Rockhurst could not overcome Emporia State's free-throw shooting in the second half in falling to the Hornets, 74-68, Thursday in Emporia, Kansas.

Emporia State canned 16-of-20 free throws in the final 20 minutes, including hitting nine-of-10 in the final four minutes and 10 seconds. The Hornets shot 78.6 percent from the foul line (22 of 28) for the game.

"That's a tough one to swallow," said Rockhurst coach Drew Diener. "We allowed them to finish the game shooting free throws which is frustrating. Our turnovers were an issue again as many of them were unforced. We need to play better moving forward."

The Hawks turned the ball over 13 times and were called for four offensive fouls. Emporia State outrebounded the Hawks, 35-29, and scored 12 second-chance points.

Dominique Washington led the Hawks with 19 points and six rebounds. Washington connected on eight-of-13 field goals. Adam Fatkin scored 12 points on four-of-six shooting. Malachi Nix posted eight points and nine assists. Austin LeVan and John Burke combined for 19 points.

Rockhurst led 32-28 at halftime and scored the first five points of the second half to take a nine-point lead. The Hornets went on a 15-6 run to tie the score at 43 with 14:18 left.

The Hawks pulled to within two points of Emporia State twice in the final 1:17. Burke's 3-pointer with 1:17 left cut Emporia's lead to 68-66. A layup by Washington with 35 seconds left made it 70-68. The Hornets drained four free throws in the final 24 seconds.

Rockhurst shot 46.6 percent from the field (27 of 58) and connected on all 10 of its free throws. Emporia State made 23-of-56 field goals for 41.1 percent shooting. Kevin Allen paced the Hornets with 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Hawks, 5-4 overall, host Grand View on Saturday afternoon.