A 26-year-old man Aiea man fell just short of the title at the 2011 National Scrabble Championship in Dallas yesterday.

Kenji Matsumoto came in second to Nigel Richards, 44, a New Zealand security analyst who lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was Richards’ third title

Matsumoto, who was competing in the contest for the eighth time since 2000, had a win-loss record of 22-9 in this week’s tournament.

The contest organizers said some of the winning words played this year included: “fice,” a small dog of mixed breed, “tuque,” a knitted woolen cap, and “ourie,” which means shivering with a cold.