Ichabods Start Fast Take Down Hornets
The Washburn Ichabods remained perfect in MIAA play with 94-81 win over Emporia State improving to 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in the MIAA.
The Ichabods led from start to finish in the first half as Tyas Martin scored the first six points of the game for Washburn as the Ichabods jumped out to a 19-9 lead with 13:12 to go in the frame. Washburn broke a 9-9 tie with a 10-0 run over the next 3:30 as Javion Blake hit a pair of 3-pointers while the Hornets were 0-6 during the Washburn run.
The Hornets cut the lead to eight at 26-18, but a 16-5 spurt pushed Washburn’s lead out to 19 at 42-23 before taking a 53-35 lead into the break. Washburn was 19 of 39 in the first half hitting 7 of 20 3-pointers while holding the Hornets to 9 of 30 shooting. ESU was 13 of 16 from the free throw line compared to 8 of 9 for the Ichabods.
In the second half, the Hornets would get no closer than 10 with under one minute to play as the Ichabods won for the sixth time in the last eight meetings over Emporia State.
Blake led all scorers with 32 points on 12 of 18 shooting adding nine rebounds and four assists. Sevon Witt had 16 points off the bench with seven rebounds. Martin had 12 points and Jalen Lewis had 11 points. Tyler Geiman dished out a nine assists tying a career high.
Washburn was 36 of 64 from the field hitting 11 of 28 from 3-point range. The Ichabods outrebounded the Hornets, who dropped to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the MIAA. ESU was 23 of 62 overall and hit 14 of 35 from 3-point range going 10 of 20 in the second half. Washburn had 23 assists in the game led by Geiman’s nine. Washburn also held a 45 to 31 advantage on the glass turning eight offense rebounds into 12 second change point and they outscored the Hornets 44 to 18 in the paint.
Washburn returns to action at Missouri Western on Jan. 9 and will wrap up the three-game road trip with Northwest Missouri on Jan. 12 before coming back to the friendly confines of Lee Arena to host Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 16 and then host Fort Hays State in the NCAA game of the week with will be televised on ESPN3 and the watchespn app.
