It was clear from the get-go that the FAC battle would be won on defense. The first points of the game did not come until almost halfway through the first quarter.

About the defense, Washington senior Garrett Rickman said, “we just worked on it all week and it won us the game.”

At the end of the first quarter, the score was only 12-5 in favor of the Blue Lions.

The second quarter played out more of the same way, with a score at the half of 24-13 Washington.

The third quarter was a different story. With 3:46 left, the Blue Lions still had a comfortable lead of 28-16, but the Panthers went on a strong run to enter the fourth quarter only down by a score of 32-29.

Isaiah Haithcock of Washington said, “It’s always a big game because it’s a rivalry, no matter how good we are, no matter how good they are.”

The final quarter was another low scoring one. With 4:12 left, Washington had the lead at only 34-29. With 1:42 left, the score was 38-29. Miami Trace began to mount a comeback, but time ran out with a final score of 43-37.

It was a cold night from the field for the Panthers, shooting only 21% from the field, including just 3/27 from the three-point arc.

Washington rises to (7-1/12-2), while Miami trace falls to (8-1/13-6). With Washington still having two FAC games left to play against the Panthers’ one, they have a chance to at least share the FAC title if they can manage to win out in conference play.

If they can win a piece of the title, it would be a back-to-back achievement for the Blue Lions program.