Countdown to tip . . .
An early-season battle of two of the five undefeated MIAA squads will take place Wednesday night in Lee Arena when the Washburn Ichabods (5-1, 2-0 MIAA) will take on the No. 14-ranked Fort Hays State Tigers (8-0, 2-0 MIAA) wrapping up a three-game home stand. The Ichabods are coming off an 74-67 win over Northwest Missouri and the Tigers topped Nebraska-Omaha last time out 98-69.

Washburn (5-1, 2-0 MIAA) vs Fort Hays State (8-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Dec. 8, 2010 • 7:30 p.m. • Topeka, Kan. • Lee Arena (3,970)

Washburn	At A Glance	Fort Hays State
5-1, 2-0 MIAA	Record	8-0, 2-0, 2-0 MIAA
not ranked	National Ranking	#14 in NABC top 25 poll
Bob Chipman (Kansas State, 1973)	Head Coach	Mark Johnson (Pittsburg State, 1993)
683-279, 32nd season	Record at School	189-82, 10th season
Same	Overall	same
www.wusports.com	Website	www.fhsuathletics.com
WU 88-64	Series
Feb. 6, 2010, FHSU won 74-62	Last Meeting
AM 580 WIBW	Radio
Washburn game notes	Game Notes
wusports.com (free)	Online Audio
Live stats	Game Notes

Ichabods on Radio . . .
Washburn basketball games can be heard live on AM580 WIBW. The game can also be heard on the internet at www.wusports.com by following the “Live Audio” link on the basketball schedule page. Bruce Steinbrock will be the play-by-play voice of the Ichabods and former WU quarterback Mark Elliott will be the color analyst.

The Coaches. . .
Washburn Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman is in his 32nd season at the helm of the Ichabod basketball program. For 25 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 683-279 (.710) overall and he has 441 wins since the Ichabods joined the MIAA - the most of any teams in the league since the 1991-92 season. Chipman is 11th amongst all NCAA II coaches in winning percentage who have coached at least 10 seasons. Among that group, he is second in all-time coaching victories in active coaches in career victories. Among all coaches who have at least 10 years experience in DII, he is 25th in winning percentage and seventh in victories. He is the third active winningest coach in NCAA Division II and 10th in winning percentage and his 683 coaching wins is 28th all-time among all NCAA coaches at all levels. At Washburn he has led the Ichabods to 11 conference regular season titles (9 MIAA), 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1987 NAIA National Championship. Chipman is 28-24 against Fort Hays State.
Fort Hays State head coach Mark Johnson is in his 10th 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 189-82 at Fort Hays State. He ranks among the top 20 active NCAA Division II men's basketball coaches in winning percentage (.688). Johnson has guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at FHSU.  He is 10-8 against the Ichabods.
 
Last time out for the Ichabods. . .
(Dec. 12, 2010) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA with a 74-67 win over Northwest Missouri. .
The Bearcats (2-4, 0-2 MIAA) jumped jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Shaneel Narayan before De'Andre Washington answered with a three of his own for the Ichabods' first points of the game. The Bearcats pushed the lead back to six at 15-9 before five straight Ichabod points by Bobby Chipman cut the Northwest lead to one at 15-14. The Ichabods (5-1, 2-0 MIAA) took the lead for good in the first half on a lay up by Logan Stutz capping a 13-0 run putting Washburn up 24-15 with 8:44 to play in the half. Northwest cut back into the lead to two at 33-31 with 1:40 to play on a lay up by Kyle Haake, but a lay up by Stutz and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Washington sent Washburn into the locker room with a 38-31 halftime cushion.
Both teams hit at least half of their shots in the first half as Washburn was 13 of 24 for 54 percent and the Bearcats were 11 of 22 for 50 percent.
In the second half, Washburn pushed its lead to seven on a 3-pointer by Nate Daniels. Northwest would rally and eventually take the lead at 49-47 on a free throw by DeShaun Cooper. A 3-pointer by Virgil Philistin from the corner put Washburn back up by one, again Northwest would regain the lead at three twice with under nine minutes to play with the final time coming at 55-52 with 7:52 to play. A pair of free throws by Daniels cut the lead to one, followed by a lay up by Stutz and a 3-pointer by Daniels pushed the lead back to four with 5:19 to play. A 3-pointer by Narayan cut the lead to one at 61-60, but the Bearcats would get no closer than four the remainder of the way as Washburn won 74-67.
Stutz led the Ichabods with 25 points on 8 of 10 shooting while hitting 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Washington had 17 points and Daniels had 10. Elijah Allen led Northwest with 15 points while Narayan and Cooper each had 14 while Haake had 13.
Washburn finished 23 of 48 from the field for the game for a 48 percent average while the Bearcats were 21 of 48 for a 44 percent mark.
Washburn outrebounded the Bearcats 29 to 28. The teams combined for 15 turnovers with the Bearcats coughing the ball up nine times. Washburn had 32 of its 74 points in the paint.

Last meeting with Fort Hays State . . .
(Feb. 6, 2010) TOPEKA, Kan. -- A 14-3 run over a 3:30 stretch of the second half was too much for the Ichabods to overcome as they fell to No. 8-ranked Fort Hays State 74-62 in Lee Arena. The Ichabods will be back in action on Wednesday with another ranked foe when they will play host to No. 3 Central Missouri at 7:30 p.m.
After a bucket by De'Andre Washington cut a second half Tiger lead to seven at 45-38 with 13:23 to play in the second half, the Tigers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers stretching the lead to 18 at 59-41 with 9:53 to go in the game. The Ichabods cut the lead back to 11 on two different occasions before falling to the Tigers.
The Ichabods trailed by six at the break 31-25 after the Tigers shot 52 percent in the first half hitting 13 of 25 from the field. The Ichabods were 10 of 26 while going 1 of 10 from 3-point range.
The Ichabods were led by William McNeill who scored 15 going 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Logan Stutz scored 11 points off the bench hitting 4 of 6 attempts. Stutz led the Ichabods with six rebounds.
Fort Hays State had four in double figures paced by Willie Hassell's 17 points. Dijon Smith had 15, Dominique Jones had 11 and Corbin Kuntzsch had 10.
The Tigers led the Ichabods on the glass 35 to 28. Washburn forced 14 turnovers leading to 19 points.
Washburn finished the game 20 of 50 for 40 percent and 4 of 19 from 3-point range. The Tigers shot 64 percent in the second half going 14 of 22 from the field and 5 of 10 from 3-point range finishing 27 of 47 for a 57 percent average. 
About Fort Hays State . . .
The Tigers are 8-0 and 2-0 in the conference while earning a No. 14 national ranking in the NABC Top 25 coaches poll on Nov. 30. Dominique Jones leads the team in scoring with 18.3 ppg with nearly six assists per game. Ken Bowman is scoring 13.1 ppg along with a team-high 7.1 rpg while shooting 74 percent from the field hitting 40 of 54 attempts. Dijon Smith is scoring 13.1 ppg and Corbin Kuntzsch is scoring 11.4 ppg. Overall the Tigers have attempted 50 more free throws than their opponents (216 to 166) and averaging 91.4 ppg while allowing 67.2 ppg. Opponents are shooting 39 percent from the field while the Tigers are shooting 54 percent from the field this season.
Last time out for Fort Hays State . . .
FHSU Sports Information -- Dec. 3, 2010 - The No. 14 ranked Fort Hays State men's basketball team remained unbeaten on the season, defeating Nebraska-Omaha in dominating fashion Friday night (Dec. 3) by a score of 98-69. The win gave Fort Hays State's men's program its 500th win in 38 years of play at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Seven players scored in double figures for the Tigers in the balanced offensive effort. The Tigers improved to 8-0, 2-0 in the MIAA.
Ken Bowman led the way for FHSU with 19 points on red hot 9-of-10 shooting from the field and hit his only free-throw attempt of the game. He had three thunderous dunks leading to 7-of-7 shooting in the first half, the third on an alley-oop from Dominique Jones in transition near the end of the first half which brought the Tiger crowd to its feet.
Dijon Smith also dominated in the post, hitting 5-of-6 shots and all four of his free-throw attempts to finish with 14 points. Bowman and Smith have combined to shoot 86.4 percent (38-of-44) from the field over the last three games. Bowman is now 74.1 percent from the field and Smith is 68.3 percent from the field for the season.
Ben Congiusta tied his career high for the second straight game, pouring in 14 points by hitting four 3-point field goals and both of his free-throw attempts. Corbin Kuntzsch and Moses Dayee each finished with 12. Dayee had all 12 of his points on four 3-point field goals.
Dominique Jones had 11 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double of the season. Karron McKenzie rounded out the double-figure scorers for FHSU with 10.
Matt Simmons helped complete the whole team effort by grabbing 16 rebounds to go with his four points. The 16 rebounds were most in a game by a Tiger since the 2005-06 season when Jeremy Atwater pulled down 22 boards at Metro State.
The Tigers shot 57.1 percent from the field for the game, making it the third straight game where they shot better than 50 percent from the field. They shot 62.1 percent in the first half, on the way to a 51-29 halftime lead. The Tigers also shot a staggering 93.8 percent at the free-throw line (15-of-16).
The Mavericks were held to just 32.8 percent shooting overall, including 23.5 percent beyond the 3-point line. Tyler Bullock led UNO with 18 points, followed by Torrian Harris with 16.
The Tigers are now 500-92 all-time at Gross Memorial Coliseum since the venue opened for play in 1973. That's a winning percentage of .845. Since joining NCAA Division II, the Tigers are 266-39 at the coliseum (.872). Fort Hays State is 123-21 (.854) at the coliseum under head coach Mark Johnson.

Series notes . . .
Wednesday's meeting will be the 148th in the series history and Washburn leads 83-64. The series is the third-most played for Washburn behind Emporia State (194) and Pittsburg State (163). Washburn is 15-4 against the Tigers in Lee Arena. Fort Hays State is 4-2 against WU in overtime games. The Ichabods have lost their last five 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. The Tigers have won the last three meetings and six of the last seven overall. The teams have never met in the MIAA Tournament.
 
Ichabod player notes . . .
#2  • De'Andre Washington  • F • 6-5 • 235 • Sr.  • Has averaged 13.5 ppg and 5.5 rpg in two games against FHSU
#3  • Virgil Philistin  • G • 6-3 • 190 • Sr.  • At least one rebound in each game this season
#5  • Jeff Reid  • G • 6-6 • 190 • RS-Fr.  • 9 of 9 from the free throw line this season
#10  • William McNeill  • G • 6-1 • 190 • Jr.  • Still recovering from broken foot
#12  • Robert Sigala  • G • 6-3 • 180 • Jr.  • Four assists and one turnover this season
#14 • Logan Stutz  • F • 6-9 • 225 • Sr.  • 109 points in last four games (27.3 ppg)
#15  • Mitch Allen  • G • 5-9 • 165 • So.  • No turnovers at point guard in last three games
#20  • Bobby Chipman  • F • 6-8 • 210 • So.  • 10 of 17 rebounds this season have been offensive
#21  • Bryce Simons  • G • 6-3 • 195 • So.  • Nine assists and no turnovers this season
#22  • Alex North  • F • 6-6 • 210 • Fr.  • 4 of 5 from the free throw line this season
#23 • Jadarren Mumpfield  • G • 6-0 • 180 • Sr.  • 5 of 7 rebounds this season have been defensive
#24  • Zack Riggins  • F • 6-6 • 230 • Jr.  • 3 of 3 from the field this season
#33  • Nate Daniels  • G • 6-3 • 190 • Sr.  • 64 3-pointers in 149 attempts (43 percent) in WU career
#44  • Brandon Scaife  • F • 6-8 • 270 • Jr.  • Junior college teammate of FHSU's Dijon Smith

'Bods and Ends . . . three dot thoughts
The Ichabods are looking to go 3-0 to start the MIAA season since the 2008-09 season … a win over the Tigers would snap a three-game losing streak to the Tigers … a win would also give the Ichabods a 6-1 record - their best start to begin a season since the 2007-08 season when the Ichabods opened the year 8-1 … the Ichabods have hit at least one 3-pointer in 203 straight games dating back to a Dec. 30, 2003 game with Missouri Western … overall the Ichabods have hit at least one 3-pointer in 621 of the last 622 games … the Ichabods are shooting 52 percent in games during the first half hitting 92 of 177 from the field and 21 of 60 3-point attempts for a 35 percent average … in the second half of games this season, the Ichabods are 90 of 168 from the field (54 percent) and 25 of 68 from 3-point range (37 percent) … Logan Stutz has hit 20 of 23 field goal attempts in the first half of games this season (87 percent) … Stutz is also 18 of 21 from the free throw line in the first half this season … Stutz “cools off” to 73 percent shooting in the second half hitting 24 of 33 field goal attempts … Fort Hays State's Ken Bowman played for Ichabod assistant coach Dave Brown at Hutchinson Community College.

Ichabod Basketball History . . .
Washburn is 1,391-964 (.590 in 2355 games) in its 105th 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 440-199 since joining the NCAA Division II ranks, which is the most since the 1989-90 season in the MIAA.

Home sweet home - the Ichabods In Lee Arena . . .
The Ichabods are 344-63 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena - the 27th season of play. The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.

Up next. . .
Washburn will hit the road to face Truman on Dec. 11 and Missouri Western on Dec. 19 in a rare Sunday afternoon game before wrapping up the 2011 calendar year facing Central Missouri on New Year's Eve in Lee Arena with a 3:30 p.m. start time.