Game 18 Washburn Ichabods (10-7, 6-4 MIAA/t-4th) at Nebraska-Omaha (12-5, 6-4 MIAA/t-4th) Saturday, January 24, 2009 3:30 p.m. Where: Omaha, Neb. Arena: Sapp Fieldhouse Capacity: 3,500 Rankings: Both teams unranked Series Record: WU leads 32-17 Last Meeting: WU 84-83 on 12/03/08 (H) Last UNO win: 83-75 on 02/20/74 (A) WU Coach Bob Chipman: 656-258 (.718) in his 30th season at WU and overall UNO Coach Derrin Hansen: 64-43 (.598) in his 4th season at UNO and overall Complete Notes in PDF

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Ichabods look for season sweep of Mavs in first trip to UNO since 1986
Washburn will look for a season sweep of MIAA newcomer Nebraska-Omaha as the Ichabods play at UNO's Sapp Fieldhouse at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Though this is the 50th meeting between the two schools, this will be Washburn's first trip to Omaha since 1986.
   
The Ichabods (10-7) and Mavericks (12-5) are tied for fourth in the MIAA at 6-4 after UNO lost Wednesday at Pittsburg State. The Ichabods were off Wednesday and were last in action Saturday in a loss at Emporia State.
   
Paul Byers enters the game needing two rebounds to become the 14th player in school history to reach 500 in his career. With 76 career blocks, he will become just the second player to total 75 blocks and 500 rebounds in Washburn history.
   
Washburn won the earlier matchup between these two schools when Nate Daniels made a free throw with under a second remaining to give the Ichabods the lead. WU leads the all-time series 32-17 but prior to this year's meeting, they hadn't met since a 1986-87 trip to UNO.

Ichabods vs Mavericks 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.

Nebraska-Omaha Series History
• This is the 50th meeting in school history and Washburn holds a 32-17 lead in the series.
• The two teams last met in Omaha on December 6, 1986, in a 69-62 Washburn win in overtime. Prior to that, UNO had won three straight, all in the 1973-74 season.
• The two played at least once a year from 1947-48 through 1973-74,  a period of 27 straight years.
• The series began in 1933-34 and WU won the first nine meetings.
• The two have met in overtime twice with each team winning once.
• WU coach Bob Chipman is 2-0 against the Mavericks, having coached the last meeting in Omaha.

Washburn's Last Time Out
Emporia State 85, Washburn 75
Eggins tops 30 points but Ichabods fall at Emporia State
January 17, 2009
EMPORIA - DeAndre Eggins led all scorers with a career-high 31 points but the Ichabods let a 15-point second half lead slip away in an 85-75 loss at Emporia State Saturday.
   
Eggins was 11 of 23 from the field and he hit five 3-pointers. He also pulled in seven rebounds with three assists. Darnell Kimble, Lekheythan Malone and Covier Carter scored 10 points each.
   
The two teams started the second half tied, 41-41. Washburn opened with a 14-0 run to take a 55-41 lead at the 17:01 mark. The Ichabods then took their biggest lead, 15 points at 58-43 at the 15:41 mark. The Hornets then went on a 10-0 run to pull within five and then they took the lead, 65-64 with a 3-pointer at 9:29. Washburn led by two with three minutes left but the Ichabods were out-scored 16-4 the rest of the way.
   
Washburn shot 42 percent in the game while the Hornets shot 53 percent to become just the second team to shoot at least 50 percent against the Ichabods. Washburn was just 46 percent from the free throw line while ESU was 70 percent.
   
Washburn won the rebound battle, 37-34 but committed 13 turnovers while ESU gave the ball away 11 times.
   
Mario Scott led WU with five assists and Eggins led with two steals. Malone led with eight rebounds.
   
Dustin Andrews led the Hornets with 19 points and four others reached double figures.

Ichabods in the middle of a tough road stretch
Washburn is playing the second game of a three-game road trip Saturday at UNO. Overall, eight of the final 13 games are on the road.
   
Washburn is 1-4 in true road games this year and 1-3 in the MIAA. DeAndre Eggins leads the Ichabods with 21.8 points a game on the road and Darnell Kimble is second with 11.2 a game. Washburn shoots 40 percent on the road and averages 71.2 points a game while opponents shoot 42 percent and score 76.8 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 9.0 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 71-77 while on the road.

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 656-258 (.718) 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 11 straight games, became first to score 30 in over two years
Senior guard DeAndre Eggins is leading the team with 17.5 points a game, fifth best in the MIAA, after he has reached double figures in each of the last 11 games. During that stretch he is averaging 19.4 points a game and shooting 44 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 four of those games and Saturday at ESU he set a career high with 31 points, becoming the first Ichabod to top the 30-point mark since Frank Phifer had 32 on February 14, 2007, at Northwest Missouri State.
   
Eggins has reached double figures in 13 of the 15 games he's played this year and he's led the team in scoring in 10 of the games. Washburn is 5-1 when he scores at least 20 points.
   
Eggins is fourth in the MIAA in scoring, fifth with a .789 free throw percentage and fifth with a .443 3-point percentage.

Byers fourth in blocks, two rebounds away from becoming second WU players with 75 blocks and 500 rebounds
Washburn senior forward Paul Byers is fourth in school history with 76 career blocks and he is 14th in career rebounding at Washburn with 498. He needs two more rebounds to become the 14th player in Washburn history to have 500 or more. He would join Ewan Auguste (1997-01) as the only two players in Washburn history to have 75 blocks and 500 rebounds in their careers.
   
Byers is three blocks away from third and 24 away from Auguste, his former assistant coach, 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 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 8.6 points a game this year and shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range.

Kimble remains strong in post position
Senior forward Darnell Kimble played the last four games off the bench after starting the first 13. In those four games off the bench he's averaging 10.3 points a game and shooting 67 percent. He has scored in double figures in the last three games as a reserve.
   
Kimble has 23 blocks this year and he's fourth in the MIAA with 1.4 a game. He is now 11th in WU career history with 44 blocks and he's two away from tying for 10th.
   
He is third on the team with 11.5 points a game and first with 6.1 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 four games.
   
Malone started the first nine games for Washburn and in his 13 starts he's scoring 14.7 points a game and shooting 51 percent. Off the bench he scores 9.3 points while shooting 35 percent.
   
Malone has reached double figures in 11 of the 17 games this year and Washburn is 8-3 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 13.4 points a game and 6.0 rebounds. He shoots 47 percent from the field, 40 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. Last 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 8.5 points a game and shooting 45 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 last 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 15 games he played in. He missed the first two while awaiting eligibility from the NCAA. He's averaging 5.4 points and 3.0 assists a game.

About the Mavericks
Nebraska-Omaha is 12-5 and tied with Washburn for fourth at 6-4 in the MIAA. Maverick guard Michael Jenkins was named the MIAA athlete of the week last week after he averaged 26.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals as the Mavericks earned home wins over a pair of nationally-ranked MIAA opponents. He scored 26 points against Southwest Baptist and 27 against Missouri Southern.

Final notes on the Emporia State game
• In the 189th meeting between the two schools Emporia State took a 95-94 lead in the all-time series. The series was tied beforehand.
• ESU has won four straight in White Auditorium and six of the last seven overall.
• This marked the 64th straight year these two have played each other. This is the most played series for Washburn.
• DeAndre Eggins scored a career-high 31 points. His previous high was 25 points on December 17 against BYU-Hawaii. His 11 made field goals was also a career high after hitting six thee different times. His five 3-pointers tied a record.
• Eggins became the first person to score at least 30 points for Washburn since Frank Phifer had 32 on February 14, 2007, at Northwest Missouri State.
• Emporia State shot 53 percent from the field, the highest field goal percentage of the year against Washburn. It was also the second time a team shot at least 50 percent against WU. The previous time was a 52 percent effort by Southwestern Oklahoma State on November 28.
• James Williams played a career-high 31 minutes. His previous high was 30 minutes, played twice this year.

Coming up next
Washburn will wrap up its three-game road trip with a game at Northwest Missouri January 28 at 7:30 p.m. After that the Ichabods will return for two games at Lee Arena and then play four of the final six on the road.