By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Apparently the Washburn Ichabods poked the bear, or more accurately the Bearcats, with their dramatic win in the recent MIAA Tournament championship game.
Sunday night's NCAA Central Regional semifinal at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D. was No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri's first game since the 1-point (69-68) loss to the Ichabods and the Bearcats left no doubt in their fourth game of the year with Washburn, romping to an 85-44 win.
Washburn's men's basketball team gathers around Ichabod coach Brett Ballard during Sunday night's NCAA Regional semifinal game. [NSU Athletic Communications]
Northwest Missouri, which improved to 24-2 (both losses to Washburn) advanced to the Central Region championship game while the Ichabods ended their season with a 20-7 record.
Washburn dug itself a huge hole with 22.7-percent shooting in the first half while Northwest countered with 60-percent shooting while building a 44-16 halftime advantage.
The Ichabods led 4-2 on a 3-pointer by Jalen Lewis with 16:31 left in the opening half before the Bearcats went on a 24-0 run to take control.
The Bearcats opened the second half with three straight 3-pointers to open up a 37-point lead at 53-16 and Northwest would go on to lead by as many as 54 points with 6:55 to play.
Washburn did not have a player crack double figures, with Lewis and Isaiah Thorne leading the way with 8 points apiece.
Ryan Hawkins led the Bearcats with a game-high 27 points, while Wes Dreamer had 17 and Manhattan product Trevor Hudgins 14 points and 8 assists.
Washburn finished 14 of 43 from the field and 7 of 21 from 3-point range while the Bearcats hit 30 of 54 shots overall and 11 of 31 from 3-point range.
Northwest finished with a 30-24 rebounding advantage and turned 17 Ichabod turnovers into 28 points.
