By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University men's basketball closed the second half on a 5-2 run to force overtime, but the Ichabods were whistled for a season-high 32 fouls, including the game-deciding call with nine seconds remaining in OT, falling 81-78 in their MIAA opener at Northeastern State on Monday night in Tahlequah, Okla.
Washburn sophomore Andrew Orr scored a career-high 24 points in Monday night's 81-78 overtime loss at Northeastern State. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
In the extra period NSU drew first blood, scoring on a layup by Obi Agu with 3:40 to play The RiverHawks hit a jumper with 2:45 to go to take a 76-72 lead before WU sophomore Andrew Orr, who had a monster night for the Ichabods, scored off an offensive rebound with 2:12 left.
NSU hit two of three free throws after a foul on a 3-point attempt by Damon Bailey as the RiverHawks pushed the lead to 78-74, but Orr hit a pair of free throws as Washburn pulled with two at 78-76 with 1:24 to go.
NSU came up empty on its next possession and Orr scored again with 37 seconds to go, tying the score at 78.
In overtime NSU's Christian Cook was fouled on a 3-point attempt with two seconds left on the shot clock and nine on the game clock and hit all three charities tp put the RiverHawk up by the final margin.
Washburn's potential game-tying 3-pointer was off the target and the Ichabods fell to the RiverHawks for the third game in a row.
The 32 fouls by the Ichabods were the most by a Washburn squad since being called for 30 at Central Oklahoma on Dec. 9, 2021. Three of Washburn's starters fouled out in the game while Orr finished with four.
Orr led the Ichabods with a career-high 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field and 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Michael Keegan had 17 points with seven rebounds.
Cook had 28 points to lead all scorers, going 12 of 13 from the free throw line.
Washburn finished 29 of 58 from the field going 3 of 15 from deep and 17 of 24 from the free throw line. NSU was 25 of 43 for a 58 percent clip, hitting 5 of 14 from three while attempting 42 free throws connecting on 26 of them.
Washburn falls to 21-12 all-time in MIAA openers since joining the league and to 44-38 in overtime games,
Northeastern State 60, Washburn 53
Washburn ended the second quarter on a 7-2 run to tie the game at halftime, but Northeastern State shot 52 percent from the field and made 11 of 12 shots from the free throw line in the second half to defeat the Ichabods 60-53 on Monday evening.
Washburn junior Aubree Dewey scored a game-high 18 points in Monday's 60-53 loss at Northeastern State. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Both teams started slowly as the first points of the game didn't come until the 7:06 mark when Washburn freshman Natalia Figueroa drained a 3-pointer for the Ichabods (3-3, 0-1 MIAA).
The RiverHawks got on the board with a pair of free throws with 4:59 on the clock to start an 8-0 run while holding Washburn scoreless for just over five minutes.
Trailing 10-4 with 1:50 left in the opening period, the Ichabods regained the lead with a 7-0 run. The RiverHawks (4-1, 1-0 MIAA) hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to go back up 13-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Similar to the first quarter, both teams struggled to score early as WU's Mackenzie Gamble made the first basket 3:04 into the period to knot the score at 13.
Northeastern State broke the tie with a 9-4 run to take a 22-17 advantage with 1:53 left in the opening half. Washburn ended the run with a 3-pointer by Gamble, and after the Ichabod defense forced a turnover on NSU's ensuing possession, junior Aubree Dewey made a layup to even the score again at 22.
The RiverHawks got a second-chance layup to fall and went up by two, but their lead was short-lived as Lakyn Schieferecke hit a jumper with eight seconds left to tie the game at 24 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Dewey made 10 of Washburn's 12 points and gave the Ichabods a two-point lead twice, but Northeastern State went 5 for 9 from the floor and 7 for 8 from the free throw line to outscore WU by five and take a 41-36 lead into the final period
Washburn trailed by 10 within the first 50 seconds in the fourth quarter before trimming the deficit down to six, 46-40, at the 8:12 mark. That would be as close as the Ichabods would get for the remainder of the game, though, as the RiverHawks went up by as many as 12 points.
Washburn fought until the end and scored five points in the final four seconds, but it wasn't enough as the Ichabods fell by seven.
Dewey made 9 of 14 from the field and led all players with 18 points while also handing out a team-best three assists. Gamble also finished in double-figures with 11 points as she made 3 of 5 from deep. Figueroa finished with nine points.
Three RiverHawks finished in double-figure points led by Jaylee Kindred's 16. Courtney Lee had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ashton Hackler also recorded 12 points.
The Ichabods will return home to continue conference play Saturday as they host Emporia State with the women's game at 1 p.m. and the men's contest to follow at 3 o'clock.
