Washington trailed early, as F&M got off to a 7-0 start in the opening minutes of the contest. Then Stem hit two three-pointers on two straight possessions to cut the F&M lead to one. Washington would tie the game at 12-12, but F&M would go on another 7-0 run to take a 19-12 advantage. Washington would once again come back with a 9-1 run, capped off by a three-pointer from the corner by freshman guard Tim Kohlrus. Washington would lead at the break 35-30 after senior guard Dustin Abbate capped off the half with a three point-basket.
The Shoremen held the Diplomats off until F&M cut the WC lead down to 61-59 with 2:45 left, but Stem converted a three-point play with 2:35 to go to give Washington a 64-59 lead. Two Bryan Teschke free throws would teim the lead to 64-61, but Stem answered again, this time knocking down his fifth triple of the game with 1:45 remaining to give WC a 67-61 lead. Stem shut the door on the Diplomats by converting a driving lay-up on the next Washington possession as the Shoremen went on to the seven-point victory.
Stem scored 14 of his points in the first half and the other 10 in the final 2:45 of the game. He knocked down his five three-pointers in nine attempts. In addition to his 24 points, Stem also had a game-high three steals. Abbate added 13 points, while junior forward Joey Breslin came off the bench and added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Teschke finished with 20 points to lead the Diplomats, going 14-of-18 at the free throw line. Brandon Smith, who currently leads the Centennial Conference in scoring, was held to 12 points, but did collect a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Diplomats shot 38% from the field in the game to Washington's 41%. The Diplomats also out-rebounded Washington, 39-3. and forced 22 Washington turnovers to its 15. The Shoremen shot 72% from the charity stripe, while the Diplomats shot 64%. Washington also finished with 10 three-pointers in the game.
Prior to tonight, Washington's last win at F&M was a 77-71 victory in the Centennial Conference Semifinals on February 24, 1999. The Shoremen had lost six straight games at the Mayser Center coming into this evening's game.