By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
OK, so Washburn University's men's basketball season-opener didn't go exactly as planned Friday afternoon, but the end result was exactly what the No. 11-ranked Ichabods were looking for, notching an 86-65 win over No. 15 Northern State at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Washburn was without key returners Jonny Clausing and Tyler Nelson and lost All-American point guard Tyler Geiman two minutes into Friday's game with an ankle injury, but junior Jalen Lewis turned in a big game and several Ichabod newcomers turned in solid contributions as the Ichabods pulled away in the second half for the 21-point victory.
Lewis led Washburn with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, while McNeese State transfer Jeremy Harrell hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
Jalen Lewis
Jeremy Harrell
Freshman Michael Keegan added 13 points while freshman Jaden Monday had 10 points and five assists and freshman Andrew Orr had six points and grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
The Wolves jumped out to a six-point lead at 11-5 before the Ichabods used a 12-1 run to go up 17-12. The Ichabods stretched their lead to as many as six points in the opening half after a 3-pointer by Harrell with 7:32 to play in the half but the Wolves (1-2) rallied to tie the score at 24 before the Ichabods again jumped out to a five-point lead after another trey by Harrell.
Keegan hit a layup with 67 seconds left in the first half to send Washburn to the break with a 2-point lead at 31-29.
The Ichabods scored the first seven points of the half to force a timeout by Northern State and the Ichabods would build their lead to 14 (46-32) after a layup by Orr with 15:15 to go.
Northern State trimmed the lead back to as few as four at 52-48 before a 16-3 run by the Ichabods pushed the lead to 17 with and the Wolves did not mount a threat the rest of the way.
Cole Bergan and Jacksen Moni each had 11 to pace the Wolves.
The Ichabods shot 49 percent from the field for the game, hitting 19 of 32 shots in the second half for a 59 percent clip. Washburn was 14 of 29 overall from 3-point range and hit 8 of 11 free throws.
Northern State was held to 37 percent shooting by the Ichabods and were forced into 18 turnovers while the Ichabod committed just six turnovers.
Washburn will play Augustana on Saturday in Kansas City.
WASHBURN MEN 86, NORTHERN STATE 65
Washburn 31 55 -- 86
Northern State 29 36 -- 65
WASHBURN (1-0)
Geiman 1-1 0-0 2, Lewis 7-12 0-0 18, Harrell 6-14 0-0 17, Keegan 4-6 5-5 13, Deffebaugh 2-4 0-2 5, Monday 4-6 1-2 10, Braun 2-4 0-0 6, Orr 3-5 0-0 6, Cordes 1-1 2-2 5, Ellis 1-10 0-0 2, Carter 1-2 0-0 2, Thorne 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-65 8-11 86.
NORTHERN STATE (1-2)
Bergan 3-9 4-4 11, Moni 4-9 2-2 11, Masten 2-5 3-6 9, Reede 3-11 0-0 9, Belka 1-5 5-7 8, Walton-Blanden 4-7 1-3 10, Busch 1-5 2-2 4, Terhark 1-1 0-0 3, Longstreet 0-0 0-0 0, Holt 0-0 0-0 0, Rohrbach 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 17-24 65.
3-point goals -- Washburn 14-29 (Harrell 5-10, Lewis 4-7, Braun 2-4, Deffebaugh 1-2, Monday 1-1, Cordes 1-1, Elliis 0-4), Northern State 10-30 (Reede 3-9, Masten 2-3, Moni 1-6, Bergan 1-2, Belka 1-3, Walton-Blanden 1-3, Terhark 1-1, Busch 0-3). Rebounds -- Washburn 32 (Orr 5), Northern State 41 (Belka 12). Assists -- Washburn 17 (Monday 4), Northern State 13 (Masten 4), Turnovers -- Washburn 6, Northern State 18. Total fouls -- Washburn 22, Northern State 14. Fouled out -- none. Attendance -- 335.
