Game #12 Matchup: Washburn (7-4, 1-3 MIAA) at Fort Hays State (9-1, 3-0 MIAA) Date: Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 Time: 7:30 p.m. CST Site: Hays, Kan. - Gross Memorial Coliseum (6,814) Radio: AM 580 WIBW Rankings: Washburn is unranked the NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll. Fort Hays State is ranked No. 13 in the latest NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll. Radio: AM 580 WIBW Radio: AM 580 WIBW Live Stats: fhsuathletics.com Live Video: wusports.com

Washburn Ichabods Polls NR in NABC NCAA Division II Poll Head Coach: Bob Chipman Alma Mater: Kansas State, 73 WU Record:    669-268, 31st season Career Record: 669-268, 31st season Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Fort Hays State Tigers Polls #13 in NABC NCAA Division II Poll Head Coach: Mark Johnson Alma Mater: Pittsburg State, 1993 Record: 167-76, 9th season School Record: same Basketball Page Roster Statistics Schedule Game Notes Media Guide Athletic Web Site

Setting the scene . . .
The Washburn Ichabods (7-4, 1-3 MIAA) will begin a tough road stretch where they will face three nationally ranked teams on the road beginning the trip with No. 13 ranked Fort Hays State (9-1, 3-0 MIAA) on Wednesday. Following the game with the Tigers, the Ichabods will face No. 1 Central Missouri on Saturday with No. 12 Southwest Baptist wrapping up the set of road games on Tuesday. Washburn will return home to face Missouri Southern on Jan. 9. The Ichabods are in the middle of a stretch where they will have four games in nine days with three coming on the road.

Ichabods on Radio . . .
Ichabod games will be broadcast live on KTPK 106.9 FM. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Live Audio” link under basketball. Bruce Steinbrock will be the play-by-play voice of the Ichabods and former WU quarterback Mark Elliott will be the color analyst. Pregame show starts 15 minutes prior to tip.

The Coaches. . .
Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman is in his 31st season at the helm of the Ichabod basketball program. For 24 years now Chipman has been the winningest coach in school history and in 2006-07 he became the second winningest coach as a member of the MIAA. Chipman is 669-268 (.716) overall and he has 421 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA - the most of any teams in the league since the 1991-92 season. Chipman is 28-22 against Fort Hays State.
Fort Hays State head coach Mark Johnson is in his ninth season as head coach of the Tigers. Johnson became the 14th men's basketball coach in the school's history on July 13, 2001. He has compiled a career record of 167-76. He ranks among the top 20 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage (.678). Johnson has guided the Tigers to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at FHSU. He is 6-2 against the Ichabods.

Last time out for the Ichabods . . .
(Dec. 28, 2009) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods rallied from an eight-point deficit with 1:34 to go in regulation to send the game to an extra period on a 3-pointer by De'Andre Washington with 0.7 seconds to go but fell in overtime after the Missouri Western used a 12-0 run in the overtime period leading to a 75-69 Griffon win.
Coming down the stretch trailing by eight with 94 seconds to play, Washington recorded a traditional 3-point play cutting the Griffon lead to five with 1:25 remaining. After a pair of empty possessions for each team, Nate Daniels hit the second of two free throws pulling the Ichabods with four at 59-55 with 47 seconds remaining. A Griffon turnover on an inbounds pass returned the ball to the Ichabods and after two missed shots and offensive boards by the Ichabods, William McNeill's stick-back with 20 seconds left cut the lead to two at 59-57. The Griffons' Martin Nolan hit the second of two free throws with 18 seconds remaining pushing the lead back to three points. After a missed 3-pointer by Nate Wallace, Dezahn Otis picked up the offensive rebound and passed it to Washington who hit a fall away 3-pointer tying the score at 60 and the long-range shot by Missouri Western fell short sending the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, Washington hit a 3-pointer giving the Ichabods (7-4, 1-3 MIAA) a 63-60 lead, but the Griffons would score the next 12 points as the Ichabods would get no closer than four at 73-69 with nine seconds to play on a 3-pointer by Daniels.
Both teams struggled in the first half as the Ichabods recorded a season-low 20 points while shooting 30 percent from the field hitting 8 of 27 attempts. The Griffons (8-3, 3-1 MIAA) were 35 percent from the field hitting 9 of 26 from the field as the Griffons needed a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to take a 23-20 lead into halftime.
Washington finished with his third straight double double with career highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds with all of the boards coming on the defensive end. He finished 11 of 16 shots including 4 of 6 from 3-point range and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line. McNeill was the only other Ichabod to reach double figure scoring with 15 points before missing the overtime period fouling out with 18 seconds left in regulation.
Marcus Rhodes led Missouri Western with 17 points.
Both teams heated up in the second half with Washburn hitting 12 of 25 shots for a 48 percent clip while Missouri Western was 12 of 24 for 50 percent. The Ichabods were 15 of 20 from the free throw line while the Griffons hit 17 of 33 attempts.

About Fort Hays State . . .
The Tigers are 9-1 this season and 3-0 in the MIAA last taking the court in a 92-37 win over Bethel last time out on Dec. 18. Their only loss was a 83-76 loss at Kansas State. The Tigers own MIAA wins over Nebraska-Omaha (79-68), Northwest Missouri (78-66) and Missouri Western (67-54) with the UNO win coming on the road. Ken Bowman, who played for Washburn assistant coach Dave Brown at Hutchinson Community College last season, leads the Tigers in scoring with a 12.7 ppg average. He leads three Tigers in double-figure scoring with Corbin Kuntzsch with 11.7 ppg and Dominque Jones with 11.0 ppg.

Last time out for the Tigers . . .
(Dec. 18, 2009) HAYS, Kan. -- The Tigers moved to 9-1 overall on the year with a 55-point drubbing of Bethel College in the final non-conference game of the season. The Tigers ran away with the game in the first half, outscoring Bethel 53-12. The Tigers had a 33-3 run in the fi rst half, which included 11-0 and 22-0 runs.
Corbin Kuntzsch and Ben Congiusta led FHSU in scoring, each with 14 points. Also reaching double figures were Ken Bowman and Dominique Jones, each with 10. The Tigers shot 54.7% from the field, their third-best shooting performance in a game this year. The Tigers have shot 50% in a game at least four times this year and have yet to shoot under 40% in a game. The 92 points were the second-most in a game this year for the Tigers.

Series notes with Fort Hays State . . .
Wednesday's meeting will be the 146th meeting in the series history and Washburn leads 83-62. The series is the third most played for Washburn behind Emporia State (192) and Pittsburg State (161). Washburn is 15-3 against the Tigers in Lee Arena. Fort Hays State is 4-2 against WU in overtime games. The two squads split the pair of games last season with each team winning on its own home court with the Ichabods winning in Topeka 82-66 and Fort Hays State winning 68-60 in Hays. The Ichabods have lost their last four games in Gross Memorial Coliseum and have not won in Hays since an 84-75 victory on Nov. 28, 1998 prior to the Tigers joining the MIAA.

Last meeting with Fort Hays State . . .
(Feb. 7, 2009) -- HAYS, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods had their three-game winning streak snapped and Fort Hays State won their seventh in a row in a 68-60 loss in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The Ichabods (13-9, 9-6 MIAA) trailed by five at 36-31 in the second half, but rebounded to knot the score at 36. A missed jumper by the Ichabods and a 3-pointer by the Tigers (16-5, 9-5 MIAA) pushed the lead to three at 39-36. Following a bucket by Darnell Kimble, the Tigers hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 44-38 with 11:23 to go.
The Ichabods pulled back within 47-43 following a free throw by Logan Stutz with 7:46 remaining, but a putback by Terry Jeffries stretched the lead back to six at 49-43 with 5:59 remaining. The Tigers hit a jumper and Logan Stutz picked up a traditional 3-point play cutting the lead to five at 51-46 with 5:26 left in the game. Fort Hays State's Corbin Kuntzsch hit one of his three second half 3-pointers giving the Tigers a 54-46 lead with 5:05 left to play. On the Tigers' next possession, he would hit another one from 3-point range making the score 57-46 with 4:23 remaining. The Ichabods would get no closer than four the rest of the way when DeAndre Eggins scored on a lay up with 1:08 to play cutting the Tigers lead to 61-57.
Washburn trailed 29-25 at the break after Paul Byers picked a rebound of a 3-point attempt at the end of the half and hit a 15-foot jumper right before the half. Byers finished the half with seven points. The Ichabods shot 35 percent from the field while the Tigers were 13 of 32 for 41 percent. The Ichabods did commit eight turnovers leading to seven first half points for the Tigers.
Washburn was led by Eggins who scored 15 points. Williams scored 10 points for the Ichabods and Stutz and Byers each had nine. Kuntzsch had 23 to lead the Tigers while hitting all four 3-point attempts.
The Tigers held a slim 40 to 38 advantage on the glass.
The Ichabods were held to 36 percent shooting in the game hitting 21 of 58 from the field. Washburn finished with 13 turnovers leading to 13 points for the Tigers.

Ichabods Notes . . .
#2  • De'Andre Washington  • F • 6-5 • 235 • Jr.  • Has averaged recorded double doubles in each of last 3 games (23.3 ppg/12.3 rpg)  … his 33 points scored against the Griffons were the most scored by an Ichabod since Frank Phifer scored 32 at Northwest Missouri on Feb. 14, 2007.
#3  • Virgil Philistin  • G • 6-2 • 205 • Jr.  • Averaging 3.0 rebounds per game in last two
#5  • Mitch Allen  • G • 5-9 • 165 • Fr.  • Four of five this season from the free throw line
#10  • William McNeill  • G • 6-0 • 190 • So.  • Has been in double figure points in last five games (35 of 62 from field - 19.6 ppg)
#12  • Maurice Colter  • G • 5-10 • 175 • Jr.  • 17 of 19 rebounds this season have been on the defensive end of the court
#14  • Logan Stutz  • F • 6-9 • 205 • Jr.  • Has recorded 19 offensive and 19 defensive rebounds this season (3.5 per game)
#15  • Nate Wallace  • G • 6-1 • 210 • Sr.  • Made first start since Nov. 19 against the Griffons on Dec. 28
#20  • Bobby Chipman  • F • 6-8 • 210 • Fr.  • 16 of 38 rebounds have been offensive this season
#21  • Bryce Simons  • G • 6-3 • 195 • Fr.  • Has hit at least one 3-pointer in last three games
#22  • Steve Feighny  • F • 6-5 • 215 • So.  • Tied season high with 6 points against Truman hitting all 3 field goal attempts
#23  • Dezahn Otis  • G • 6-3 • 180 • Jr.  • Has averaged two offensive rebounds per game in the last
#24  • Anthony Nocito  • F • 6-8 • 240 • Jr.  • Tied season high with 3 points against Truman
#32  • Todd Eils  • G • 6-2 • 175 • Rf.  • Has played in five games this season seeing 11 minutes of playing time
#33  • Nate Daniels  • G • 6-3 • 190 • Jr.  • Has hit two of his last three 3-point attempts averaging 6.5 ppg in last two games
#35  • Jordan Lambkins  • G • 6-2 • 190 • Fr.  • Will redshirt this season


Three-second calls. . .(quick tid-bits on the 'Bods)
On top of Ichabod assistant head coach Dave Brown meeting up with former player Ken Bowman, on the court a former pair of UT-San Antonio teammates will face each other in Washburn's Dezahn Otis and the Tigers' Orrin Greer. Both played the 2007-08 season for the Roadrunners with Greer averaging 3.1 ppg and Otis scoring 0.8 ppg … Washburn has outscored their opponents 132 to 127 in the last five minutes of games this season … the Ichabods are shooing 46 percent in the second half of games hitting 159 of 345 shots while hitting 43 percent of their attempts in the first half hitting 149 of 351 … the Ichabods are nearly even with their opponents reboudning total in the first half trailing 207 to 206 - Washburn is outrebounding their opponents 207 to 164 (18.8 to 14.9) in the second half this season … the Ichabods are 9-8 on Dec. 28 since the 1961 season following the loss to the Griffons … the Ichabods are 8-8 on Dec. 30 since the 1961 season … William McNeill is 10 of 17 in the final five minutes of games this season … Bobby Chipman leads the Ichabods with 11 total rebounds in the final five minutes of games this season … Washburn's bench has outscored their opponents bench 335 to 229 this season (30.5 to 20.8) … the Ichabods have had 104 fast break points compared to 52 for their opponents including a season-high 16 against St. Mary … the Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 389 to 272 in the paint this season … in the Ichabods' win over Central Washington, it was the second time WU fought back for a victory when trailing by nine points (Bethany was the other) … the Ichabods had their six-game homecourt winning streak snapped in the loss to the Griffons.

Ichabod Basketball History . . .
Washburn is 1,367-953 (.682 in 2,320 games) in its 104th season of intercollegiate action. The Ichabods are the ninth-winningest team in NCAA Division II history and the 26th winningest team this decade. The Ichabods are 428-186 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most since the 1989-90 season in the MIAA.

Ichabods In Lee Arena . . .
The Ichabods are 336-60 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena - the 26th season of play. The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena. The Ichabods have won 15 straight regular season non-conference home games and 38 of their last 41 regular season non-conference games home.

Up Next . . .
The Ichabods will open up the 2010 calendar year when they continue the three-game road trip against ranked teams when they will face No. 1 ranked Central Missouri on Jan. 2 and No. 13 Southwest Baptist on Jan. 5 before facing Missouri Southern on Jan. 9 in Topeka.