By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Unversity men's basketball coach Brett Ballard isn't ready to say that his Ichabods have turned the corner.
But Saturday's 70-69 home MIAA win over Rogers State at Lee Arena, was certainly a step in that direction.
Surviving a last-secord shot by the Hillcats, the Ichabods won two straight games for the first time this season while climbing over the .500 mark overall (6-5) and in the MIAA (3-2).
"We're getting closer,'' Ballard said. "We've found a way to win some close games here recently, which is good, and we know we're going to be in more of these so hopefully we can learn from that experience.
"We're getting there. There's still some things that are just not quite right and I don't think we've played anywhere close to our ceiling yet. I'm glad we won, but we're still leaving a lot on the table.''
Jalen Lewis, putting up a shot against Rogers State, paced Washburn with 22 points in Saturday's 70-69 MIAA win over Rogers State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn led for 35 minutes, 11 seconds of the 40 minutes, but Saturday's win wasn't secure until Rogers State's last-gasp effort failed.
The Ichabods led 32-27 at the half, but the Hillcats (6-4, 1-4) rallied to lead by four points with 17 minutes left in the game.
Washburn answered Rogers State's run with one of its own, taking a 56-47 lead with 9:25 remaining, but Rogers State forced ties at 64 and 67 on 3-pointers from Devin Pullum (23 points, 4 of 4 on 3s).
Jeremy Harrell scored 20 points and came up with huge plays on both ends of the floor in Washburn's 70-69 MIAA win over Rogers State Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Jeremy Harrell hit what proved to be the game-winning shot with 1:32 remaining, a 3-pointer from the corner that put Washburn up 70-67.
After Rogers State scored to get within the final margin, Harrell came up with another big play, this time on the defensive end, when he drew a charge.
The Hillcats got one last opportunity to pull out the win when WU missed the front end of a one and one situation with 12 seconds remaining, but Rogers State couldn't convert as time ran out.
Junior Jalen Lewis led Washburn with 22 points, including three 3-pointers, while Harrell had 20 points with three 3s off the bench, and Tyler Geiman had nine points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"It's just staying poised and staying confident, just knowing that we needed to get this win,'' Lewis said about his big game. "I'm just doing what I've got to do to help my team.
"My teammates were putting me in the places that I needed to get shots and I just hit them.''
With the start of a winning streak finally under their belts, Lewis is hoping the back to back wins are the start of something much bigger.
"The juices are flowing a little bit, so we're going to try to ride this one out and get another win before break, come back and keep that same confidence,'' Lewis said.
Washburn will be back in action Monday for one last time before getting some time off, hosting Northeastern State in a 2 p.m. MIAA contest at Lee Arena.
WASHBURN MEN 70, ROGERS STATE 69
Rogers State 27 42 -- 69
Washburn 32 38 -- 70
ROGERS STATE (6-4, 1-4)
Obineke 1-2 0-0 2, Saracco 5-9 2-4 12, Dean 3-11 0-0 8, Pullum 7-11 5-5 23, Jackson 3-7 0-0 6, Coblin 2-4 3-6 8, Peacock 3-7 0-0 9, Pearre 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-52 11-17 69.
WASHBURN (6-5, 3-2)
Orr 3-4 1-2 7, Deffebaugh 4-7 1-1 9, Geiman 4-11 1-2 9, Lewis 9-14 1-2 22, Keegan 0-2 0-0 0, Thorne 0-1 0-1 0, Harrell 7-14 3-3 20, Braun 1-1 0-0 3, Monday 0-0 0-0 0, Ellis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 7-11 70.
3-point goals -- Rogers State 10-20 (Pullum 4-4, Peacock 3-7, Dean 2-5, Coblin 1-1, Jackson 0-2, Lawrence 0-1), Washburn 7-20 (Lewis 3-6, Harrell 3-6, Braun 1-1, Geiman 0-2, Keegan 0-2, Deffebaugh 0-1, Thorne 0-1, Ellis 0-1), Rebounds -- Rogers State 27 (Saracco 11), Washburn 33 (Keegan 8, Geiman 8). Assists -- Rogers State 13 (Coblin 4), Washburn 15 (Geiman 6). Turnovers -- Rogers State 8, Washburn 10. Total fouls -- Rogers State 18, Washburn 17. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Saracco, Harrell.
