HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State dropped a contest at home for just the second time this season on Saturday (Feb. 3) as Washburn left Gross Memorial Coliseum with a 76-60 decision. The Ichabods remain in a tie for first place in the MIAA with Northwest Missouri State, now 17-5 overall and 11-2 in the MIAA, while the Tigers moved to 13-9 overall, 6-7 in the MIAA.
Washburn used runs of 11-0 and 9-0 in the first half to build a 16-point lead with 5:39 before halftime. The early large deficit proved too much for the Tigers to overcome in the end after they trimmed the lead down to five by halftime, 36-31, helped by a 10-0 run.
Washburn opened the second half on a 7-0 run to extend its lead back to double digits. FHSU forced the lead inside 10 only one more time with 16:14 to go on a
Marcus Cooper fast-break dunk. The Ichabods hit timely three-point shots several times to keep the Tigers at a distance. Washburn's largest lead of the game, 19 points, came at the 7:12 mark before the final margin settled at 16.
Brady Werth was the only Tiger to reach double figures in scoring with 16 points before fouling out late.
Hadley Gillum,
Aaron Nicholson, and Cooper all added seven.
Tyas Martin had a career-high 18 points for the Ichabods, going 4-of-4 beyond the 3-point line. Javion Blake added 16, David Salach had 13, and Brady Skeens finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Ichabods outrebounded the Tigers 34-27.
The free-throw line was the difference in the game, where Washburn shot 28 attempts compared to just 12 for FHSU. The Ichabods hit 23 attempts and the Tigers hit nine, causing a 14-point gap in points scored at the line. Washburn finished with two more 3-point field goals than FHSU to make up the other two points in the 16-point spread, otherwise the teams tied in total field goals made, each with 22.
The Tigers head on the road to Oklahoma next week for road games at Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma. The week following that, they will play the same two teams again in Hays. Despite sitting at 6-7 in the MIAA, the Tigers are still in a tie for sixth place in the standings. The first through ninth place teams in the conference all have winning records overall.
