By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Tuesday's non-conference home game against NAIA foe Friends was definitely one that No. 2-ranked Washburn University was expected to win, and probably by a sizeable margin.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen scored a game-high 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the field in Tuesday's 105-51 win over Friends. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jack Bachelor scored 16 points with four 3-pointers, six assists and five steals in Tuesday's 105-51 win over Friends. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But with the start of MIAA looming next week, Brett Ballard's Ichabods still had plenty of things they wanted to work on against the Falcons.
And it's safe to say the 7-0 Ichabods reached most all of those objectives in a 105-51 rout over the Falcons at Lee Arena.
"I thought we approached this thing with the right mindset and were pretty professional about how we executed tonight,'' Ballard said. "A lot of positives, and I thought that there were some things that we'd emphasized in practice this last week that stuck and we were able to accomplish a lot of the things that we had worked on.''
Washburn delivered its highest point output of the early season with its 105-point outburst while five Ichabods cracked double figures.
The Ichabods controlled all 40 minutes, building a 25-point halftime lead (46-21) before exploding for 59 more points in the second half.
Washburn forced 20 Falcon turnovers, turning those mistakes into 29 points, while surrendering only five of its own.
Washburn piled up 66 points in the paint, 33 second-chance points and 25 fast-break points.
The Ichabods shot 52.5 percent for the game (42 for 80), while holding Friends to just 28.3 percent shooting overall and hammering the Falcons on the glass as well with a 52-35 rebounding advantage, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen led the way with 19 points, hitting 9 of 11 shots while adding six rebounds, two steals, and a block, while junior Jack Bachelor had 16 points, six assists, five steals and three rebounds, while hitting four 3-pointers.
"I felt like we did what was expected of us,'' Claussen said. "We were supposed to win that game, but like coach has been saying the past couple of games, we have a ton to work on and our ceiling is way higher than we're at right now.''
"I thought we came out and played with good energy,'' Bachelor said. "Defense was a big emphasis in this game and I thought we guarded well. I thought we played hard, played together and shared the ball. I thought it was a successful night for sure.''
Bryson Smith added 14 points, three assists, and three steals, while Tyson Ruud came off the bench to tie his career-high with 13 points and freshman Amalachi Wilkins had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench, reaching double figures for the second straight game.
Friends (5-2) was led by Ring Deng, Al Emerllahu and Jackson Swartz with seven points apiece.
The Ichabods will host Ottawa on Saturday at 2 p.m., Washburn's final tuneup for the start of MIAA competition.
WASHBURN 105, FRIENDS 51
Friends 21 30 -- 51
Washburn 46 59 -- 105
Friends (5-2) -- Maclin 2-8 1-2 6, Hutton 1-9 0-0 3, Woolf Jr. 2-7 2-2 6, Deng 3-3 0-0 7, Emerllahu 2-4 2-2 7, Spieller 0-1 0-0 0, Swartz 3-9 0-0 7, Davis 2-7 0-3 4, Evans 1-7 2-2 5, Price 0-2 0-0 0, Lee 1-1 2-2 5, Mays 0-2 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 1-2 1, Hula 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-60 10-15 51.
Washburn (7-0) -- Christiansen 2-5 0-2 4, Claussen 9-11 1-1 19, Smith 6-12 1-2 14, Bachelor 6-14 0-0 16, Jones 1-6 4-7 6, Ruud 5-7 3-5 13, Ungashick 1-4 0-0 2, Glock 3-6 0-0 8, Wilkins 5-6 2-2 12, Cook 0-0 2-4 2, Salmon 3-4 1-2 7, Saams-Hoy 1-3 0-0 2, Lewis 0-1 0-0 0, Parker 0-1 0-0 0, Ballard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-80 14-25 105.
3-point shots -- Friends 7-28 (Maclin 1-3, Hutton 1-6, Deng 1-1, Emerllahu 1-2, Swartz 1-3, Evans 1-7, Lee 1-1, Woolf Jr. 0-3, Price 0-1, Mays 0-1), Washburn 7-27 (Bachelor 4-10, Glock 2-5, Smith 1-3, Christiansen 0-2, Jones 0-3, Salmon 0-1, Saams-Hoy 0-1, Lewis, 0-1 Parker 0-1). Rebounds -- Friends 35 (Swartz 5), Washburn 52 (Wilkins 8, Claussen 6, Jones 6, Ungashick 6). Assists -- Friends 10 (Woolf Jr. 4), Washburn 20 (Bachelor 6). Turnovers -- Friends 20, Washburn 5. Total fouls -- Friends 17, Washburn 9. Fouled out -- none. Attendance -- 1,613.
