Fort Hays State fell on the road at Washburn on Saturday evening (Jan. 31) by a score of 69-58. The loss puts the Tigers at 13-8 overall and 6-6 in the MIAA, while the Ichabods pulled into a three-way tie for seventh in the MIAA with FHSU and Central Oklahoma, now 11-12 overall and 6-6 in the MIAA.
The Tigers struggled from beyond the 3-point line all night, where they hit just 3-of-17 attempts (17.6 percent). FHSU shot just 38.8 percent from the field, while Washburn shot 40.8 percent from the field, including a 45 percent effort beyond the arc (9-of-20).
Washburn never trailed from start to finish. FHSU tied the game 11-11 on a
Royce Williams 3-pointer in the first half, but Washburn went on a 14-3 run from that point to build an 11-point lead. FHSU scored the final four points of the opening half to cut the Washburn lead to eight at halftime, 32-24. FHSU shot just 31.8 percent in the first half.
The shooting percentage improved in the second half and the Tigers were able to trim the Washburn lead to three points, 33-30, with a 6-1 run to open the half. The Tigers pulled within three two more times, but each time the Ichabods answered with 3-point field goals to push the lead back to six. With around eight minutes to go in the game, Washburn hit consecutive 3-point field goals to push its lead to 15, just too much for FHSU to overcome.
A 10-0 burst by the Tigers from the 5:56 mark to the 3:06 mark cut the Ichabod lead back to four points, but the Ichabods scored the next four points and extended the lead back to eight. The Tigers could not get closer than six the rest of the way.
Achoki Moikobu led the Tigers with 13 points, getting a good chunk at the charity striple where he was 6-of-8.
Royce Williams and
Jeremy Wilson reached double figures with 12 each.
Dom Samac led the Tigers in rebounds with six as the teams tied in rebounds (32-32).
James Fleming had a team-best three assists.
Kyle Wiggins led the way for Washburn with 20 points, going 3-of-5 beyond the 3-point line. Christian Ulsaker added 16 points, going 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free-throw line.
The Tigers return home for a pair of games next week. FHSU hosts a pair of long-time rivals - Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday night at 7:30 pm and Emporia State on Saturday at 2 pm.
