By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team mounted spirited comebacks in both halves Thursday night against Missouri Western.
But the fact that the 15th-ranked Ichabods spotted the Griffons a 16-point lead in the first half and an 18-point advantage in the second half ended up costing Washburn in an 81-77 MIAA loss at Lee Arena.
"We just got off to such slow starts both halves,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "Then you try to come back against a good team and didn't have quite enough time.
"I liked how we fought back, but we've got to get off to better starts.''
Junior Jalen Lewis scored 15 points for Washburn in Thursday's 81-77 Ichabod loss to Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The 14-4 Ichabods rallied late in the first half to get within 7 points (39-32) at the break, but Missouri Western built its lead back to 59-41 with 11:17 remaining.
Washburn still trailed by 15 points with 7:11 left but the Ichabods battled all the way back to get within 3 points (75-72) on a drive from junior Jalen Lewis with 48.5 remaining.
The Ichabods didn't get a chance to send the game to overtime, however, with Reese Glover connecting on his 5th 3-pointer of the game at the other end to clinch the win.
The win gave the 11-8 Griffons a regular-season sweep over the Ichabods and Western claimed its fourth straight win in the series.
"I'm glad our guys fought back, but they were the tougher team and especially the first five minutes of each half we didn't come out ready to play,'' Ballard said.
"We've got to defend and rebound. You can't give up 81 and win many games in this league. That's a lot of points to give up.''
Washburn senior Tyler Geiman led all scorers with 24 points and also had 6 assists while Lewis had 15 points and Tyler Nelson 11.
Tyrell Carroll led Western with 20 points while Will Eames had 18 points, including 4 first-half 3-pointers, and Glover 15 points. The Griffons were 11 of 21 from 3-point range as a team.
Washburn will return to action Saturday against MIAA powerhouse Northwest Missouri, with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m.
MISSOURI WESTERN MEN 81, WASHBURN 77
Missouri Western 39 42 -- 81
Washburn 32 45 -- 77
MISSOURI WESTERN (11-8, 11-8)
John 1-3 4-10 6, Eames 7-10 0-2 18, Glover 5-14 0-0 15, Carroll 6-13 7-9 20, Bennett 2-5 0-0 5, Martin 1-1 2-4 4, Thames 3-5 0-2 6, Mays 3-7 1-2 7, Chukwuemeke 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-59 14-29 81.
WASHBURN (14-4, 14-4)
Carter 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 4-4 4, Geiman 9-20 3-5 24, Nelson 3-13 5-6 11, Lewis 5-12 3-4 15, McKee 2-3 0-0 6, Deffebaugh 2-4 0-0 5, Clausing 4-6 0-2 8, Braun 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 27-63 15-21 77.
3-point goals -- Missouri Western 11-21 (Glover 5-11, Eames 4-5, Carroll 1-2, Bennett 1-2, Mays 0-1), Washburn 8-21 (Geiman 3-7, Lewis 2-5, McKee 2-3, Deffebaugh 1-1, Nelson 0-3, Carter 0-1, Braun 0-1). Rebounds -- Missouri Western 41 (Eames 9, Bennett 9), Washburn 37 (Williams 6, McKee 6). Assists -- Missouri Western 13 (Carroll 7), Washburn 10 (Geiman 6). Turnovers -- Missouri Western 12, Washburn 13. Total fouls -- Missouri Western 20, Washburn 20. Fouled out -- Martin..
