By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 10-ranked Washburn University men's basketball closed the first half on a 16-7 run en route to an 11-point lead at the halftime break and led by as many as 20 in the second half while improving to 2-0 on the season with an 85-68 win over defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Minnesota State on Saturday in Municipal Auditorium.
Washburn newcomer Jacob Hanna scored 17 points in Saturday's 85-68 win over defending national champion Minnesota State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn will open its home slate Tuesday with a non-conference game against Ottawa in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods picked up their first win over a No. 1-ranked opponent since March 6, 2021, when they topped Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Championship game.
WU led by nine at the break after shooting 49 percent in the half on 16 of 33 from the field while holding the Mavericks to 9 of 30 for a 30 percent clip, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
Washburn scored the first four points of the second half to go up 40-27.
After trading 3-pointers, MSU trailed by 11 at 50-39, but an 8-0 spurt put the Ichabods up 19.
The Mavericks pulled within 11 with 3:31 remaining but Washburn outscored Minnesota State 8-2 down the stretch for the 17-point win.
Washburn outscored the Mavericks 49-41 in the second half, shooting 42 percent from the field.
The Ichabods finished the game 31 of 67 overall hitting 47 percent of their shots while going 7 of 19 from 3-point range and 16 of 24 from the free throw line.
Washburn also held a 48-36 advantage on the boards and outscored the Mavericks 48-32 in the paint and had 22 second-chance points after collecting 14 offensive rebounds.
After putting six Ichabods in double figures in Friday's win over Sioux Falls, five players reached double-digits in Saturday's win, led by Andrew Orr's 19 points. Orr added eight rebounds.
Jacob Hanna and Brayden Shorter added 17 points each, while Jack Bachelor had 12 points and Brady Christiansen recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Minnesota State's Harrison Braudis had 19 points to tie for game-high scoring honors.
