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Game No. 19
Washburn Ichabods vs Missouri Western State Lions
Saturday, February 2, 2008
7:30 p.m.
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Where: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena
Capacity: 4,179
Rankings: Both teams unranked in January 29 NABC national poll
WU Record: 11-7, 3-6 MIAA
MWSU Record: 8-10, 2-7 MIAA
Series Record: WU leads 41-30
Last Meeting: MWSU 78-77 on 01/02/08 (A)
Last WU win: 77-62 on 01/27/07 (A)
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 639-247 (.721) in his 29th season at WU and overall
MWSU Coach Tom Smith: 384-193 (.666) in his 20th season at MWSU; 554-377 (.595) in his 32nd season overall
Ichabods look to snap losing streak as they host Missouri Western Saturday
The Ichabods will try and break a three-game losing streak as they host Missouri Western Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Arena. Washburn is 11-7 overall and 3-6 in the MIAA while the Griffons are 8-10 and 2-7 in the league. Both teams will be trying to snap losing streaks and climb in the conference standings as MWSU has lost four straight to sink to last in the MIAA and the Ichabods are tied for eighth in the league.
The game will be carried live on KTPK 106.9 FM throughout the Topeka area and will also be streamed live at wusports.com for free by following the link under men's basketball. Fans can also watch the game for $5.50 at themiaa.tv through a live video stream.
Notes of Interest
• Washburn is 6-1 at home this year after losing Wednesday to Missouri Southern.
James Williams leads the Ichabods with 12.9 points a game at home and
Paul Byers is shooting 60 percent.
• Washburn has lost three straight and hasn't won since a 59-50 victory January 19 against Truman. This current losing streak is the only one this season as WU hasn't lost more than one straight game previously.
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Brady Sisk is averaging 11.0 points a game and shooting 70 percent in his five starts for the Ichabods.
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Paul Byers needs three more blocks to move into a tie for fifth in WU school history. He has 63 in three years.
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Andrew Meile is eighth in school history with 130 3-pointers and 331 attempts in his four years.
• Angel Santiago leads the Ichabods with 11.1 points a game and has reached double figures 12 times.
About the Missouri Western Griffons
The Griffons are 8-10 overall and last in the MIAA at 2-7 after losing Tuesday at Southwest Baptist. Lonnel Johnson leads the team and is second in the MIAA with 17.8 points a game and Reggie Bunch is fifth in the conference with 16.4 points a game. Johnson has reached double figures in every game this year with a season-high 27 coming twice, including on January 2 in a win against Washburn.
WU-MWSU series notes
• Washburn is 41-30 overall against Missouri Western after losing last month in the MIAA opener.
• Missouri Western was the only MIAA team Washburn swept last year and the Ichabods have won six of the last nine.
• The Ichabods lead the series 18-15 in MIAA matchupsand 16-8 in games played in Lee Arena.
Lee Arena provides Ichabods with homecourt advantage
Washburn was 6-0 at home this year until losing 82-74 Wednesday against Missouri Southern. The Ichabods are out-scoring their opponents by 20.3 points in Lee Arena. They score 83.4 points a game at home and shoot 48 percent while the visitors score 63.1 points with 38 percent shooting.
James Williams leads the Ichabods with 12.9 points a game at home and Angel Santiago is adding 11.9 a game.
Paul Byers is scoring 9.0 and leads the team with 60 percent shooting after going 4 of 5 against MSSU.
Washburn began playing in Lee Arena in 1984-85 and has gone 314-56 (.849) in the 24th season there.
Ichabods get fourth second half comeback win of the season
The Ichabods have trailed at some point in the second half 11 times this year and have come back to win four times. They have trailed in the second half in all nine MIAA games so far this year and have come back to win three of them. Also, Washburn has trailed at halftime in each of its last five games and eight of the nine MIAA contests.
Washburn trailed by a point at halftime to Truman on January 19 and by as much as five in the second half before coming back for a 59-50 win. They were down by as much as 11 at Fort Hays State and at Southwest Baptist before coming back and then falling short in one-point losses.
At Northwest Missouri the Ichabods trailed the Bearcats by four points, 49-45 at the 6:40 mark of the second half before rallying for a four-point win. Washburn's biggest second half comeback this year came at home against Central Missouri on January 5. The Ichabods trailed by five at halftime and then three minutes into the period they were down by nine points. Washburn came back for an 82-76 win. Washburn also managed a comeback at home December 4 against Central Oklahoma, turning around a four-point deficit at 4:08 for a 71-68 win.
Ichabods playing too close for comfort
The Ichabods are 4-6 in their last 10 games with nine of them being decided by nine points or less. In those nine games Washburn has lost three one-point games. Their loss last Saturday at Pittsburg State was the first game to be decided by double digits since a 93-60 win December 17 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
The Ichabods' one-point loss at SBU last Tuesday came after they got within one but couldn't score on their final possession. The loss at Fort Hays State came on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that erased a two-point deficit for the Tigers. At Missouri Western the Ichabods led by six points with over three minutes to play and then gave up a late 3 to lose the game.
Washburn suffers first loss when shooting 50 percent
The Ichabods are 5-2 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this year. All five of the wins came in the non-conference season with the most recent being December 18 at St. Mary's when the Ichabods were actually out-shot, 53 percent to 50 percent, but held on for a 77-75 win. That game was also the last of three straight that the Ichabods made at least half of their shots.
Washburn is averaging 89.7 points a game when shooting at least 50 percent and is holding opponents to 69.7 points. Washburn's most efficient night from the field came November 16 when it was 54 percent, making 37 of 68 field goals. The Ichabods were also 53 percent from 3-point range that night (10 for 19).
The Ichabods are 10-2 overall this year when out-shooting their opponents and 1-5 when their opponent shoots at least 50 percent.
Sisk second on the team in scoring for Ichabods
Senior forward
Brady Sisk is second on the team with 10.5 points a game and he leads the team shooting .565 from the field. He scored a season-high 19 at Fort Hays State and in nine MIAA games he is scoring 10.8 points a game with 59 percent shooting.
Sisk has started the last four games for the Ichabods and in six starts this year he is averaging 11.0 points a game and shooting .703 percent from the field. Sisk has reached double figures in scoring nine times this year and Washburn is 7-2 when he does so. His 30th career double-figure scoring game came December 17 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Santiago leads the team in scoring
Washburn's leading scorer Angel Santiago scored 13 points off the bench for the Ichabods and leads Washburn with 11.1 points a game. He leads the team with 12 double figure scoring games this year.
Santiago had a stretch of eight straight games scoring in double figures earlier in the year with a season-high 22 coming in a win against Central Missouri on January 5. In WU's first three MIAA games Santiago scored 20.3 points a game off 46 percent shooting from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range.
Point guard Mario Scott leads the Ichabods offense
Sophomore guard
Mario Scott started the first 12 games at point guard for the Ichabods and then returned to the starting lineup in the last three games. He leads the team with 78 assists and his 4.43 per game is second best in the MIAA. At Missouri Western he had 10 assists to become the first Ichabod to reach double figures since Jerad Head did it in 2004-05. Scott also leads the team with 35 steals and 1.94 per game. Scott scored a season-high 20 points off the bench at Fort Hays State and has reached double figures six times. He is averaging 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds.
James Williams third on the team in scoring
Junior guard
James Williams is third on the team with 10.2 points. After he scored 14 off the bench last week at Southwest Baptist and 11 against MSSU he has reached double figures 11 times and he has led the team in scoring five times this year. His season high was 17 points against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma. Williams is second on the team with 25 steals and he leads the Ichabods with 12.9 points a game in seven home games.
Byers moves to sixth on career blocking chart
Junior forward
Paul Byers had three blocks against Truman and one at SBU last Tuesday to move alone into sixth all-time at Washburn in career blocks, now with 63. He needs three more to move into a tie for fifth and four more to move to fourth. He had 17 blocks last year and in 2005-06, his freshman year, he had 31, the eighth highest single-season total at Washburn. Byers begins the year fifth in school history with 0.9 blocks a game. Byers has 15 blocks this year with a team season-high of three three times this year.
In the nine MIAA games he has 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. Overall Byers is scoring 8.7 points a game and is second on the team shooting 57 percent from the field. His 5.7 rebounds a game is also second best on the team.
Byers scored 16 points at Emporia State to tie his season high. He also had 16 at Missouri Western off 8 of 11 shooting. He had a career-high 12 rebounds against Central Missouri.
Meile enters top 10 in career 3-pointers made
Senior guard
Andrew Meile has 130 3-pointers in his career, the eighth most in school history. He needs 19 more to catch Eric Carter, who had 149 from 1997-2001. He is also eighth in 3-point attempts with 331 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at 39 percent.
Meile has started every game the last two years and is averaging 7.7 points a game this year off 48 percent shooting and he's 29 of 67 from 3-point range.
Kyle Snyder leads Ichabods in rebounds
After limited playing time last year with an injury, senior
Kyle Snyder has played in every game this year and has started four at forward. He leads the team with 7.4 rebounds this year and is scoring 5.7 points a game off 51 percent shooting.
Snyder reached double figures in rebounding for the fourth time this year with 11 against Truman and for the fifth time with 11 at SBU last Tuesday. He led the Ichabods with 10 rebounds at Emporia State and he had a season-high 13 rebounds against UCM. He had his third career double-double on December 4 against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma with 11 points and 11 rebounds. In his four games as a starter he is averaging 8.3 points and shooting 67 percent (14 for 21).
Hargett continues to start for Ichabods
Senior guard
Grant Hargett has started four straight games and five of the last six this year after earning 13 starts last year. In a start against Truman on January 19 he scored 17 points, all in the second half as the Ichabods won 59-50. He was 5 of 7 from the field in the second half and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Hargett is scoring 7.6 points a game and shooting 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
Bods and Ends
• Washburn leads the MIAA in rebounding with 39.4 a game and is second with a +4.6 rebounding margin.
• The Ichabods are fourth in the MIAA with 9.3 steals a game. Last year they only averaged 5.6 steals.
• Scott's 10 assists at Missouri Western still stands as the highest total amongst MIAA players this year.
• The Ichabods have reached the 100-point mark twice this year. In 2004-05 they scored 100 or more three times and in 2003-04 they did it five times.
• Washburn set a school and MIAA record last year with five overtime games. The Ichabods went 3-2 in the games, taking two of them to double overtime.
• The Ichabods are 31-24 all-time in overtimes with one win this year. Washburn is 6-7 all-time in 13 games that went into at least double-overtime.
Final notes on the Missouri Southern game
• In the 62nd meeting between the two schools Washburn now leads the all-time series 43-19 but has lost three straight. It was just the fourth win in Lee Arena for MSSU.
• Hargett, Meile, Byers,
Brady Sisk and
Mario Scott all started for the fourth straight time. That starting lineup is 1-3. Byers and Meile are the only two Ichabods to start every game this year while Scott has started 16 of the 18 games.
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Andrew Meile scored a season-high 14 points. His previous high was 13, reached twice this year including in WU's last game, January 26 against Pittsburg State. He also made a season-high four 3-pointers.
• The Ichabods' 23 turnovers is a season-high. The previous high was 20 in the season opener at Kansas.
• The Ichabods shot 50 percent or better for the seventh time this year but have lost two straight when doing so. The Lions shot 50 percent, dropping WU to 1-5 when its opponent makes at least half its shots.
A winning history
• The Ichabods are 1,347-932 (.591 in 2,279 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball.
• Starting their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 314-56 (.849).
• In 19 seasons now as an NCAA II school, the Ichabods have 10 NCAA tournament appearances and nine MIAA titles.
• Washburn won the 1986-87 NAIA national championship with a 35-4 record under head coach
Bob Chipman in his eighth year as coach.
• The Ichabods suffered their first losing season in 2005-06 since 1976-77 and first of head coach
Bob Chipman's career. They also failed to advance to the MIAA tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1989-90.
Ichabods on TV
Once again, Washburn's three home games against its three MIAA opponents from Kansas will be broadcast live on KTWU from Lee Arena. The first broadcast will be February 9 against Pittsburg State. The next will be the February 23 game against Emporia State and the final broadcast will be the February 27 game against Fort Hays State.
All three games are set for 7:30 p.m. tip offs and can be seen on channel 11 in Topeka and on K30AL, channel 30, in Iola, Kansas. KTWU is also available on various cable systems throughout the state including Cox Cable channel 8 in Topeka.
