By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods improved to 4–0 on the season Saturday with an 88-57 rout over Winona State in Pittsburg in their final game of the Central Regional Challenge.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored 14 points with five assists and three 3-pointers in Saturday's 88-57 win over Winona State in the Central Regional Challenge. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn returns to a renovated Lee Arena for its home opener against Rockhurst on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
After falling behind 2–0 on the opening possession, Washburn responded with a 10-0 run midway through the first half, sparked by threes from Bryson Smith and Jermiah Jones and a fastbreak layup from Dillon Claussen.
That surge flipped the momentum and gave Washburn a lead it would hold for the final 37 minutes.
The Ichabods shot 50 percent in the opening half and knocked down eight triples to build a 41-26 advantage at the break.
The second half was more of the same as Washburn opened with back-to-back transition buckets from Smith and Brady Christiansen, then extended the margin with a 7-0 spurt capped by a Marcus Glock 3-pointer.
The lead ballooned to 33 points in the final minutes, the Ichabods' largest cushion of the night.
Washburn's offense was balanced and efficient, finishing 34 of 65 from the field (52.3 percent) and 11 of 32 from 3-point range. The Ichabods dominated inside with 44 points in the paint and converted 21 Winona State turnovers into 33 points.
The Ichabods also scored 17 fast-break points and added 13 second-chance points.
Jack Bachelor led the Ichabods with 14 points and five assists, hitting three 3-pointers. Claussen had 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Smith chipped in 13 points and three steals, and Jones contributed 11 points and five assists on 4-of-5 shooting.
Glock matched Jones with 11 points, including three 3-pointers and Amalachi Wilkins provided a spark off the bench with 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night.
Washburn's bench combined for 34 points, outscoring Winona State's reserves 34-23.
Defensively, Washburn held Winona State to 38 percent shooting and just 17.6 percent from beyond the arc. Gavyn Hurley paced the Warriors with 19 points.
