By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 1-ranked Washburn University Ichabods used a 21-0 second-half run to turn a 13-point lead into a 34-point advantage, holding Nebraska-Kearney scoreless for more than six minutes on the way to a 97-64 MIAA win on Saturday in Lee Arena.
Washburn sophomore point guard Jack Bachelor scored 18 points in Saturday's 97-64 MIAA win over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn posted its 21st straight win while improving to 21-0 overall and 12-0 in the MIAA.
Nebraska-Kearney (7-12, 5-6) was still within 13 points (64-51) more than eight minutes into the second half, but after the Lopers were whistled for a flagrant foul at the 11:49 mark after a minor skirmish involving WU sophomore point guard Jack Bachelor, the Ichabods turned on the after-burners, going on to build a 40-point lead with 2:47 remaining.
Senior Jacob Hanna had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in WU's 97-64 win over UNK on Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Andrew Orr tied for game-high honors with 20 points in Saturday's 97-64 win over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Andrew Orr, who also had 20 points for the Ichabods, agreed that the play involving Bachelor got the Ichabods' attention.
"We talk about protecting our teammates all the time, so when something like that happens, I stood up on the bench real fast,'' Orr said. "But honestly we went into halftime and we knew our defensive intensity wasn't what it needed it to be, so coming out in that second half that kind of just was a little more fuel to the fire. We knew that we had to turn it up a little bit because we can't play even. We're better than this team, so we can't play even with them.''
"I thought that (the flagrant foul) motivated us a little bit and then AO kind of just took over for a little while,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "That was kind of fun to see. He hasn't had to do that much this year just because of all our other weapons, but I thought he had a stretch there where he was pretty much un-guardable and he is capable of that.''
Washburn led or was tied for all but 49 seconds in the game as the Lopers led briefly after scoring the game's first points. The teams traded baskets and the Lopers tied the score at 10 with 15:25 to go.
From that point, the Ichabods outscored Nebraska-Kearney 37-21 the rest of the way, taking a 16-point lead into the break at 37-21.
In the second half the Lopers twice cut the Ichabod lead to 11, the final time at 54-43, but would not get any closer as the Ichabods outscored UNK 50-33 in the second half, holding the Lopers to 8 of 22 shooting while winning their sixth in a row over the Lopers overall and the fifth in a row over UNK in Topeka.
Bachelor added 18 points and Brayden Shorter 11 for the Ichabods.
Allen Taylor scored 20 to lead the Lopers.
Washburn finished 32 of 67 from the field for a 48 percent clip and UNK was 20 of 51 for a 39 percent average. The Ichabods hit eight 3-pointers in the game as did the Lopers. Washburn finished 25 of 33 from the free throw line.
The Ichabods dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Lopers 45-28, turning 17 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points.
Washburn held the Lopers to five offensive rebounds in the contest. The Ichabods outscored UNK in the paint, 46-24 and 26-4 in fastbreak points.
Washburn will be back in action on Saturday, hosting Central Missouri in a 3 p.m. contest.
