TOPEKA, Kan. – Rogers State men's basketball (11-9, 7-7 MIAA) fell 78-67 to Washburn (9-9, 6-6 MIAA) on Thursday.

Joey Saracco led the way for the Hillcats with 14 points to go with eight rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. added 12 points points with four assists, three steals and a rebound. Chris Whitaker contributed nine points with two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

After RSU scored the opening bucket off a jumper from Gerren Jackson, the Ichabods responded with seven-straight points to take a 7-2 lead. The Hillcats answered back by tying things at 12-12 after a 10-5 run of their own. Unfortunately, Washburn counterpunched with an 8-0 run and then a 9-0 run to take a 31-17 advantage. RSU battled to cut the deficit back down to single digits at 31-22, but the Ichabods closed out the half on a 7-3 run to carry a 38-25 lead into the break.

The Hillcats went to work out of the locker room trimming the margin as they started the second half on another 10-5 run to bring the lead down to 43-35. They kept grinding and eventually pulled within two points at 53-51 with 9:39 left. From there, the two sides traded shots for the next few minutes until a 13-5 run down the stretch put Washburn back up by 10 points with just over a minute left. While RSU was able get within seven points at 74-67, four Ichabod made free throws in the final seconds put them on top 78-67.

The Hillcats will be back in action on Sunday, January 29 as they wrap up the short road trip with a stop in Emporia, Kan. to face off against Emporia State. Tip off is set for 3:30 p.m.