Game 17 Washburn Ichabods (10-6, 6-3 MIAA/3rd) at Emporia State (12-3, 6-2 MIAA/t-1st) Saturday, January 17, 2009 7:30 p.m. Where: Emporia, Kan. Arena: W.L. White Auditorium Capacity: 5,000 Rankings: Both teams unranked Series Record: Tied 94-94 Last Meeting: WU 76-58 on 02/23/08 Last ESU win: 92-87 on 01/09/08 WU Coach Bob Chipman: 656-257 (.719) in his 30th season at WU and overall ESU Coach David Moe: 126-90 (.583) in his eighth season at ESU and overall Complete Notes in PDF

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189th edition of the Turnpike Tussle wraps up first half of MIAA season
Washburn will begin a three-game road trip and wrap up the first half of the MIAA season with a 7:30 p.m. game Saturday at Emporia State's White Auditorium. The Ichabods are 10-6 and 6-3 in the MIAA while the Hornets are 12-3 overall and 6-2 in the league. ESU is tied for first in the conference while Washburn is third.
   
Washburn will have Wednesday off while the rest of the MIAA will wrap up the opening half of the league season. The Ichabods are one of three teams with six wins and one of four teams with three losses.
   
Washburn is coming off an 85-73 win against Pittsburg State Wednesday while the Hornets were last in action Saturday at PSU, winning 102-100 in four overtimes. WU has been alternating wins and losses since December 31 while the Hornets have won five of six since December 20.
   
DeAndre Eggins leads Washburn and he's fifth in the MIAA with 16.6 points a game. Emporia State is led by Lamar Wilbern with 16.2 points, sixth in the MIAA.
   
The all-time series, the most played for Washburn, is tied at 94-94. Washburn is 25-28 in White Auditorium since home-away records were first recorded in 1956-57.

Ichabods vs Hornets Last Time Out
Washburn 76, Emporia State 58
Ichabods win fifth straight with big second half against Emporia State
February 23, 2008
The Ichabods defeated Emporia State 76-58 to win their fifth straight and snap a five-game losing streak against the Hornets. The Ichabods were up by just three points, 38-35 at halftime after ESU out-shot them 46 percent to 42 percent. Washburn answered with a big second half, taking a 24-12 advantage on rebounds and shooting 48 percent while ESU was just 29 percent. Washburn out-scored ESU 38-23 in the second period.
   
Grant Hargett led Washburn with 18 points off 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 4-of-6 effort from 3-point range. Kyle Snyder had his fourth double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Paul Byers scored 17 with eight rebounds.
   
In the first half there were seven ties and six lead changes. Emporia State led by as much as four twice in the half and led 26-24 at the 6:08 mark. A 3-pointer from Mario Scott after that gave WU the lead and then after one more tie in the half the Ichabods went into the locker room up 38-35.
   
After a tie early in the second half Washburn jumped ahead and built a double-digit lead at 9:09 off a lay-up from Byers and then Hargett's 3-pointer at 6:46 gave Washburn a 15-point lead.
   
Emporia State cut the lead down to 11 but a pair of free throws by Snyder with 2:19 left gave the Ichabods an 18-point lead.
   
Washburn shot 45 percent in the game and was 80 percent from the free throw line. ESU was 38 percent from the field and made just five of 25 3-point attempts for a 20 percent effort.
   
Wes Book and DeAndre Townsend led ESU with 12 points each.

Emporia State Series History
• This is the 189th meeting between these two schools and the series is tied, 94-94. Washburn's win last year snapped a five-game winning streak for the Hornets in the series.
• This is the most-played series for Washburn. The two teams started the series in 1905-06, Washburn's first recorded year of basketball, and they have met every year since the 1945-46 season. This will be the 64th straight year they have played each other at least once.
• Washburn is 25-28 all-time in White Auditorium since home-away records were first kept in 1956-57. ESU has won the last three in Emporia and five of the last six. Prior to that, Washburn was 14-2 in the last 16 away games.
• Washburn is 23-9 against ESU in MIAA games.

Washburn's Last Time Out
Washburn 85, Pittsburg State 73
Four reach double figures as Ichabods roll past Pittsburg State
January 14, 2009
James Williams had a career-high 20 points and three other Ichabods also reached double figures as Washburn defeated Pittsburg State, 85-73 Wednesday night in Lee Arena.
   
Williams was 6 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line. He hit three 3-pointers and had six assists. He finished second on the team with six rebounds.
   
DeAndre Eggins scored 18 points for Washburn and was 9 of 11 from the free throw line. He attempted and made all seven of Washburn's first half free throws. Lekheythan Malone scored 13 points with three 3s and Darnell Kimble came off the bench to score 10 points as he was 5 of 6 from the field. He also led the team with seven rebounds.
   
After two early ties and lead changes the Ichabods pulled to a 10-point lead at the 10:21 mark of the opening half on a dunk by Logan Stutz. A 7-0 run gave WU a 15-point lead with 8:27 remaining and PSU never got closer than nine points away in the half. The Ichabods led 43-30 at halftime.
   
The two teams traded points the first three minutes of the second half and then Washburn went on a 9-0 run to lead, 61-40 at 14:39. PSU hit a free throw to break the scoreless drought before the Ichabods pushed it to a game-high 27 points, 68-41 two and a half minutes later.
   
Those two streaks added up to a 16-1 run during a 4:55 stretch.
   
The Gorillas dropped the lead under 20 at the 8:42 mark and again at 2:05. They ended the game on a 9-0 run but that only pulled them within 12 as time ran out.
   
The Ichabods shot 48 percent from the field and a season-high 52 percent from 3-point range. PSU was 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from long range.
   
Mario Scott led Washburn with seven assists and he had no turnovers with three steals and nine points.

Ichabods continue dominance at Lee Arena
The Ichabods started the year 6-0 at home and have since gone 2-1 for an 8-1 record at home. Washburn is out-scoring opponents by an average of 84-69 in Lee Arena. The Ichabods shoot 48 percent at home compared to 40 percent  in away games.
   
Lekheythan Malone leads the Ichabods in Lee Arena with 16.3 points a game and he's shooting 56 percent in Lee. Away from home he averages 10.3 points while shooting 36 percent. Paul Byers is a 49 percent shooter in home games and he's 47 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
   
DeAndre Eggins, the fifth-leading free throw shooter in the MIAA at .788 from the line, actually shoots better on the road. He is an 81 percent shooter in away games and a 75 percent shooter at home (both home and away totals lead the team).
   
Overall, the Ichabods shoot 48 percent at home and 40 percent in road games. They are out-scored 70-75 while on the road.


Ichabods begin tough road stretch
Washburn will play its next three matches on the road and overall, eight of the final 13 games are on the road.
   
Washburn is 1-3 in true road games this year and 1-2 in the MIAA. DeAndre Eggins leads the Ichabods with 18.7 points a game and Darnell Kimble is second with 11.5 and he leads with 7.0 rebounds. Washburn is out-shooting its opponents on the road, 40 percent to 39 percent but getting outscored by 4.6 points a game.

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 656-257 (.719) 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.

Eggins has reached double figures in 10 straight games
Senior guard DeAndre Eggins is leading the team with 16.6 points a game, fifth best in the MIAA, after he has reached double figures in each of the last 10 games. During that stretch he is averaging 18.2 points a game and shooting 43 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the free throw line. He has scored 20 or more points in three of those games. He set his season high with 25 points on December 17 against BYU-Hawaii in the Hoop N Surf Classic. He's also averaging 6.2 rebounds in those six games.
   
Eggins has reached double figures in 12 of the 14 games he's played this year and he's led the team in scoring in nine of the games. Washburn is 5-0 when he scores at least 20 points.
   
Eggins leads Washburn and is fifth in the MIAA shooting .788 from the free throw line.

Byers fourth in blocks, three away from third
Washburn senior forward Paul Byers is fourth in school history with 76 career blocks. He is three away from third and 24 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 has eight blocks this year.
   
Byers has scored in double figures in six of the 15 games this year. He set a career high December 3 against Nebraska-Omaha 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 9.1 points a game this year and shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range.
   
At home he's shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range.

Kimble remains strong in post position
Senior forward Darnell Kimble played the last three games off the bench after starting the first 13. In those three games off the bench he's averaging 10.3 points a game and shooting 71 percent. He had 10 points Wednesday against Pittsburg State off a 5-of-6 effort.        
   
Kimble has 22 blocks this year and he's fourth in the MIAA with 1.4 a game. He is now tied for 11th in WU career history with 43 blocks and he's four away from 10th.
   
He is third on the team with 11.7 points a game and first with 6.3 rebounds.
   
Kimble had his first career double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds against Chaminade on December 18 in the Hoop N Surf Classic. His seven offensive rebounds and eight defensive rebounds were also career highs.
   
Kimble set four career highs November 29 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.
   
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.

Malone returns to starting lineup and scores 21 against No. 2 SBU, 13 against PSU
Senior forward Lekheythan Malone missed his first four starts of the year and then returned to the starting lineup in the last three games.
   
Malone started the first nine games for Washburn and in his 12 starts he's scoring 15.1 points a game and shooting 53 percent. Off the bench he scores 9.3 points while shooting 35 percent.
   
Malone has reached double figures in 10 of the 16 games this year and Washburn is 8-2 when he does so. He has scored 20 or more points in four games this year and he had his first double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds against Northwest Missouri December 6. Washburn is 4-0 when he scores 20 or more.
   
Overall, Malone is second on the team with 13.6 points a game and 5.9 rebounds. He shoots 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and 65 percent from the free throw line.
   
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. 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.
   
Malone transferred this year from NCAA Division I Arkansas-Little Rock.

Scott second in the MIAA in assists
Senior guard Mario Scott leads the team and he's second in the MIAA with 4.7 assists per game. Wednesday against PSU he had seven assists with no turnovers. He also had three steals and nine points that game. It was his sixth game this year with at least five assists and the 14th of his two-year Washburn career.
   
Scott is scoring 8.6 points a game and shooting 46 percent from the field. He had 11 points against FHSU on December 31 and he has reached double figures five times this year.

Williams nets career-high 20 points against PSU
Senior guard James Williams led the Ichabods with a career-high 20 points Wednesday against Pittsburg State. It was his second double-figure scoring game of the year and 15th of his two-year WU career. He was 6 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
   
Williams has started all but one of the 14 games he played in. He missed the first two while awaiting eligibility from the NCAA. He's averaging 5.6 points and 2.9 assists a game.

About the Hornets
Emporia State is 12-1 and tied for first in the MIAA with a 6-2 record. The Hornets had Wednesday off and their last game was a 102-100, four-overtime win at Pittsburg State. They are 8-1 at home this year with the one loss coming against Southwest Baptist.
   
Lamar Wilburn leads the team with 16.2 points a game and 8.1 rebounds. He's sixth in the league in scoring and third in rebounding. Robert Moores is scoring 14.2 a game and shooting .516 from the field and .523 from 3-point range, the highest percentage in the MIAA.

Final notes on the Pittsburg State game
• Washburn improved to 88-72 against Pittsburg State in the 160th meeting between the two schools. Washburn is now 24-2 against PSU in Lee Arena.
• The home team improved to 22-4 in the last 26 regular season meetings.
• The WU-PSU series is the second-most played series in WU history with 160 meetings and the two have met every year since 1941-42.
• James Williams had a career-high 20 points. His previous high was 17 against Central Oklahoma on December 4, 2007.
• Washburn shot a season-high 52 percent (11 of 21) from 3-point range. The previous high was 50 percent, reached three times.
• Washburn failed to block a shot for the first time since a loss against Pittsburg State on January 20, 2007. That was a span of 54 straight games with at least one block.

Coming up next
    Washburn will have its first of two byes this season during the MIAA mid-week game. That will mark the halfway point of the MIAA season. Washburn is the last MIAA team to get its bye and the second bye of the season will come during the final day of the regular season. The Ichabods will return to action Saturday at Nebraska-Omaha in a 3:30 pm game. This will be Washburn's first trip to UNO since 1986-87.