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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods rallied from an 11-point deficit early in the second half to defeat Emporia State 88-82 in the First Round of the MIAA Postseason Tournament on Thursday night at Municipal Auditorium. Washburn outscored ESU 53-39 in the second half to rally for the win.

A defensive battle in the early going, Washburn (16-12, 11-9 MIAA) led 19-15 with just over eight minutes gone by when the Hornets (18-10, 12-8 MIAA) went on an 18-3 run to open an 11-point advantage. The lead hovered around 10 for the remainder of the half before a three by Nate Daniels drew the Ichabods within eight at 43-35 heading into the intermission.

The Hornets pushed the lead back to 10 in the early part of the second half, but an 18-8 run by Washburn tied the game at 53 with just over 11 minutes remaining. ESU regained the lead with a quick 5-0 run, but the Ichabods responded once more. A trey by Paul Byers ignited a 15-2 run that gave Washburn the lead for good at 70-62. The Ichabods led by nine, but Emporia State was able to cut the lead to three at 81-78 with a half a minute to play. WU connected on 7-of-8 free throw attempts to ice the game.

DeAndre Eggins and Lekheythan Malone led five Ichabods in double figures with 20 points apiece. Eggins also had a game-high nine rebounds and seven assists. James Williams poured in 14 points, while Byers and William McNeill chipped in 13 and 12, respectively. Washburn outrebounded the Hornets 36-27 and made 35-of-41 foul shots compared to 15 for Emporia State.

The Ichabods advance to Saturday's semifinals where they will take on second-seeded Central Missouri at 2:15 p.m.