Blackburn College senior guard Karson Hayes scored 34 points but it wasn't enough as the Beavers let a second half lead slip away in a 79-73 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference defeat at Westminster College on Wednesday night in Fulton, Missouri.
Hayes has now scored 1,185 points in his career as he passed Jim Eisenbarth, Jim McClure and Luka Djedovic to move into 16th place on the Blackburn all-time scoring list.
Blackburn led 38-33 at halftime and 71-70 with 3:03 to play before the Bluejays out-scored the Beavers 9-2 at the end of the game.
The Beavers shot just 7 of 13 at the foul line in a game that was back and forth throughout. Westminster had a small 40-37 rebounding advantage and committed 15 turnovers to Blackburn's 14.
Ethan Thompson and Landon Harrison scored 23 points apiece for the Bluejays to offset Hayes' big night.
The game held importance at the top of the SLIAC standings as both teams entered with 3-1 conference records at the top of the league. Blackburn is now 4-8 overall but more importantly 3-2 in league play as Westminster improves to 5-6 overall and 4-1 in the league.
Hayes nailed two free throws to give Blackburn a 71-70 lead before three missed shots and three turnovers accounted for their last six possessions in the contest.
Blackburn will look to get back in the win column on Saturday at home as the Beavers host MacMurray College at 3 p.m. on Saturday.