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Game No. 26
Washburn Ichabods vs Fort Hays State Tigers
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
7:30 p.m.
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Where: Topeka, Kan.
Arena: Lee Arena
Capacity: 4,179
Rankings: Both teams unranked in February 19 NABC national poll
WU Record: 17-8, 9-7 MIAA
FHSU Record: 17-8, 9-7 MIAA
Series Record: FHSU leads 82-60
Last Meeting: FHSU 84-83 on 01/16/08
Last WU win: 69-57 on 01/10/07 (H)
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 645-248 (.722) in his 29th season at WU and overall
FHSU Coach Mark Johnson: 216-63 (.774) in his seventh year at FHSU and overall
Four seniors set for final game in Lee Arena as Washburn hosts Fort Hays State
The four Ichabods seniors will play their final game in Lee Arena as Washburn hosts Fort Hays State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in a game televised on KTWU. Both teams will bring winning streaks into the contest as the Ichabods won their fifth straight Saturday with a win over Emporia State and the Tigers won their fourth straight with a victory over Truman. The two teams have identical 17-8 records and are tied for fifth in the MIAA at 9-7.
KTWU will once against broadcast the game and it will be shown live on channel 11 in Topeka and channel eight on Topeka's Cox Cable. The game will also be carried live on 106.9 FM KTPK throughout the Topeka area and will 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
• In the five-game winning streak,
Andrew Meile leads the team with 12.2 points a game while
Kyle Snyder is averaging 10.6 rebounds and 10.8 points.
• Washburn is 15-0 when leading at the half and 13-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• The Ichabods are 11-1 at home and outscoring opponents by 17.1 points in Lee Arena.
• Snyder is shooting 59 percent in nine games as a starter.
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Andrew Meile has recently entered the WU career top 10 lists in 3-pointers, assists and steals.
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Paul Byers needs one more block to move into a tie for fifth in WU school history. He has 65 in three years.
• The Ichabods have guaranteed their first winning season and trip to the MIAA tournament since 2004-05.
About the Fort Hays State Tigers
Fort Hays State is on a four-game winning streak that followed a four-game losing streak. The Tigers are tied with Washburn for fifth in the MIAA with an identical 17-8 overall record and a 9-7 conference record. Tyrone Evans leads the team in scoring with 12.5 points a game and he's first in the conference with 2.8 made 3-pointers a game. Terry Jeffries leads the team and he's second in the MIAA with 4.16 assists per game
WU-FHSU series notes
• This is the 143rd meeting between these schools in a series that goes back to 1918-19. It is the third most played series for WU behind Emporia State and Pittsburg State. Washburn leads the series 82-60.
• Washburn is 14-2 against FHSU in Lee Arena.
• These two schools shared five CSIC titles and three NAIA national championships during the 1980's. They also played each other 27 times during that time with WU winning 14 games. Six of those meetings came in the NAIA playoffs with FHSU winning four of them.
• These two teams have met in overtime six times with FHSU holding a 4-2 lead. The last OT meeting came last year when the Tigers won 70-69 in the Eastern New Mexico Shootout.
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. Washburn's game Wednesday against FHSU will be the final broadcast after the February 9 game against Pittsburg State and the February 27 game against ESU were aired. The FHSU game 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.
Lee Arena provides Ichabods with homecourt advantage
Washburn improved to 11-1 at home this year and has won five straight in Lee Arena after a 76-58 win over Emporia State Saturday. The Ichabods are out-scoring their opponents by 17.1 points in Lee Arena. They score 79.9 points a game at home and shoot 47 percent while the visitors score 62.8 points with 39 percent shooting.
Grant Hargett leads the Ichabods in scoring in home games with 11.3 per game after he had a career-high 18 Saturday against ESU.
Kyle Snyder leads the team shooting 58 percent in Lee Arena and
James Williams and
Andrew Meile are second on the team with 9.4 points a game. Snyder also leads the team with 9.1 rebounds a game.
Washburn began playing in Lee Arena in 1984-85 and has gone 318-56 (.850) in the 24th season there.
Ichabods unbeaten when leading at halftime
The Ichabods are 15-0 when leading at halftime this year. Conversely, they are 2-8 when trailing at the half. Washburn has trailed at halftime in nine of the 16 MIAA games this year and the Ichabods have trailed at some point in the second half 13 times this year and have come back to win five times.
Washburn was behind by six, 49-43 with 10:38 remaining Wednesday against Northwest Missouri. The Ichabods fought back and tied the score three times before taking the lead for good at 2:30. The Ichabods 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.
The Ichabods when shooting 50 percent or better...
The Ichabods are 6-2 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this year. The win Wednesday against NWMSU was the first MIAA win when shooting that well. Before that, 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 85.3 points a game when shooting at least 50 percent and is holding opponents to 69.9 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 15-4 overall this year when out-shooting their opponents and 1-5 when their opponent shoots at least 50 percent.
Meile at or near top 10 in six Washburn career records
Senior guard
Andrew Meile entered the top 10 in career steals after he had five last Wednesday against NWMSU. He now has 107 in his four years, the ninth most at WU. He needs two more to catch Mike Dickerson, who had 109 from 1986-90.
He also entered the top 10 in assists after he tied a career high with eight of them February 9 against Pittsburg State. He currently has 262, the seventh most in school history, and he needs one more to move into sixth with Bobby Sumler who had 263 from 1985-88.
Meile is also in the top 10 in 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, 3-point percentage and games started. He is seventh with 150 3-pointers in his four years and needs 9 more to catch Jordan Canfield, who had 159 from 1992-97. He is also seventh in 3-point attempts with 368 and eighth in 3-point shooting percentage at 41 percent.
Meile has started every game the last two years and 77 in his career, the eight most in school history. If he starts the final two regular season games he will be in a tie for seventh.
Meile has scored 20 or more points in two of the last four games and he's averaging 12.2 in the last five games off 47 percent shooting from the field and 48 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Meile leads the team in scoring during conference games with 10.4 per game and he's a 51 percent shooter from the field and from 3-point range. Overall he is averaging 8.8 points a game after scoring a career-high 25 against Southwest Baptist with a career-high six 3-pointers. He matched that total against NWMSU and scored 24 points.
Ichabods are 10-2 when Sisk scores in double figures
Senior forward
Brady Sisk leads the team in scoring with 10.0 points a game and he's third shooting .519 from the field. He has reached double figures 12 times this year after leading the team with 18 points February 9 against PSU and with 13 off the bench at Truman. The Ichabods are 10-2 when he reaches double figures and 5-0 when he leads the team in scoring.
In eight starts this year he is averaging 10.6 points a game and shooting .654 percent from the field. Off the bench he is just a 47 percent shooter.
Point guard Mario Scott leads the Ichabods offense
Sophomore guard
Mario Scott leads the team with 99 assists and his 3.96 per game is fourth 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 39 steals and 1.56 per game. Scott had 19 points against Missouri Western and he scored a season-high 20 points off the bench at Fort Hays State. He has reached double figures eight times and is averaging 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. He led the team in rebounding for the second time this year when he had five last Wednesday against NWMSU.
Byers moves to sixth on career blocking chart
Junior forward
Paul Byers has moved alone into sixth all-time at Washburn in career blocks, now with 65. He needs one more to move into a tie for fifth and three 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 17 blocks this year with a team season-high of three three times this year.
Byers scored a season-high 17 points against ESU Wednesday and overall he is scoring 8.9 points a game and he leads the team shooting .539 from the field.
James Williams second in scoring in Lee Arena
Junior guard
James Williams is second on the team with 9.4 points a game in Lee Arena this year. Overall, he is fourth on the team with 8.7 per game. Williams scored 14 points off the bench against Missouri Western and he has reached double figures 12 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 third on the team with 30 steals.
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 nine at forward. He leads the team and is second in the MIAA with 7.8 rebounds this year and he is scoring 6.6 points a game and shooting 53 percent.
As a starter Snyder is averaging 9.7 points and 9.1 rebounds and shooting 59 percent from the field.
Snyder has reached double figures in rebounding in four of the last five games and he has double-doubles in three of the last five. Saturday against ESU he had 15 points and 10 rebounds and February 13 against SBU he had a career-high 19 points and a season-high tying 14 rebounds. He had his second double-double of the year and fourth of his career with season highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds against Pittsburg State. He had his third career double-double on December 4 against then-No. 17 Central Oklahoma with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Hargett continues to start for Ichabods
Senior guard
Grant Hargett started against ESU Saturday and tied his career high with 18 points with four 3-pointers. He has now started 10 of the last 11 games this year. Overall, Hargett is scoring 8.4 points a game and shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. He leads the Ichabods with 11.3 points a game in Lee Arena and shooting 51 percent from the field.
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.
Bods and Ends
• Washburn leads the MIAA in rebounding with 39.4 a game and in rebound margin at +5.5.
• The Ichabods are 15-0 when leading at halftime this year and 13-1 when leading with five minutes remaining.
• Scott's 10 assists at Missouri Western still stands as the highest total amongst MIAA players this year.
• 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 Emporia State game
• In the 188th meeting between the two schools Washburn tied the series record at 94-94 and snapped a five-game winning streak for ESU in the series.
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Grant Hargett tied his career high with 18 points and he made a season-high six field goals. He also tied his career high with four 3-pointers. He also scored 18 points January 17, 2007 against Southwest Baptist.
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Paul Byers scored a season-high 17 points. His previous high was 16, reached twice.
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Kyle Snyder had his sixth career double-double and fourth of the season with with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
A winning history
• The Ichabods are 1,353-933 (.592 in 2,286 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball.
• Starting their 24th season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 318-56 (.850).
• 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.
