By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Winners of six of the last seven games, Washburn men’s basketball wrapped up its four-game homestand Saturday with a matchup against No. 9-ranked University of Central Oklahoma.
The Ichabods did not let up as they took control early and led for 38:20 en route to a 96-86 MIAA victory, the highest point total for the team this season.
“We got some confidence right now which is great to see, and we are playing as well as we have played all year so we are going in the right direction,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. “All of our goals are still ahead of us, everything we wanted to accomplish is still there.”
The win moved Washburn to 13-7 on the season and 10-4 in MIAA play and Saturday was the team's seventh win in the last eight games.
The Ichabods began the game shooting 11 of 19 from the field in the first 10 minutes.
Sophomore Connor Deffebaugh scored seven early points, the last of which coming off a steal gave Washburn a 26-16 lead at the 10:20 mark in the first half.
The Bronchos were making baskets but the Ichabods kept responding, with 3-pointers from senior Jeremy Harrell and junior Jalen Lewis helping WU maintaining a three-possession lead.
Jalen Lewis scored a team-high 23 points as Washburn knocked off No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma 96-86 on Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Lewis continued to roll, knocking down two jumpers in the final five minutes until the lead grew to double digits at the 1:06 mark after junior forward Jonny Clausing converted a three-point play. A late three by Harrell made it a 48-33 game at halftime.
“I thought we were great in the first half especially, our defensive effort was really good, that is a hard team to guard,” Ballard said. “That was as good defensively as we have been all year and then offensively the thing that’s good for us now is we can just come at you with so many guys.”
Shooting percentages flipped in the second half, with Washburn shooting below 35 percent over the first 10 minutes and Central Oklahoma over 60 percent in that same time.
“They came out on fire and we missed some early, we told them they are going to go on a run so lets not flinch,” Ballard said. “I thought our guys did a great job of just staying the course.”
The difference was the outside shooting which for that stretch came from freshman Michael Keegan who knocked down two triples, part of an eight-point burst.
The long ball, along with forcing a few turnovers, kept the Ichabods lead at above eight points into the final ten minutes.
After heading to the locker room briefly senior guard Tyler Geiman returned to hit two layups under the 10-minute mark, making it a 79-64 game with 6:35 to play.
The game slowed down with each side taking turns at the free throw line with Washburn still in control into the final five minutes.
Inside of three minutes the Bronchos got back-to-back baskets from senior Isaiah Wade, who finished with a game-high 28 to make it a 89-82 game.
“Those guys are really good offensively so we knew they were going to go on some runs, so we just had to weather the storm and then go on runs of our own,” Lewis said.
The Ichabods began to run clock as the next three points would come at the free throw line from sophomore Tyler Nelson and Lewis.
Central Oklahoma cut it to six with under a minute to go, but two free throws by Keegan and a rebound and breakaway layup by Lewis with 35 seconds left put the game away as Washburn won by 10 points.
Connor Deffebaugh (10) and Levi Braun (13) celebrate a play during Washburn's 96-86 MIAA win over No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma Saturday. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
“I thought we played really tough the whole game, both ends of the floor were really disciplined and executed offensively and then defensively … just locking in on the scouting report and all that we did that well today,” Lewis said.
The win was also the third in a row as the team improved to 8-4 at home.
“It feels great, we are bonding and becoming more of a team and you can see it on the court just the way we are celebrating for each other,” Clausing said on the team’s recent success. “We are going to be special, we just have to be ready for the postseason.”
Lewis led the team with 23 points while adding five rebounds. Keegan finished with 14 points and Clausing added 13. Harrell scored 11 and pulled down a team best-seven rebounds while Geiman dished out eight assists in addition to 10 points.
““Now we got a lot of big road games coming up so we needed to take care of business at home which I am proud of that we did,” Ballard said.
Washburn will be on the road against Rogers State on Thursday.
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA MEN 86, WASHBURN 96
Washburn 48 48 -- 96
Central Oklahoma 33 53 -- 86
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (17-3 12-2)
Wade 11-14 5-10 28, Turner 0-1 0-0 0, Haydon 4-11 6-7 14, Wells 3-10 6-6 12, Givens 5-9 3-4 15, Richardson 1-4 6-7 8, Aymond 1-2 1-2 4, Ca. Calavan 2-2 0-0 5, Co Calavan 0-0 0-0 0, Dawsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 27-36 86.
WASHBURN (13-7 10-4)
Harrell 4-11 1-2 11, Deffebaugh 4-9 0-1 9, Geiman 4-10 1-3 10, Lewis 7-14 7-8 23, Keegan 3-6 6-6 14, Ellis 3-5 2-2 9, Nelson 1-5 2-2 4, Clausing 5-6 3-3 13, Braun 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 32-68 22-27 96.
3-point-shots – Central Oklahoma (Wade 1-2, Turner 0-1, Haydon 0-3, Wells 0-6, Givens 2-3, Richardson 0-2, Aymond 1-2, Ca. Calavan 1-1). Washburn 10-30 (Harrell 2-5, Deffebaugh 1-3, Geiman 1-3, Lewis 2-7, Keegan 2-4, Ellis 1-2, Nelson 0-4, Braun 1-2). Rebounds – Central Oklahoma 31 (Wade 7), Washburn 35 (Harrell 7). Assists – Central Oklahoma 13 (Haydon 6), Washburn 18 (Geiman 8). Turnovers – Central Oklahoma 13, Washburn 7. Fouled out – Givens. Technical fouls – Wells, Hoffman, Harrell).
