Game 7 Washburn Ichabods (4-2, 1-0) vs No. 21 Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (3-2, 0-1 MIAA) Saturday, December 3, 2008 7:30 p.m. Where: Topeka, Kan. Arena: Lee Arena Capacity: 4,179 Rankings: NWMSU ranked 21st in Dec. 2 NABC poll Series Record: WU leads 52-32 Last Meeting: NWMSU 50-49 on 03/08/08 (N) Last WU win: 71-61 on 02/20/08 (H) WU Coach Bob Chipman: 650-253 (.720) in his 30th season at WU and overall NWMSU Coach Steve Tappmeyer: 399-195 (.672) in his 21st season at NWMSU and overall Complete Notes in PDF

TV: (tape-delay) • WUCT 13 Dec. 16 • 7 p.m. Cox 13 in Topeka Video Webstream: themiaa.tv Radio: AM580 WIBW | Web Stream Live Stats: Here Washburn Men's Basketball Roster 2008-09 Statistics Schedule Northwest Missouri State Men's Basketball Roster 2008-09 Statistics Schedule

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Ichabods set to take on No. 21 Northwest Missouri State Saturday in Lee Arena
Washburn will look for its second MIAA win Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Northwest Missouri State in Lee Arena. The Ichabods improved to 4-2 and opened the conference season with a win Wednesday against Nebraska-Omaha while the Bearcats are 3-2 and lost their MIAA opener Wednesday at Emporia State.
   
The Ichabods snapped a two-game losing streak with the win Wednesday while NWMSU has lost two of its last three.   
   
Washburn swept the regular season series against the Bearcats last year then NWMSU beat Washburn in an MIAA semifinal. Washburn leads the all-time series 52-32.
   
Lekheythan Malone leads the Ichabods with 14.7 points a game while Hunter Henry leads the Bearcats with 16.8 a game. NWMSU entered the week leading the MIAA in shooting percentage at 54 percent while Washburn was second in the conference scoring 90.4 points a game.

Ichabods vs Bearcats Last Time Out
Northwest Missouri State 50, Washburn 49
Lead slips away from Ichabods as they fall in MIAA semifinal
March 9, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Ichabods gave up a late 7-0 run and then failed to get off a shot in the final half second as they suffered their fourth one-point loss of the year, 50-49 to Northwest Missouri in a semifinal of the MIAA Championship Tournament. Washburn ended its season 18-11.
   
Darnell Kimble was 5 of 6 with 15 points and Grant Hargett had 10 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Kimble was 4 of 5 in the first half and the entire team shot 45 percent en route to a 29-23 lead at halftime. The Bearcats shot just 29 percent in the first half and 35 percent in the second half. They overcame their poor shooting by making 16 of 20 free throws while Washburn was just 8 of 14. NWMSU also forced 18 turnovers while committing just 10.
   
Both teams hit 3-pointers on their first possessions of the game but things slowed from there on. Washburn went on a 5-0 run to lead 17-8 and didn't allow NWMSU to get into double figures until Hunter Henry hit two free throws at 9:30. Paul Byers had a lay-up on the next possession and Washburn led by nine, its biggest lead of the game with 8:57 remaining in the first half.
   
Washburn started the second half 16-0 when leading at halftime but the Bearcats slowly chipped away at the lead and went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 45-44 at the 5:43 mark of the second half.
   
The Ichabods went up by a point on a free throw from Kimble but next five points in the game were scored on Bearcat free throws. Hargett then hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds remaining and then after a missed shot from NWMSU, Washburn was unable to make a shot in the final seconds.
   
Meile tied his career high with five steals and he had four assists. Kyle Snyder led WU with eight rebounds and Meile had seven.

Northwest Missouri Series History
• This is the 85th meeting between the two schools and Washburn holds a 52-32 lead in the series.
• Washburn swept the regular season series last year for the first time since 2004-05 and the first win last year broke a four-game losing streak against the Bearcats.
• The series dates back to the 1940-41 season in an NWMSU win. They have played each other every year since WU joined the MIAA in 1989-90.
• Last year's matchups were low-scoring games. Washburn averaged 60.3 points in the three games and the Bearcats averaged 55.7 per game. The 49 points scored last year by WU in the MIAA semifinal was the second lowest output as an NCAA II school while the 99 combined points is the lowest total since WU joined DII.
• Bob Chipman is 29-16 coaching against NWMSU.

Washburn's Last Time Out
Washburn 84, Nebraska-Omaha 83
Daniels' free throw with under a second remaining gives Ichabods win over UNO
December 3, 2008
Nate Daniels hit a free throw with the game tied and three tenths of a second remaining on the clock to give the Ichabods an 84-83 win over Nebraska-Omaha Wednesday in both teams' MIAA opener.
   
Aaron Terry hit a lay-up for the Mavericks to tie the game with eight seconds remaining and then after a timeout and two seconds remaining, Paul Byers missed a 3-pointer and Daniels was fouled as he grabbed the rebound with three tenths of a second left. With the Ichabods in the double-bonus, Daniels made the first free throw and then missed the second. UNO did not have enough time on the clock to get a shot off and Washburn held on.
   
Byers led Washburn with a career-high 26 points off a 10-of-14 performance from the field. He hit four of six 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. Lekheythan Malone scored 14 points with a team-high nine rebounds and Mario Scott and Logan Stutz each scored 11 points.
   
Washburn shot 51 percent from the field while the Mavericks, playing their first MIAA game, shot 44 percent. The Ichabods were 35 percent from 3-point range and 54 percent from the free throw line.
   
The Mavericks led through most of the first 10 minutes of the opening half. William McNeill's 3-pointer gave the Ichabods a 16-15 lead with 10:24 remaining and they held on until halftime, leading 42-32 in the locker rooms.
   
The lead stayed near double digits in the second half for WU until the 9:43 mark when Dion Curry's two points started a 9-0 run that pulled the Mavericks within two points, 67-65 at 6:23.
   
WU held off UNO until the Mavs went ahead with two free throws from Curry at 3:24. They led by as much as three in the final three minutes and there were three ties, including Terry's shot with eight seconds left.

Chipman coached game No. 900 November 25
Head coach Bob Chipman coached his 900th game November 25 against Baker and he became the eighth coach to do so and win at least 600 games. Chipman is 650-253 (.720) in his 30th season with Washburn and overall as a coach.
   
Chipman is the second active MIAA coach to coach at least 900 games. Missouri Western's Tom Smith has coached over 940 games.

Malone leading team in scoring and double-figure games
Senior forward Lekheythan Malone has reached double figures in five of the six games this year and he's scoring 14.7 points a game to lead the team. Saturday at No. 6 Central Oklahoma he had 13 points and he was 8-for-9 in his Washburn debut and 5-for-5 from the 3-point line as he scored 24 points to lead the Ichabods against Colorado Christian on November 15 in the first day of the Washburn Classic. Malone missed his first shot against Colorado Christian and then made his next eight. He was 2-for-3 in the first half and then 6-for-6 in the second half. Against Baker he had 18 points and was 7-of-11 from the field and in his MIAA debut he had 14 points against Nebraska-Omaha
   
Through six games he is averaging 14.7 points a game to lead the team and he's shooting 54 percent from the field and pulling in 5.5 rebounds a game.
   
Malone transferred this year from NCAA Division I Arkansas-Little Rock.

Eggins scoring in double figures
Eggins is fourth on the team with 12.5 points a game and second with 2.5 assists a game. He opened with nine points against CCU and then he led the team with 20 against Central Methodist. He was 4-of-9 against the Eagles and 3-of-5 from the 3-point line. He also made 9-of-12 free throws that game. He had his second straight 20-plus scoring night with 20 against Baker as he was 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range.        

Scott throwing out a barrage of assists lately
Junior Mario Scott led the MIAA in assists with 6.0 a game at the start of the week and last week he averaged 8.0 a game. Scott has started as WU's point guard in every game this year. In three games last week he averaged 8.0 assists, 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds. He had nine assists and 18 points against No. 6 Central Oklahoma Saturday and Tuesday against Baker he had nine assists and just one turnover with eight points. He had six assists, eight rebounds and 15 points Friday against Southwestern Oklahoma. Scott totaled 24 assists during the week.
   
Scott is now averaging 5.3 assists after getting two against UNO. He scored 11 points that game and he's averaging 11.0 points a game this year with a 51 percent effort from the field. He's also pulling in 3.2 rebounds a game.
   
Scott's career high for assists is 10, reached last year at Missouri Western. He now has 11 career games with five or more assists.

Byers enters senior season fourth in blocks
Washburn senior forward Paul Byers enters his senior year fourth in school history with 72 career blocks. He is seven away from third and 28 away from tying former assistant coach Ewan Auguste for first in school history with 100.
   
Byers was second on the team last year as a junior with 20 blocks. He totalled 31 blocks in 2005-06, his freshman season, to lead the team and rank seventh in WU single-season history.
   
He had two blocks against Baker and he has four this year.
   
Byers set a career high Wednesday with 26 points as he shot 10 of 14 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He also had eight rebounds and three assists that game. He's averaging 13.0 points a game this year and shooting 55 percent from the field and 52 percent from 3-point range. He is tied for the team lead with 5.8 rebounds.

Kimble remains strong in post position
Senior forward Darnell Kimble has 10 of Washburn's 23 blocks this year. He started the wee second in the MIAA with 2.0 a game and he has 1.7 now.
   
Kimble set four career highs last Friday against Southwestern Oklahoma in the UCO Thanksgiving Classic. He had 29 points, topping 20 for the first time in his WU career. He made 11 field goals with 17 attempts and he blocked four shots.
   
This year Kimble has started in the post every game and he's averaging 12.3 points a game, fourth on the team. He's reached double figures four out of six times this year and in the UCO Classic he had 42 points in the two games with 14 rebounds.
   
Kimble returns for his second year after finishing second on the team last year with 9.4 points a game. He led the team with 15 double-figure scoring games and scored a season-high 16 points three times. Kimble led Washburn with 21 blocks and averaged 0.75 per game. He played in 28 games with 16 starts as a junior last year after transferring from Brown Mackie CC.
    
About the Bearcats
Senior guard Hunter Henry had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday at Emporia State but Northwest Missouri State fell, 79-56. The Bearcats are 3-2 this year and 0-1 in the MIAA. Hunter leads his team with 16.8 points a game and 8.4 rebounds. The Bearcats are shooting 50 percent as a team and they entered the week shooting 54 percent to lead the MIAA. They also led the conference allowing just 56 points a game but that increased to 60 a game after giving up 79 to ESU.
   
The Bearcats are ranked 21st in the nation Tuesday's poll.

WU-UNO matchup notes
• This will be Washburn's second game against a ranked opponent this year. WU lost November 29, 83-76 at then-No. 7 Central Oklahoma.
• Washburn led the league with 43.0 rebounds a game coming into the week and NWMSU was last with 32.2.
• Last year's matchups were low-scoring games. Washburn averaged 60.3 points in the three games and the Bearcats averaged 55.7 per game.
• Washburn is 23-12 against NWMSU in MIAA contests and 18-7 in Lee Arena.

Final notes on the Nebraska-Omaha game
• Mario Scott and James Williams started at guard and Lekheythan Malone, Paul Byers and Darnell Kimble started at forward for Washburn. This is the third straight time this combination started and the five are 1-2 when starting together.
• Washburn improved to 32-17 in the 49th meeting against the Mavericks. It was the first meeting since WU won in 1986-87.
• Paul Byers had a career high with 26 points. His previous high was 21, scored twice, including this year against Southwestern Oklahoma State on November 28. He tied a career high with 10 made field goals.
• Logan Stutz tied his season high with 11 points. He also scored 11 on November 16 against Central Methodist this year.
• Washburn has now shot 50 percent or better in three of the six games this year.

Coming up next
The Ichabods will have a week off after that before a December 13 game at Truman. After that they will make their first trip to Hawaii since 2004-05 and play two games in the Hoop N Surf Classic, including one against No. 9 BYU-Hawaii, December 17.