Box Score Fort Hays State fell to Washburn on Wednesday night (Feb. 19) by a score of 79-70 in Topeka at Lee Arena. Down by five at halftime, FHSU took a brief two-point lead in the second half but an 8-0 run by Washburn erased the lead and led the rest of the way. FHSU is now 20-5 overall and 11-5 in the MIAA, while Washburn moved to 16-8 overall and 9-8 in the MIAA.

Fort Hays State held an early 7-2 lead in the game before Washburn eventually chipped away to take its first lead at 11-9. A 6-0 run by Washburn pushed its lead to five at 30-25 and it led by that much at halftime, 36-31.

The Tigers eventually tied the game twice in the second half before taking a 50-48 lead on a Craig Nicholson jumper with 12:39 to go in the game. However, an 8-0 run swung the momentum back in Washburn's favor, seizing the lead for good. FHSU could never trim the margin closer than four points the rest of the way.

A 3-point field goal with 42 seconds remaining for Washburn was the dagger, extending its lead to seven, even with the Tigers playing solid defense on the possession.

Washburn was just too solid on offense, shooting 56.6 percent from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. Alex North led Washburn with 21 points, going 9-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.

Craig Nicholson led the Tigers with 16 points. He tied the single-season school record for free-throws made in a season, now with 169. Tomislav Gabric and James Fleming each added 13. Jake Stoppel led FHSU in rebounds with six and Dwayne Brunson led in assists with four.

Fort Hays State now preps for a three-game home stand to close out the regular season. FHSU hosts Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday (Feb. 22) at 4 pm.