By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn's chances for a third straight MIAA win looked somewhat bleak at halftime Saturday, with the Ichabods trailing by 11 points at Central Missouri.
But the No. 16-ranked Ichabods came storming back in the second half behind senior point guard Tyler Geiman to take a 70-68 win over the Mules.
Central Missouri, which fell to 6-12, opened the game on a 7-0 run and went to the locker room with a 39-28 advantage, but 14-3 Washburn battled back to take its first lead (53-52) on a 3-pointer from sophomore Tyler Nelson with 8:20 remaining.
There were three lead chances and three ties the rest of the way until Washburn tied the game at 68 with 41 seconds remaining on a hoop from Geiman and scored the game-winning points on a layup from senior Jace Williams off a Geiman assist in the closing seconds.
Geiman paced the Ichabods with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists while junior Jalen Lewis added 16 points and Nelson 13.
Cameron Hunter led the Mules with 21 points, while Koray Gilbert had a team-high 9 rebounds.
Washburn outscored Central Missouri 42-29 in the second half.
Washburn returns home to host Missouri Western on Thursday (7:30 p.m).
CENTRAL MISSOURI WOMEN 62, WASHBURN 56
Washburn's women put up a fight against No. 20 Central Missouri on the road Saturday, but the MIAA-leading Jennies prevailed 62-56 to improve to 16-2 on the season.
The Ichabods and Jennies were knotted 14-14 at the end of the first quarter, but Central Missouri rallied to take a 31-20 halftime lead.
The Jennies held a game-high 15-point lead after scoring the first two baskets of the second half, but the Ichabods went on an 14-5 run to get within 5, 45-40.
Trailing 54-42 with 6:09 left, a layup by senior Hunter Bentley started an 8-0 WU run to get the Ichabods within 4 points with 3:24 on the clock, but the Jennies answered with a big 3-pointer and hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch.
Junior Nuria Barrientos led the Ichabods with 18 points and hit 7 of 10 free throws while Bentley added 16 points.
Central Missouri's Olivia Nelson made 7-of-10 from the field and finished with a team-high 17 points while Nija Collier notched a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds and also blocked 5 shots.
The Ichabods travel to Northwest Missouri for a makeup game on Tuesday.
CENTRAL MISSOURI WOMEN 62, WASHBURN WOMEN 56
Washburn 14 6 20 16 -- 56
Central Missouri 14 17 16 15 -- 62
WASHBURN (7-10, 7-10)
Gamble 1-7 0-0 2, Bentley 6-10 2-2 16, Barrientos 5-13 7-10 18, Dewey 2-5 0-2 5, Doebele 3-6 0-0 6, Narber 2-2 0-0 5, Willey 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Cassady 2-4 0-2 4, Glatczak 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-48 9-16 56.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (16-2, 16-2)
Nelson 7-10 3-4 17, Collier 5-7 2-2 15, McAtee 2-5 0-0 6, Littrell 1-9 0-0 3, VanHyfte 0-1 0-0 0, Hackerott 4-9 0-1 9, Holden 1-5 2-2 4, Bovaird 2-3 0-0 6, Vanzant 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 22-51 9-11 62.
3-point goals -- Washburn 5-11 (Bentley 2-4, Barrietnos 1-1, Dewey 1-1, Narber 1-1, Gamble 0-4), Central Missouri 9-21 (Collier 3-4, McAtee 2-5, Bovaird 2-3, Littrell 1-4, Hackerott 1-2, Nelson 0-1, VanHyfte 0-1, Vanzant 0-1). Rebounds -- Washburn 22 (Bentley 5, Cassaday 5), Central Missouri 39 (Collier 13). Assists -- Washburn 8 (Dewey 2, Doebele 2), Central Missouri 11 (McAtee 3). Turnovers -- Washburn 13, Central Missouri 24. Total fouls -- Washburn 18, Central Missouri 16. Fouled out -- Bentley.
WASHBURN MEN 70 CENTRAL MISSOURI 68
Washburn 28 42 -- 70
Central Missouri 39 29 -- 68
WASHBURN (14-3. 14-3)
Carter 0-3 0-0 0, Geiman 9-18 2-2 23, Nelson 5-12 1-2 13, Lewis 6-10 0-0 16, Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Deffebaugh 3-4 0-2 7, Braun 1-4 1-2 4, Clausing 1-5 1-4 3. Totals 27-59 5-12 70.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (6-12)
Luinstra 5-7 0-0 11, Gilbert 3-6 3-4 10, Hunter 5-9 7-8 21, Pinkley 5-14 0-0 12, Blain 1-1 0-0 2, Sustic 0-0 2-2 2, Blaize 1-2 0-0 3, Nelson 3-4 1-2 7. Totals 23-43 13-16 68.
3-point goals -- Washburn 11-24 (Lewis 4-6, Geiman 3-7, Nelson 2-5, Braun 1-4, Deffebaugh 1-1, Carter 0-1), Central Missouri 9-22 (Hunter 4-7, Pinkley 2-10, Gilbert 1-2, Luinstra 1-1, Blaize 1-2). Rebounds -- Washbvurn 29 (Geiman 8), Central Missouri 27 (Gilbert 9). Assists -- Washburn 14 (Geiman 7), Central Missouri 12 (Luinstra 3). Turnovers -- Washburn 9, Central Missouri 15. Total fouls -- Washburn 15, Central Missouri 15. Fouled out — none.
