By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Washburn men defended their number one position atop Division II basketball and tightened their hammerlock on the MIAA by downing Central Missouri 83-60 Saturday at Lee Arena.
Sophomore Brayden Shorter led Washburn with 18 points in Saturday's 83-60 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods improved their record to 22-0 behind a balanced scoring effort. Sophomore Brayden Shorter led the way with 18 points, while seniors Andrew Orr and Jacob Hanna contributed 14 apiece.
Senior Andrew Orr scored 14 points in Saturday's 83-60 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Phto by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn senior Jacob Hanna scored 14 points Saturday as the Ichabods improved to 22-0 with an 83-60 win over Central Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn stretched its lead out to 20 points early in the second half. But Central Missouri gradually whittled the deficit to nine points with 12:45 remaining.
The Ichabods extinguished the threat, outscoring the visitors 33-19 the rest of the way.
“I felt like a couple of times we had chances to bury them, and we didn’t,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. “We need to learn from that. We pulled away eventually, but I just didn’t feel like we had the discipline we normally had played with there for some spurts.
“In this game, we could get away with that. But we’ve got to learn from that, because eventually, coming into the MIAA tournament and the regionals, that’s going to get you.”
Ballard’s words serve as a reminder that this team has lofty goals, as well as the pressure that comes with the No. 1 ranking.
“There’s been a target on our backs from Day 1,” Shorter said. “We really like that, actually, because we get every team’s best shot.”
Though the Mules made the game close temporarily, Ballard didn’t believe his team had a letdown or took the opponent lightly.
“These guys are prepared at a really high level and standard all year long,” Ballard said. “What we’ve tried to get the guys to understand is that, with the No. 1 ranking, the target you have and that you’re going to take everybody’s best shot. And two, we’re preparing our guys for the level we’re gonna have to play at consistently in those games to win this region. And if you win this region, you have a great chance to go win it all.”
Every starter scored at least eight points Saturday, and five players came off the bench to score, led by 10 from freshman Dillon Claussen.
“We have so many guys that can go off on any given night,” Shorter said. “That balance that we have really sets us apart from other teams.”
Ballard agreed that chemistry and teamwork supersede star power with this team.
“We have really good individual talent across the board, but what makes us special is the unselfishness that these guys have,” Ballard said. “They’re OK with other guys getting opportunities and we can just keep coming at you in waves. If you want to take one guy away and focus your scouting report on one or two guys, OK, then we’re going to get opportunities for others. So, I do think the depth and the trust and unselfishness of this team is what is separating us and making us very hard to beat.”
The Ichabods are close to sewing up the MIAA crown with six games remaining in the regular season. That leaves about three weeks to prepare for a title run.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had in a basketball season,” Shorter said. “I couldn’t feel better about where we are right now, but Coach always says we gotta keep building. We’ve always got places we can get better.”
WASHBURN MEN 83, CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE 60
Central Missouri 26 34 -- 60
Washburn 38 45 -- 83
Central Missouri (11-11, 6-7) – Chapman 2-7 0-0 4, Nwankwo 5-10 1-2 11, Farr 2-8 1-3 6, Barker 3-10 1-1 9, Tilley 5-10 3-4 16, Fritz 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 3-8 0-0 9, Polk 0-2 0-0 0, Skillman 1-3 2-2 5, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 8-12 60.
Washburn (22-0, 13-0) – Orr 6-8 2-2 14, Hanna 5-12 3-4 14, Bachelor 2-11 4-4 9, Shorter 5-12 3-4 18, Keegan 3-4 1-2 8, Ungashick 1-2 0-0 2, Christiansen 1-2 0-0 3, Claussen 3-3 4-4 10, Ruud 1-3 0-0 2, Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Schadegg 0-0 3-3 3. Totals 27-57 20-23 83.
3-point goals — Central Missouri 10-30 (Lee 3-7, Tilley 3-4, Barker 2-7, Farr 1-4, Skillman 1-2, Chapman 0-1, Fritz 0-1), Washburn 9-28 (Shorter 5-12, Bachelor 1-7, Hanna 1-3, Keegan 1-2, Christiansen 1-2, Orr 0-1, Ungashick 0-1). Rebounds — Central Missouri 35 (Lee 7), Washburn 34 (Hanna 7). Assists — Central Missouri 11 (Tilley 6), Washburn 14 (Bachelor 9). Turnovers — Central Missouri 16, Washburn 8. Fouled out — Farr. Attendance — 2,925.
