TOPEKA, Kan. – Griffon Men's Basketball (13–8, 5–5 MIAA) trimmed the deficit to six points late in the second half but was unable to complete the comeback against No. 1 Washburn (20–0, 10–0 MIAA) on Friday evening, falling 90–78 at Lee Arena.

Washburn used an explosive shooting stretch in the first half to take a 56–42 lead into halftime. The game was tied at 17–17 at the 12:31 mark before the Ichabods pulled away, building their largest lead of the half at 22 points, 54–32, with 2:44 remaining. Washburn shot an efficient 81.5 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from three in the opening half.

Washburn's shooting cooled early in the second half, allowing the Griffons to battle back and trim the deficit to 74–68 following a huge three-pointer from Ty Henry. At that point, the Griffons were outscoring the Ichabods 26–18 in the second half. The comeback ultimately came up short, as the Griffons fell to the nation's No. 1 team, 90–78.

Ty Henry and William Kiburis paced the Griffons with 19 points each. Henry scored his 19 on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 2-for-4 effort from three-point range, while adding two rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes. Kiburis matched him with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting and an 8-for-9 night at the free-throw line, pulling down seven rebounds with one assist and one steal in 32 minutes.

Noah King followed with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and a team-high three steals in 34 minutes.

Gavin Hershberger rounded out the scoring in double figures with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting, knocking down two triples and dishing out four assists in 29 minutes.

MoWest finished the game shooting 47.3 percent from the field (26-of-55), 35.3 percent from three-point range (6-of-17), and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line (20-of-24).

Washburn shot 63.2 percent from the field (36-of-57), 47.1 percent from three-point range (8-of-17), and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line (10-of-15).

What's Next
Men's Basketball closes its three-game road swing Saturday, January 31, with the Battle of Highway 71 at Northwest Missouri State, set for a 3:30 p.m. tip.
The game will be broadcast live on the Griffon Sports Network (Varsity Network App, GoGriffons.com/listen) and available to stream on the MIAA Network.