By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It’s never easy to beat MIAA giant Northwest Missouri, and Washburn definitely took the difficult route to making that happen Thursday night at Maryville, Mo.
But after letting a 4-point lead get away over the final 7 seconds of regulation and falling behind by 5 points halfway through the overtime session, the No. 5 ranked Ichabods ended the game with a 7-0 run to stun top-ranked Northwest, 84-82.
Star senior point guard Tyler Geiman led the 8-0 Ichabods with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while 6-foot-9 junior Jonny Clausing had 21 points, 7 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Ichabods also got a huge contribution from senior Rathen Carter, who had 12 points, 9 in the second half and OT, and scored the final 4 points of the game in his first start of the year.
“It was unbelievable, I don't know how else to describe it,’’ Washburn coach Brett Ballard said on KTPK radio. “That’s a heck of a win.’’
Washburn, which won its second straight overtime game, looked to be in perfect position to win in regulation when two Geiman free throws put the Ichabods in front 73-69 with 7 seconds remaining.
The Bearcats were still down by 3 points with 2.4 seconds left, but Washburn was called for a foul on a desperation halfcourt 3-point attempt by former Manhattan star Trevor Hudgins as time ran out and Hudgins calmly hit all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
Northwest Missouri went in front 82-77 with 2:24 remaining in OT on two Hudgins free throws, but that proved to be the final points for the Bearcats as the Ichabods took control the rest of the way.
Geiman converted a traditional 3-point play to get WU back in the hunt and then Carter knotted the game at 82.
After a Northwest shot clock violation, Carter hit the two game-winning free throws with 56 seconds remaining.
Northwest still had a chance to force a second overtime or pull out the win in the closing seconds, but Hudgins missed a 3-point attempt as time ran out.
“You’re up 4 with 7 seconds (left in regulation) and you play about as silly as you can play there to finish that game,’’ Ballard said. “It goes to overtime and our guys really could have really given in. We were deflated there because obviously you felt like you had it won and then to have it kind of taken from you at the last second we could have been completely deflated and folded our tent.
“But I’m probably most proud of how they responded to that. They had a lot of momentum and we just stuck with it and got the stops we needed and got the baskets we needed and needless to say I’m just proud and happy for our guys.’’
Northwest lost for only the second time in its last 76 games, with Washburn beating the Bearcats for the first time since 2005.
“You come to Washburn to play in games like this,’’ said Geiman, a former Blue Valley standout. “Northwest is always the best team in the league and always the team to beat and they play the game the right way so it’s real fun to go and compete against them.’’
Clausing, an Augusta native, turned in probably the best overall game of his WU career and said he had a feeling in warmups that Thursday was going to be a good night.
“I was definitely ready to go today,’’ Clausing said. “Coach told us that their team had a total of eight blocks on the year so I know they’re not going to block my shots so I just go through their chest and finish at the rim.’’
Wes Dreamer led Northwest with 24 points while Diego Bernard added 19 points and 12 rebounds and Hudgins had 15 points and seven assists.
Washburn will play its third straight road game Saturday at No. 22 Missouri Western.
WASHBURN MEN 84, NORTHWEST MISSOURI 82 (OT)
Washburn 31 43 10 — 84
Northwest 29 45 8 — 82
WASHBURN (8-0, 8-0)
Carter 4-5 3-611, Geiman 9-15 6-7 26, Lewis 3-5 0-0 7, Clausing 10-13 1-2 21, Maschoff 2-7 0-2 6, Deffebaugh 1-3 3-3 5, Braun 1-1 0-0 3, Nelson 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, McKee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-56 13-20 84.
NORTHWEST (5-1, 5-1)
Dreamer 8-14 2-2 24, Hawkins 3-9 2-7 8, Bernard 7-13 3-7 19, Hudgins 4-15 5-5 15, Waters 2-3 8-10 14, Alexander 0-3 2-3 2, Abreu 0-0 0-0 0, Mascari 0-0 0-0 0, Laing 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-57 22-34 82.
3-point goals — Washburn 7-22 (Maschoff 2-6, Geiman 2-7, Braun 1-1, Carter 1-1, Lewis 1-2, Nelson 0-2, Deffebaugh 0-2, McKee 0-1), Northwest 12-31 (Dreamer 6-12, Bernard 2-3, Hudgins 2-7, Waters 2-3, Hawkins 0-4, Alexander 0-1, Laing 0-1). Rebounds — Washburn 32 (Geiman 7, Clausing 7), Northwest 35 (Bernard 12). Assists — Washburn 16 (Geiman 9), Northwest 14 (Hudgins 7). Turnovers — Washburn 12, Northwest 10. Fouled out — Maschoff, Hawkins, Waters. Technical fouls — none.
