By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2-ranked Washburn University men's basketball used a furious late-game rally Wednesday night to remain unbeaten with an 85-81 win over Rockhurst in the debut of the newly renovated Lee Arena.
Sophomore Tyson Ruud slams home a dunk in Washburn's 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods turned a five-point deficit with 2:29 to play into the four-point win, improving to 5-0 on the season.
"I think when you have the year we had last year and you play really well early and you're ranked where you're ranked, I think the expectations are high and I think our guys felt a little bit of pressure and pressed a little bit in that game,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said.
"That happens, but I was proud of how we responded when we could have caved and handled those last couple of minutes. Ultimately, this is really good for us to play in these type of games and it's good for us if we can really learn from it.''
Washburn, which led for the bulk of the game, pushed its lead to a game-high 15 at 62-47 midway through the second half, but Rockhurst responded with its best stretch of the night, using an 11-0 run to quickly close the gap.
The Hawks (2-1) hit three 3-pointers in less than four minutes to take a 79-74 lead, but from that point on the Ichabods outscored the Hawks 11-2 the rest of the game.
Bryson Smith scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket, in Washburn's 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Bryson Smith's driving layup with 51 seconds remaining gave Ichabods an 81-79 lead.
Then, after a key defensive stop, sophomore Tyson Ruud stepped to the free throw line and hit one of two free throws to extend the Washburn edge to three.
The Hawks came up empty on the following trip, and when senior Sam Ungashick came up with a steal in the final seconds and sank two free throws with three seconds left, the Ichabods' comeback was sealed.
Smith led the Ichabods with 22 points, including 19 in the second half, on 7 of 11 shooting and a 7 of 9 showing at the free throw line.
"Coach Ballard kind of got on me at halftime and the first half I wasn't playing a good game and I felt like I had to turn it up as a senior and a leader on the team to make winning plays at the end,'' Smith said.
Jack Bachelor had 17 points with four assists as Washburn rallied for an 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Dillon Claussen had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in Wednesday's 85-81 Washburn win over Rockhurst. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jack Bachelor added 17 points and four assists while Ruud came off the bench for a career-high 13 points and six rebounds and Dillon Claussen scored 12 points, with five rebounds and four assists.
Ruud has been hampered by injuries in his first two seasons at Washburn, but is now living up to the potential he showed out of Basehor-Linwood.
"It's so good to be healthy,'' Ruud said. "My prayers have been answered and it feels amazing to be out there finally.''
Washburn converted 22 of its 30 shots inside the 3-point arc and earned 38 trips to the free-throw line.
The Ichabods also held advantages in bench points (24-8), fast-break scoring (15-7) and paint points (44-20).
Drenin Dinkins led the Hawks with a game-high 26 points, going 5 of 11 from 3-point range, as Rockhurst hit 11 of 24 treys in the game and 24 of 30 free throws.
The Ichabods improved to 40-1 and have now won 35 consecutive home openers.
The Ichabods shot 55 percent from the field and outscored the Hawks in the paint, 44-20.
Washburn also leaned on its transition game, turning defensive rebounds and turnovers into 15 fast-break points.
Overall, there were 50 combined fouls called and 68 combined free throws between the two teams.
Washburn finished 26 of 38 overall from the line in the contest.
Washburn will return to action on Saturday at William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.
WASHBURN 85, ROCKHURST 81
Rockhurst 34 47 -- 81
Washburn 42 43 -- 85
Rockhurst (2-1) -- Flournoy 2-8 4-4 8, Mong 3-6 2-4 10, Deaver 3-5 1-1 8, Dinkins 7-19 7-9 26, Wesley 6-10 8-8 21, Eiland 2-5 0-0 6, Malterer 0-3 2-2 2, Burton 0-0 0-0 0, DeGroote 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 23-56 24-30 81.
Washburn (5-0) -- Christiansen 0-3 1-2 1, Claussen 3-5 6-11 12, Smith 7-11 7-9 22, Bachelor 6-11 3-4 17, Jones 4-7 0-0 9, Ruud 4-5 5-8 13, Ungashick 0-1 2-2 2, Glock 2-4 0-0 5, Wilkins 1-2 2-2 4, Cook 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-49 26-38 85.
3-point shots -- Rockhurst 11-24 (Dinkins 5-11, Mong 2-4, Eiland 2-5, Deaver 1-2, Wesley 1-1, Flournoy 0-1), Washburn 5-19 (Bachelor 2-6, Smith 1-4, Jones 1-3, Glock 1-3, Christiansen 0-2, Ruud 0-1). Rebounds -- Rockhurst 32 (Mong 10), Washburn 34 (Ruud 6). Assists -- Rockhurst 11 (Deaver 6), Washburn 14 (Claussen 4, Bachelor 4). Turnovers -- Rockhurst Rockhurst 12, Washburn 11. Total fouls -- Rockhurst 24, Washburn 26. Fouled out -- Flournoy, Christiansen, Smith.
