Game 12 Washburn Ichabods (8-4, 4-1/t-2nd) vs Central Missouri (9-2, 2-2 MIAA/t-6th) Saturday, January 3, 2009 7:30 p.m. Where: Topeka, Kan. Arena: Lee Arena Capacity: 4,179 Rankings: Both teams unranked, UCM receiving votes Series Record: Tied 41-41 Last Meeting: WU 79-68 on 03/07/08 (N) Last UCM win: 64-59 on 03/01/08 (A) WU Coach Bob Chipman: 654-255 (.719) in his 30th season at WU and overall UCM Coach Kim Anderson: 137-56 in his 7th season at UCM and overall Complete Notes in PDF

TV: (tape-delay) • WUCT 13 Jan. 8 • 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 Central Missouri Men's Basketball Roster 2008-09 Statistics Schedule

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Ichabods start '09 portion of season at home against Central Missouri
Washburn will open the 2009 portion of the season at home Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Central Missouri in Lee Arena. The Ichabods (8-4, 4-1 MIAA) are tied for second in the MIAA while the Mules (9-2, 2-2 MIAA) are tied for sixth.
    
Washburn snapped a two-game losing streak with a win Wednesday against Fort Hays State while UCM has won four straight after topping Pittsburg in overtime Monday.
    
The Ichabods will be playing their third game since Monday while the Mules are playing just their second after getting a bye Wednesday. Washburn is 6-0 at home this year while UCM is 0-2 in away games.
    
DeAndre Eggins leads Washburn with 16.6 points a game and Darnell Kimble leads with 6.8 rebounds. Mario Scott leads with 5.0 assists and that total is tied for the MIAA lead. Joe Young leads UCM with 13.6 points a game while Sanijay Watts is scoring 12.8 and shooting 61 percent from the field ot lead the team and the MIAA.

Ichabods vs Mules Last Time Out
Washburn 79, Central Missouri 68
Meile leads Ichabods to MIAA semifinal with first career double-double
March 8, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Ichabods shot 58 percent in the second half to turn a two-point halftime lead into a 79-68 win Central Missouri in the first round of the MIAA Championship Tournament. Washburn, seeded sixth in the eight-team event, improved to 18-10 and Central Missouri was the No. 3 seed and ended its season 18-10.

Andrew Meile recorded his first career double-double in the 113th game in the last four years. He had 23 points and set a career high with 10 rebounds, including nine defensive boards. He was 4 of 6 in the first half and then 3 of 3 in the second half. He finished the night 7 of 9 and 5 of 7 from beyond the 3-point line. He had eight of his rebounds in the second half.

Darnell Kimble and James Williams also reached double figures for Washburn. Kimble was 6 of 11 from the field for 13 points and Williams hit three 3s and four field goals for 13 points after going without a field goal in the previous three games.

Kimble's lay-up at 10:13 in the second half gave Washburn a 10-point lead and then Williams' 3-pointer at 3:37 made it a 16-point Washburn lead at 70-54. With the double-digit lead late in the game the Ichabods got to the free throw line 11 times in the final 2:17 and made nine of them.

The Ichabods shot 48 percent in the game while UCM was 40 percent. WU was 11 of 25 (44 percent) from the 3-point line. Washburn won the rebound battle 40-30.

Joe Young led UCM with 26 points off 9-of-13 shooting.

Central Missouri Series History
• This is the 83rd meeting in school history and the all-time series is tied, 41-41.
• The Ichabods won two of the three games last year. Each team won its home game in the regular season and then Washburn defeated UCM in the MIAA quarterfinal. Last year was just the third time the two MIAA regular season games were split between the two.
• Prior to last year the Mules had won seven straight in the series. Prior to that winning streak, Washburn had won 12 straight.
• Washburn is 16-5 against UCM in Lee Arena and 19-13 in MIAA games.
• WU coach Bob Chipman is 23-16 against the Mules and 6-8 coaching against UCM coach Kim Anderson.

Washburn's Last Time Out
Washburn 82, Fort Hays State 66
Strong second half leads Ichabods to win over Fort Hays State
December 31, 2008
Washburn shot 64 percent in the second half and out-scored Fort Hays State by 14 points en route to an 82-66 win over the Tigers Wednesday afternoon in Lee Arena.
    
DeAndre Eggins led the Ichabods with 21 points as he was 5 of 9 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free throw line. Darnel Kimble scored 18 and Mario Scott had 11. Lekheythan Malone came off the bench to score nine points and lead the team with six rebounds.
    
Washburn led by just two, 34-32 at halftime and then a 3-pointer by FHSU to start the second half gave the Tigers a one-point lead. They led by three at the 16:17 and then Malone hit a jumper at 15:06 that gave the Ichabods the lead and sparked an 18-2 run.
    
Eggins scored eight points during that four-minute run and Malone scored five, capping the streak with a 3-pointer at 11:31 that made the score 58-43.
    
The Ichabods shot 64 percent in the second half (14 of 22) and out-scored FHSU, 48-34 in the half. They shot 52 percent in the game, 50 from 3-point range and 74 percent from the free throw line.
    
FHSU shot 39 percent in the game and was led by Tyrone Evans with 22 points. Tim Peinter had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

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 654-255 (.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 leading the team in scoring after strong showing in last five games
Senior guard DeAndre Eggins is leading the team with 16.6 points a game after he averaged 21.0 a game in the last five games. During that stretch he is shooting 44 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line. He has scored 20 or more points in three of those games and hasn't scored below 18. 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 five games and 2.4 assists.
    
Eggins has reached double figures in eight of the 12 games this year and he's led the team in scoring in seven of the games. Washburn is 5-0 when he scores at least 20 points.        

Kimble remains strong in post position
Senior forward Darnell Kimble has 20 blocks this year and he started the week second in the MIAA with 1.7 a game.
    
He is third on the team with 12.4 points a game and first with 6.8 rebounds. In the last three he is averaging 15.7 points and 9.3 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 last 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 playing off the bench in last three, still a strong contributor
Senior forward Lekheythan Malone started the first nine games for Washburn and averaged 15.3 points a game and shot 53 percent. He has since came off the bench in the last three games and is averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds.
    
Malone has reached double figures in seven of the 12 games this year and Washburn is 6-1 when he does so. He has scored 20 or more points in three games this year and he had his first double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds against Northwest Missouri December 6. Washburn is 3-0 when he scored 20 or more.
    
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.

Byers fourth in blocks, three away from third
Washburn senior forward Paul Byers enters his senior year 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 five of the 12 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 10.0 points a game this year and shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. He is third on the team with 5.1 rebounds.

Scott tied for MIAA lead in assists
Senior guard Mario Scott leads the team and he's tied for the MIAA lead with 5.0 assists per game. He has 50 through 10 games played while Missouri Western's Leonard Parker has 55 through 11 games.
    
Scott is also WU's leading shooter with a 52 percent average from the field and he's scoring 9.8 points a game. He had 11 points Wednesday against FHSU and has reached double figures five times this year.
    
Scott has had at least five assists in five of his 10 games this year with a season-high nine coming twice.

About the Mules
Central Missouri is 9-2 and tied for sixth in the MIAA at 2-2. The Mules have won four straight after starting the MIAA season with two straight losses. Those two losses were their only true away games. Joe Young leads the team with 13.6 points a game while Sanijay Watts is scoring 12.8 and shooting 61 percent from the field ot lead the team and the MIAA. Tremaine Luellen is scoring 11.6 and he leads the team with 6.0 rebounds. UCM leads the MIAA allowing just 63.2 points a game

Final notes on the Fort Hays State game
• Washburn improved to 83-61 against the Tigers in the 144th meeting in school history.
• The win snapped a three-game winning streak for the Tigers in the series. FHSU had won the last three and five of the last six. WU improved to 15-3 against FHSU in Lee Arena.
• Washburn improved to 6-0 at home and snapped a two-game losing streak overall.
• Washburn improved to 2-0 on New Year's Eve games. The previous game was a 72-56 win against Oklahoma Panhandle State in 1958.

Coming up next
    The Ichabods will stay home to host No. 3 Southwest Baptist January 7. That will conclude a three-game MIAA home stand, WU's longest of the year. After that, eight of the final 13 games will be on the road.