Details

Created: 20 November 2021

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

The 11th-ranked Washburn University men's basketball team will host No. 17 Oklahoma Baptist Tuesday at Lee Arena (7 p.m. tipoff), with the Ichabods looking to keep their momentum going after Saturday's 90-47 non-league win over Baker.

Washburn will take a 2-2 record into Tuesday's game while Oklahoma Baptist is 2-1 on the season.

Washburn won its 32nd consecutive home-opener on Saturday against Baker, with former Hayden standout Levi Braun scoring a career-high 21 points while Jalen Lewis contributed 14 points as the Ichabods hit nine 3-pointers.

Levi Braun

Defensively, the Ichabods forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over 26 times, with Isaiah Thorne, Azeem Ross and Kevaughn Ellis recording three steals apiece. Thirty-one percent of the points scored for the Ichabods were off turnovers.

Read more …

Details

Created: 22 November 2021

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

After waiting a full two years, the fact that Monday's NCAA Division II selection show was a half hour late starting was little more than an annoyance to Washburn University's volleyball team.

And there were no surprises for the Ichabods when the pairings were announced, with 26-5 Washburn earning the No. 5 seed for the Central Region tournament, which will be played in Warrensburg, Mo. beginning on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Washburn volleyball earned a place in the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in program history and will face No. 4 seed Winona State (28-4) in the quarterfinal match. A starting time had not been determined at the time the pairings were announced.

"It's always kind of that waiting game and thank goodness this year we were the second region to be announced, so that was nice that we didn't have to wait so long,'' Washburn senior Faith Rottinghaus said. "Even though we had a feeling we were in, it's always the uncertain that can bite you in the butt.''

Washburn's volleyball team reacts to the announcement that the Ichabods earned the No. 5 seed for this week's NCAA Central Region tournament at Warrensburg, Mo. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Washburn is in the NCAA field for the third straight season, making the tourney in 2018 and 2019 before the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19.

The No. 6-ranked Ichabods will take on No. 10-ranked Winona State in the opening round on Thursday.

"That's the seed I thought we'd get, that was not a surprise to me at all,'' said Herron, who has coached the Ichabods to all 16 of their NCAA appearances. "And that's the team I thought we would play.

"I think it's kind of exciting that we're playing somebody we haven't played. That's really cool for us and I know our kids will be excited about not playing somebody for the third or fourth time. Our preparation will be good and we'll be excited to see the tape (of the opponent) and we're really looking forward to this.''

Read more …

Details

Created: 21 November 2021

By KYLE MANTHE

The Washburn Review

After two straight losses and a rash of injuries the Washburn University men’s basketball looked to get back on track Saturday in its home opener against Baker Univeristy.

The Ichabods started the game on a 9-0 scoring run and did not look back, completing a wire-to-wire 90-47 victory at Lee Arena.

“I think it was good to hopefully get some confidence back,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard. “It was fun to see guys come out and produce when the lights came on.”

Former Hayden standout Levi Braun led the way with a game-high 21 points in Washburn's 90-47 win over Baker on Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The win ended a two-game skid and moved the Ichabods to 2-2 on the season as the team continues to work in many new faces.

“It’s wild what we are dealing with right now from an injury standpoint,” Ballard said. “Right now we are kind of trying to piece it together day-by-day. It will be good for us in the long run I think because we are getting some guys some experience. When we get all of our guys back we have a chance to be really special.”

Washburn’s upperclassmen started the action, with senior Rathen Carter and junior Jalen Lewis combining for 15 of the first 18 Ichabod points, including three 3-pointers. A six-point burst from sophomore Connor Deffebaugh and the lead had grown to nearly 20 points less than 10 minutes in.

On the other end, the Ichabods forced the Wildcats into five turnovers in the first eight minutes of play, and 13 in the half, generating 12 fastbreak points in the first 20 minutes.

“We want to play fast and our transition game hasn’t been as effective as I would like early, so it was good for us to get some steals and get some easy ones,” Ballard said.

Freshman Levi Braun helped the offense in the halfcourt, knocking down two triples as part of eight first half points and a career-high 21 in the game for the Hayden product.

“He is an elite shooter, we got to find a way to get him shots, but that was fun to watch, he is great at what he does,” Ballard said.

Six points in the final 90 seconds for Baker, which was playing the game as an exhibition, made it a 44-27 game at the break.

Scoring was close to even for both sides to begin the second half before Washburn went on a 17-5 run over seven minutes to put the game out of reach. Highlighting the run was Braun who scored the final eight points, including two more triples.

“My teammates just did a good job finding me, I give a lot of the credit to them and the coaches,” Braun said. “It’s my job to make shots so I don’t really get surprised when I make shots.”

Both teams emptied the bench shortly after and the Ichabods continued to score, with the lead growing to 41 points on a steal and slam by sophomore Kevaughn Ellis at the 2:22 mark.

Washburn would go on to secure a 43-point victory, moving to 2-2 on the season in a game that did not look like the last two outings.

“It’s been a little difficult (adjusting to new roles), but you know it’s the next man up mentality,” Braun said. “We have so many weapons, we are missing some really good players but once we get those guys back you know it’s even scarier for us.”

Connor Deffebaugh (10) and Andrew Orr both scored 12 points in Washburn's 90-47 win over Baker Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Braun was joined in double figures by Lewis who finished with 14, and Deffebaugh and freshman Andrew Orr who each had 12.

Read more …

Details

Created: 20 November 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

SEARCY, Ark. -- Ball control for Harding and a slow start for Washburn were the keys to Saturday's NCAA Division II first-round playoff game, with the Bisons opening up a 27-7 lead early in the second half on the way to a 30-14 victory at First Security Stadium.

Harding, which improved to 11-1 with its 10th straight victory, ran 93 offensive plays to 36 by Washburn and had the ball for 47 minutes, 24 seconds, compared to 12:09 possession time for the Ichabods, who fnished the season 9-3.

"I'm just proud of our team,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "It's a great challenge to make it to the NCAA playoffs and we did it. We're obviously disappointed, but hats off to Harding. They played a great game and took control of the game and we couldn't quite get back in it.'' 

Harding dominated the first half, outgaining Washburn by a 279-34 margin in total yards and running 46 plays to just 16 for the Ichabods en route to a 20-7 advantage at the break.

"It was definitely frustrating, but we knew coming into the game they were going to have the ball a lot with their style of play,'' Washburn standout James Letcher Jr. said. "We just had to try to capitalize whenever we got the ball and we didn't do what we wanted to do today but you best believe we'll be back.''

Washburn's James Letcher Jr. splits Harding's defenders for a 97-yard kickoff return in Saturday's 30-14 NCAA playoff loss. [Photo by Phil Anderson/Special to TSN]

The first-half highlight for Washburn was a 97-yard kickoff return from Letcher (Trenton Brehm kick), but the Ichabods struggled mightily on offense, gaining just 3 yards on six rushing attempts in the opening half and going 4 of 10 passing for 31 yards.

Harding set the tone for the half on its opening possession of the game, going 79 yards in 12 plays for a 1-yard touchdown by senior quarterback Preston Paden with 6:41 left in the opening quarter (Grant Ennis kick).

"I think that first drive, it's hard to get the speed of the game with the work team and that first drive that dive hits real fast and we coudn't quite slow it down,'' Schurig said. "Then I thought our defense kind of got their legs under them and started slowing it down some.

"Offensively we had real trouble getting on track and they did a nice job defensively, and our third-down conversions we weren't short, we were third and long a lot and that kind of hurt us.''

After forcing two straight Washburn punts, the Bisons put together another long drive, pushing their lead to 10-0 on a 29-yard Ennis field goal with 8:58 left in the first half.

Washburn got back in the game on Letcher's return, but Harding, which rarely passes the ball, caught the Ichabods off guard for a 54-yard touchdown pass from Paden to sophomore Roland Wallace on its ensuing possession (Ennis kick) to give the Bisons a 17-7 lead with 5:00 left in the half.

After forcing Washburn's fourth punt of the first half, Harding added a 45-yard Ennis field goal on the final play of the half to put the Bisons in front, 20-7.

The Bisons then made it a three-score game on their first drive of the second half, moving 74 yards in 15 plays and holding the ball for 8:13 before Harding star running back Cole Chancey scored on a 12-yard run with 6:39 left in the third quarter. 

After the Ichabods' defense came up with a big stop, Washburn finally got its offense untracked, with Mitch Schurig completing a 30-yard pass to Jace Williams and a 34-yard pass to Peter Afful before hitting Letcher for a 15-yard touchdown with 12:37 remaining.

The Ichabods then pulled off what appeared to be a successful onside kick, but Washburn was penalized for being offsides on the play and forced to kick again.

Harding then responded with yet another lengthy possession, taking a 30-14 lead lead with 7:13 remaining on a 32-yard Ennis field goal with 7:11 remaining.

Washburn threatened again on its next two drives, but Harding came up with a pair of 4th-down stops deep in Bison territory.

"I was proud of our team fighting in the fourth quarter, we had a little spark there and maybe a couple of more plays and we make it a close game, but it was tough,'' Craig Schurig said.

Harding, the nation's rushing leader, picked up 419 yards on 90 carries, with Chancey carrying the ball a whopping 41 times for 176 yards.

Omar Sinclair added 110 yards on 14 attempts.

Schurig completed 12 of 28 passes for 214 yards, but the Ichabods were unable to get anything going on the ground, with eight attemputs for minus-2 yards.

Washburn defensive back Kevin Neal Jr. leaves his feet to make a tackle Saturday at Harding. [Photo by Phil Anderson/Special to TSN]

Kevin Neal Jr. had a game-high 16 tackles for Washburn while Grant Bruner had 15 stops and Brooks Peavler 12.

"It's a tough offense to go against,'' Neal said. "We usually don't see that type of offense throughout the year. They do a great job of executing, hats off to them.''

Harding will host Northwest Missouri next Saturday in a regional semifinal.

HARDING 30, WASHBURN 14

Read more …