntzsch was fouled after the rebound, and nailed two free throws with 29 seconds left for the game's final points. Kuntzsch was 2-of-8 from the floor until his final flurry.

"Corbin really struggled the whole game until the last five, six minutes," Johnson said.

Junior forward Tim Peintner, Kuntzsch's former prep teammate at Scott City, got the Tigers going early. Fort Hays (2-0) led 20-12 midway through the first half, with Peintner scoring 12 points. Peintner had a double-double by halftime, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He had as many rebounds in the first half as the entire Sterling team.

But Peintner picked up his third foul early in the second half, and soon after collected his fourth. He played all 20 minutes in the first half and 10 minutes in the second half.

"He did really well," Johnson said. "Foul trouble slowed him down."

The Tigers had trouble slowing down Sterling's 3-point shooters, especially guard Chad Friess, a junior from Great Bend. Friess swished five 3-pointers in the first half for 15 points, and Sterling was 8-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Johnson said the Tigers weren't expecting Sterling's motion offense, with cutters to the basket dishing off for open looks on the wings. Sterling finished the game with 17 assists on 20 baskets.

"What really hurt us was dribble penetration," Johnson said.

The Tigers did a better job on Friess in the second half, limiting him to six points.

But Sterling (3-0), which counted the game as an exhibition, had a chance to win it at the end.

After Kuntzsch's two free throws gave the Tigers a 62-60 lead, Sterling junior Jonathon Woods mised an 18-footer from the top of the key. Peintner got the rebound, giving the ball to Jeffries, who was fouled with eight seconds left.

Jeffries missed both free throws, and Warrior sophomore guard Zach Goodrich raced to the other end, putting up a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The shot missed, and Peintner got the rebound before the final horn.

"A team that takes us to the wire, we need that," Tiger senior guard Tyrone Evans said.

Evans had an off shooting night, scoring 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-7 from downtown. Jeffries was 3-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-6 from the line for nine points, with seven turnovers. Peintner finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Kuntzsch scored 13 to lead the Tigers.

Fort Hays shot 37 percent from the floor, while Sterling shot 48 percent, including 50 percent (10-of-20) from 3-point land.

Friess led Sterling with 21 points, and sophomore Cody Brazelton finished with 10.

"We knew if we didn't play well, we were going to have our hands full," Johnson said. "I thought Sterling played extremely well."

Fort Hays will play host to rival University of Nebraska-Kearney Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in GMC.

Game notes

Former Smith Center standout Jared Mocaby played 11 minutes off the bench for Sterling. He was 0-of-1 from the floor and 0-of-2 from the line. ... The officials stopped the game at the 15:04 mark of the second half for a video review. The referees initially credited Kuntzsch with a 3-pointer, but after looking at the tape changed it to a 2-point basket. ... The announced attendance was 2,024.