By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
One MIAA foe down, another coming up for the Washburn men's basketball team.
The Ichabods rode a stifling defensive effort to their second rout of MIAA rival Missouri Western in a week, taking a 72-46 win over the Griffons Saturday night to advance to Sunday's 7:45 semifinal game against conference foe Northwest Missouri in the NCAA Central Regional at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D.
Washburn had dropped both regular-season games to Western, but rolled to a 101-72 win over the Griffons in the MIAA Tournament semifinals and turned in another dominating performance Saturday, holding Missouri Western to 28 percent shooting on the night.
“I thought our defense was really, really good, probably about as good as it's been all year,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said in a post-game press conference. “I thought that we did a pretty good job neutralizing the downhill drives for them and tried to contain the ball as much as we could. I thought our rotations were good. Our rebounding was good.
"They missed some looks that we were fortunate didn’t go in, but for the most part we were able to challenge everything. It was just a complete effort.''
Washburn, which improved to 20-6, trailed only two times in the game for a total of 35 seconds (2-0 and 21-20) and overcame a first-half dry spell of more than six minutes to take a 27-21 halftime lead.
Washburn used an 11-0 run at the end of the first half and start of the second to open up a 31-21 advantage with 18:57 left and the Ichabods would go on to lead by as many as 26 points as the Ichabods notched their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.
Washburn 6-9 junior Jonny Clausing had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Ichabods' 72-46 win over Missouri Western Saturday night. [NSU Athletic Communications}
Jonny Clausing, a 6-foot-9 junior, led the Ichabods with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds while also registering four blocked shots as Washburn posted its fifth straight win.
"It’s a fun experience,'' Clausing said. "That’s what I came to Washburn for. I’m here to win, so it’s good to be doing it right now.”
Senior Tyler Geiman and sophomore Tyler Nelson both added 13 points and junior Jalen Lewis 9 points while becoming the 27th member of Washburn's 1,000-point club.
Washburn reached the 20-win mark for the 29th time in program history and the third time in four seasons under Ballard.
Tyrell Carroll led the 14-11 Griffons with 21 points as the only Western player to reach double figures.
WU will now face Northwest Missouri for the fourth time this season after taking a dramatic 69-68 win over the Bearcats in the MIAA Tournament championship game. The Ichabods are 2-1 against Northwest on the year.
“I think they’re one of the best teams in the country,'' Ballard said. "We’ve got a quick turnaround here, but we’re looking forward to it. I know our guys enjoy playing against those guys, enjoy playing against the best of the best. I think our guys have obviously had three good games against them and I know they’ll look forward to the fourth.”
WASHBURN MEN 72, MISSOURI WESTERN 46
Missouri Western 21 25 -- 46
Washburn 27 45 -- 72
MISSOURI WESTERN (14-11)
Carroll 8-16 5-9 21, Eames 4-10 0-1 9, Bennett 1-8 4-4 7, John 2-6 0-2 4, Reese Glover 0-3 0-0 0, Mays 1-7 3-4 5, Chukwuemeke 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-2 0-0 0, Thames 0-1 0-0 0, Siganos 0-1 0-0 0, Mesmacque 0-0 0-0 0, Bubak 0-1 0-0 0, Z. Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, J. Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-57 12-20 46.
WASHBURN (20-6)
Geiman 5-17 0-1 13, Nelson 4-10 3-3 13, Lewis 3-13 2-2 9, Williams 2-2 1-1 5, McKee 2-5 0-0 4, Clausing 6-11 2-4 14, Deffebaugh 3-4 0-0 6, Carter 2-3 0-0 5, Braun 1-1 0-0 3, Cordes 0-0 0-0 0, Thorne 0-0 0-1 0, Keegan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-66 8-13 72.
3-point goals -- Missouri Western 2-15 (Bennett 1-7, Eames 1-5, Carroll 0-1, Gloves 0-1, Mays 0-1), Washburn 8-25 (Geiman 3-8, Nelson 2-4, Lewis 1-7, Carter 1-2, Braun 1-1, McKee 0-2, Deffebaugh 0-1). Rebounds -- Missouri Western 31 (Eames 10), Washburn 44 (Clausing 12). Assists -- Missouri Western 2 (Eames, Carroll), Washburn 10 (Lewis 3). Turnovers -- Missouri Western 13, Washburn 11. Total fouls -- Missouri Western 19, Washburn 17. Fouled out -- none. Attendance -- 1,244.
