By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn men’s basketball held ceremonies for its six seniors before its game against Missouri Southern on Thurssday night.
The celebration continued into the night as the Ichabods rattled off a fifth straight win, defeating the Lions, 81-69.
“These guys have won a lot of games, MIAA tournament championship, NCAA tournament games and a lot of games in their time here, so they should be proud,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard. “I am even prouder of just the people that they are, and what they are going to represent leaving, out of Washburn.”
Washburn honored six players on Senior Night and posted an 81-69 MIAA win over Missouri Southern Thursday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Among the group of six were three former all-conference selections, Jonny Clausing, Jalen Lewis and two-time first-team member Tyler Geiman.
“Definitely blessed to be a part of it (the program), and just the guys I have been here with the last five years has been awesome. I wouldn’t trade it for anything and I would do it again if I got the chance tomorrow,'' Geiman said.
Those leaving are the first group to have spent their entire careers with Ballard, including Geiman who is the lone member to join Ballard at Washburn five seasons ago.
“He was my first recruit really, and we felt like we were getting a good player but you never know and, man has he been terrific. One of the all-time greats to ever play here and it’s been an honor to play and coach him,” Ballard said.
“I love coach Ballard and my teammates, it’s awesome to come out here in Lee Arena and play so I definitely enjoyed it,” Geiman said.
Thursday's win moved the Ichabods to 18-9 and keeps them at fifth place in the MIAA.
Both teams were slow out of the gate offensively, with neither side creating more than four points of separation through 10 minutes.
Washburn was able to create some separation once Geiman began scoring, quickly getting into double figures with six free throw attempts and a few jump shots on his way to 17 first-half points.
That production coupled with eight turnovers for Missouri Southern in the first 15 minutes created some separation, with the Ichabods going ahead by double digits at the 4:49 mark.
“I really like where our defense is at, I think we are guarding and challenging and not giving up any easy baskets,” Ballard said.
The Lions reeled off a 9-2 run to pull within three points with just over two minutes left in the half. Washburn quickly responded, with scores by Geiman and Lewis to take a 36-28 lead into halftime.
Much like the first half, after five minutes of back-and-forth play the Ichabods made a run, growing the lead to 13 points and forcing a timeout at the 13:22 mark after back-to-back baskets from Lewis and Clausing.
The lead grew to 15 over the next six minutes of play with balanced offensive production on all levels for Washburn.
Freshman Avery Taggart led the Lions in scoring with 23, and two free throws from him at the 6:01 mark cut the lead to just nine points.
The lead remained a point north or south of 10 until Geiman and sophomore guard Connor Deffebaugh connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Ichabods back up by 13 with just over two to play.
The lead only grew from there, up to as many as 18, and with a strong defensive effort to finish Washburn claimed the win.
“I still think we can shoot it a little better, which I think we will, but I like the rhythm we are in, got some momentum now and we got some big ones coming up,” Ballard said.
Tyler Geiman scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Washburn's 81-69 Senior Night win over Missouri Southern. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Geiman finished with 23 points and 8 rebounds, both pacing the team. Lewis added 18 points and seven rebounds. Deffebaugh and Clausing both finished in double figures with 15 and 11, respectively.
Washburn is now set up to face Emporia State to close the regular season on Saturday, and again in the first round of the MIAA tournament.
“It’s not ideal obviously but it is what it is. They are good and it will be tough,” Ballard said. “There will be a lot at stake because we got to win some games to get into the NCAA tournament.”
“We are healthy, practicing well and playing well,” Geiman said. “It’s time to go now, the train is rolling and let’s keep winning.”
Washburn’s first game against the Hornets will be on Saturday at White Auditorium.
WASHBURN MEN 81, MISSOURI SOUTHERN 69
Missouri Southern 28 41 – 69
Washburn 36 45 -- 81
MISSOURI SOUTHERN (14-13 11-10)
Bundy 1-4 1-2 4, Smith 5-12 6-8 16, Dessesow 4-11 0-0 12, Scott 2-9 0-1 4, Taggart 8-16 6-6 23, Ndaw 2-3 0-0 4, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Jenkins 1-5 0-0 3, Holden 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-63 13-17 69.
WASHBURN (18-9 15-6)
Clausing 4-10 3-6 11, Thorne 0-0 0-0 0, Geiman 6-14 9-11 23, Lewis 6-12 6-6 18, Cordes 0-1 0-0 0, Deffebaugh 4-9 4-4 15, Keegan 4-5 0-0 9, Harrell 0-5 0-0 0, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Ellis 1-2 1-2 3, Braun 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 0-0 0-0 0, Monday 0-0 2-2 2, Orr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-59 25-31 81.
3-point shots – Missouri Southern 10-33 (Bundy 1-2, Smith 0-4, Dessesow 4-9, Scott 0-3, Taggart 4-10, Jenkins 1-3, Holden 0-2). Washburn 6-22 (Geiman 2-4, Lewis 0-5, Cordes 0-1, Deffebaugh 3-5, Keegan 1-2, Harrell 0-4, Ellis 0-1). Rebounds – Missouri Southern 39 (Smith 11), Washburn 39 (Geiman 8). Assists – Missouri Southern 9 (Smith 3), Washburn 13 (Geiman 4). Turnovers – Missouri Southern 15, Washburn 10. Fouled out – Dessesow. Technical fouls – Taggart, Washburn bench.
