WASHBURN 78, NORTHEASTERN STATE 54
Welcome to Top Sports News
Smith faces off with former team, helps No. 3-ranked Ichabods rout RiverHawks, 78-54
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Washburn University men's basketball last faced Northeastern State on Feb. 15, 2025, Bryson Smith scored 10 points with 11 assists and three steals as the RiverHawks upset the Ichabods 88-84 in Tahlequah, Okla.
Senior Bryson Smith scored 11 points with five assists and four steals in Saturday's 78-54 Washburn win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Saturday in Lee Arena was deja vu, with one very big twist, as Smith, who transferred to Washburn over the offseason, helped the No. 3-ranked Ichabods post a 78-54 romp past Northeastern.
"I was looking forward to it for sure, playing against my old team and I know a lot of guys on the team,'' said Smith, a 6-foot-2 senior guard. "Coming in, I was just locked in this whole week.''
Smith scored 11 points with five assists and four steals as Washburn improved to 24-1 and 14-1 in the MIAA with its 27th consecutive home victory.
"I started off well in the game but I did some undisciplined stuff, probably just because I was amped up,'' Smith said. "I had a couple of early fouls that took me out of the game, but I was excited and I'm glad we got the dub.''
Washburn trailed just once in the game, at 3-0, and took control by halftime, leading by as many as 19 points on the way to a 41-27 advantage.
After the RiverHawks' early trey Washburn flipped the script with an 11-0 burst.
Washburn shot a blistering 63 percent in the opening half and scored 28 points in the paint over the first 20 minutes while forcing 16 Northeastern State turnovers.
The Ichabods pushed the margin to 20 early in the second half behind back-to-back baskets from senior Brady Christiansen and Smith and went on to lead of as many as 29 late in the game.
"I thought it was kind of a sloppy, ugly game,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "A lot of turnovers for both teams. I thought we did a great job of turning them over, especially early, and created some transition for us and allowed us to get out to a good lead.
"I did think we came out with the right intensity and purpose and kind of built that lead early, which is important.''
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led Washburn with 14 points and also grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots in Saturday's 78-54 win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led a balanced Washburn attack with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting while adding six rebounds and three blocks.
In addition to Smith, Christiansen also scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting and junior Jack Bachelor added 10 points, knocking down all four of his free throws.
Junior Jeremiah Jones anchored the glass with five rebounds to go with six points, five assists and two steals while sophomore Tyson Ruud scored 10 of Washburn's 26 bench points and added six boards.
Washburn finished the game shooting 55.6 percent (30 of 54) from the floor while scoring 48 points in the paint and turning 24 Northeastern State turnovers into 12 points.
The Ichabods also held a 38-28 rebounding edge and led for more than 39 minutes.
The Ichabods held the RiverHawks 38 points under their season scoring average of 82.9 points per game.
Washburn will go on its final road trip of the regular season with games at Central Oklahoma next Thursday and Rogers State next Saturday before wrapping up the last week of the regular season hosting Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern.
The Ichabods hold a three-game lead in the MIAA standings with four conference games to go.
Northeastern State 27 27 -- 54
Washburn 41 37 -- 78
Northeastern State (12-12, 5-10) -- Neilson 0-4 0-0 0, Weber 4-11 1-5 9, Reed Jr. 5-11 1-2 15, Washington 2-9 1-2 5, Tea 2-3 1-1 6, Ross 2-4 0-2 4, Derry 0-0 2-6 2, Vandergarde 5-5 1-1 13, Fuller 0-3 0-0 0, Hardage 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 7-19 54.
Washburn (24-1, 14-1) -- Christiansen 5-7 0-3 11, Claussen 5-6 4-7 14, Smith 5-8 1-3 11, Bachelor 3-9 4-4 10, Jones 2-3 0-0 6, Ruud 4-7 2-3 10, Ungashick 2-3 2-2 7, Wilkins 2-4 0-2 4, Cook 1-2 0-0 2, Saams-Hoy 0-3 0-0 0, Lewis 1-1 1-2 3, Cook 1-2 0-0 2, Ballard 0-1 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-54 14-26 78.
3-point shots -- Northeastern State 7-21 (Reed Jr. 4-7, Vandergarde 2-2, Tea 1-2, Weber 0-4, Fuller 0-3, Washington 0-2, Ross 0-1), Washburn 4-12 (Jones 2-2, Christiansen 1-1, Ungashick 1-2, Bachelor 0-5, Smith 0-1, Ballard 0-1). Rebounds -- Northeastern State 28 (Neilson 8), Washburn 38 (Claussen 6, Ruud 6). Assists -- Northeastern State 9 (Three with 2), Washburn 20 (Smith 5, Jones 5). Turnovers -- Northeastern State 24, Washburn 20. Total fouls -- Northeastern State 22, Washburn 21. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none. Attendance -- 2,400.
Tuesday HS roundup: Cair Paravel boys complete perfect 10-0 Flint Hills League run
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin boys basketball completed a wire to wire 10-0 run to the Flint Hills League regular-season championship on Tuesday night, posting a 61-41 home win over Council Grove.
The Lions also won the Flint Hills League midseason tournament.
Lucas Marichal led the way with 17 points as Cair Paravel wrapped up a perfect Flint Hills League record with Tuesday's 61-41 win over Council Grove. [File photo/TSN]
Now 17-2 overall with 14 straight victories, the Lions took control of Tuesday's game with a 25-9 first quarter.
Cair Paravel led 38-18 at the half and the two teams battled to a 23-23 scoring stalemate over the final two quarters.
Lucas Marichal led Cair Paravel with 17 points while Chase Hastert added 14 points with three 3-pointers and Blaine Durbin had 12 points.
The Lions will host Heritage Christian on Friday.
CPLS girls take 36-31 victory
London Backman led the way with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, as Cair Paravel's girls took a tight 36-31 Flint Hills League decision over Council Grove Tuesday on the Lions' home court.
Cair Paravel led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter and 16-11 at the half before going in front 27-20 through three quarters.
Council Grove held an 11-9 scoring edge over the final eight minutes but Cair Paravel was able to hold on for the win, improving to 9-10 on the season.
Karsyn Hastert added nine points and Avery Rosenow seven points for the Lions.
Rural boys drop 63-54 Centennial League tilt to Manhattan
Washburn Rural dropped its third straight single-digit game on Tuesday, with Manhattan taking a home 63-54 Centennial League decision over the Junior Blues.
Rural fell to 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the league while Manhattan improved to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the league.
The Junior Blues will be at home Friday to host Junction City in a Centennial League contest.
Manhattan tops Lady Blues, 67-45
Manhattan girls basketball rolled to a 67-45 home Centennial League win over Washburn Rural Tuesday night.
Washburn Rural fell to 11-6 overall and 2-3 in the league.
Scots roll to 26-point Meadowlark Conference win
Highland Park's boys posted their second straight win Tuesday night, taking a 48-22 Meadowlark Conference road decision over Kansas City-Schlagle.
The Scots, now 5-14, have outscored their past two foes by a 116-41 margin.
Highland Park's girls took a 2-0 forfeit win over Schlagle.
Cameron Miller scored 26 points Tuesday in Rossville's 75-43 win over Royal Valley. [File photo/TSN]
Bulldawg boys continue hot streak
Rossville boys basketball has now won six out of its last seven games after a 75-43 Big East League rout Tuesday night at Royal Valley.
The Bulldawgs, now 11-6 overall and 6-4 in the league, took control with a 45-23 first-half onslaught and used a 25-15 third quarter to force a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Senior Cameron Miller paced Rossville with 26 points while Jack Donovan added 21 points and Jakoby McDonnell 11.
Rossville will be at home Friday to host Abilene.
Senior Rylee Dick scored 24 points to pace Rossville to a 63-37 win over Royal Valley Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Dick, Burdiek power Rossville past Royal Valley
Senior Rylee Dick scored 24 points and junior Nora Burdiek 21 points as Rossville's girls took a 63-37 Big East League road win at Royal Valley.
Rossville has now won three straight games, improving to 9-8 on the season and 4-6 in the league.
The Bulldawgs will be at home Friday to host Abilene.
No. 3 Washburn men looking to bounce back from first loss in home tilt with No. 25 Lions
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With its 22-game winning streak now in the rearview mirror after last Saturday's 74-72 loss at Central Missouri, all of Washburn University's attention is on the future, beginning with the No. 3-ranked Ichabods 7:30 p.m. Thursday matchup with No. 25-ranked Arkansas-Fort Smith in Lee Arena.
Washburn junior Jeremiah Jones (22) leads the nation in steals entering Thursday night's home MIAA contest with Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN]
"Coach (Brett Ballard) didn't say we needed that (loss), but he said it was good for us as a team and takes the pressure off of us to where we can go out and play free now and not worry about losing and just play hard,'' Ichabod junior Jeremiah Jones said.
"I think that was needed. Obviously the MIAA is very hard and very physical and any team can beat you on any night, so now we just don't want to let one loss become two or let two become three. Coach has really been harping on that and we know that Fort Smith is going to be really tough.''
Ballard said that trying to go undefeated was never something that the Ichabods talked about and said his team just wants to keep improving with postseason rapidly approaching.
"I never really took two thoughts about a team going undefeated,'' Ballard said. "We play the seventh hardest schedule in the country and playing in this league I don't give any thought to that. You just try to win the next one's that in front of you for sure.
"Our focus is just getting better and just trying to go win the next one. The most positive thing for me is we've just had more edge in our practices the last couple of days. I think the guys are hungry to get back on track.''
Washburn is 22-1 and 12-1 in the MIAA while Arkansas-Fort Smith is 18-4 and 9-4 in the MIAA after topping Fort Hays State at home last Saturday, 87-77.
Thursday's game is the only regular-season meeting between the Ichabods and the Lions this season.
The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA at 88.0 points per game while defensively the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense in the conference, allowing 63.0 points a game.
The Lions are averaging 83.6 points and allowing 69.8 points, ranking fourth on both MIAA stat charts.
Washburn has already recorded its 32nd 20-win season in program history and sixth under Ballard in his ninth season on the Ichabod bench.
The Ichabods are second in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 25.0 and are ranked second in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent and second in rebound margin plus 10.9.
Jones leads the nation in total steals with 73 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.32 per contest. Jones now has 75 steals this season, seven off the Ichabod single-season record of 82 set by Will McNeill in 2012-13. Jones needs two steals to break the junior class record of 76 set in 2012.
Washburn sophomore Dillon Claussen is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent while junior Jack Bachelor ranks 22nd nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 2.61 to 1.
