The Coe men's basketball team squandered an opportunity to knock off the top-ranked NCAA Division III club in the country Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Kohawks, too many missed free throws and too many blown layups got in the way.

Washington University of St. Louis escaped Eby Fieldhouse with an 88-78 victory that left the Kohawks disappointed with the result but encouraged about the future.

"In order for us to beat a team like this today - the way they played - we needed to make more free throws and capitalize on those easy opportunities," said Coe Coach Bryan Martin. "It feels good to know we went toe-to-toe with them, yet we have areas for improvement.

"If we shore them up we can play with some high-level teams like these guys," he said.

Washington has one of the top D3 programs in the country, with national titles in 2008 and 2009 and a perfect 11-0 mark this year. They have talented players, shoot well and make few mistakes.

And unlike the Kohawks, the Bears drilled 25 of 27 free throws for the second-best percentage in school history at 92.6 percent. Coe went only 6-for-15 at the foul line for 40 percent.

The Kohawks actually shot better from from behind the 3-point line than they did at the foul line, hitting 14 of 32 triples for a healthy 43.8 percent. In the final analysis, all those missed foul shots and four missed layups came back to haunt them.

"You have to credit Washington," said Martin. "They're No. 1 for a reason. Not only are they talented, they just don't beat themselves. They do the things you have to do to win on the road.

"I thought we gave them a heck of a fight," he said. "I thought we got better (as a team). Our effort was great. Our execution was pretty good throughout. The difference in the game was the free throw line."

Washington bolted to a 41-28 lead in the first half with a 19-3 spurt, but the Kohawks scored 15 straight points after that for a 43-41 lead early in the second half.

The Bears moved ahead by 10 points, but the Kohawks drew within 75-70 on a 3-pointer by Matt Dauost and got within five points again at 81-76 on another triple by Daoust with 37 seconds left.

Washington hit two free throws to make it 83-76, but Jake Timm pulled Coe within 83-78 with 30 seconds remaining in the entertaining contest.

The rally ended there and the visitors made five straight foul shots to finish the scoring and the 10-point victory.

Matt Palucki led Washington with 23 points and 10 rebounds, including a 13-for-14 showing at the foul line. Mitch Styczynski shot 9-for-11 from the field and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bears. Luke Silverman-Lloyd scored 13 points, Nick Burt 12 and David Fatoki 12 as all five starters reached double figures for the Bears.

Fatoki, a talented point guard, had a double-double for Washington with his 12 points and 11 assists.

Daoust, JT Vonderhaar and Max Schmarzo led Coe (5-3) with 15 points apiece, with Schmarzo getting all his points on five 3-pointers. Timm finished with 14 points, nine assists and five rebounds at point guard.

"There's not much to frown upon as a coach," said Martin. "I think we got better, and it helps us get ready for league play. I think our guys feel good about that."

WASHINGTON (88): Burt 4 4-4 12, Palucki 4 13-14 23, Styczynski 9 1-1 19, Fatoki 5 2-3 12, Lloyd-Silverman 3 4-4 13, Kucera 0 0-0 0, Bregman 1 1-1 3, Hooks 0 0-0 0, Staffeil 3 0-0 6, Garvin 0 0-0 0, Highsmith 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 25-27 88.

COE (78): Daoust 6 0-2 15, JT Vonderhaar 6 1-2 15, Fahey 3 1-5 7, Timm 5 2-2 14, M. Vonderhaar 1 1-2 4, Pyritz 0 0-0 0, Meyer 3 0-0 7, Wadsworth 0 0-0 0, Vorba 0 0-0 0, Stix 0 1-2 1, Schmarzo 5 0-0 15, Delgado 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-15 78.

Halftime - Washington 41, Coe 37. 3-point goals - Washington 5 (Lloyd-Silverman 3, Palucki 2), Coe 14 (Schmarzo 5, Daoust 3, JT Vonderhaar 2, Timm 2, M. Vonderhaar 1, Meyer 1). Fouled out - Burt.