> The Washburn Ichabods will continue their three-game homestand hosting Missouri Western on Thursday in Lee Arena at 7:30 p.m.
> Washburn (7-5, 2-1 MIAA) is coming off an 80-78 win over Emporia State on Saturday after coming back from a 15-point deficit with 12 minutes to play.
> The Griffons are 7-8 and 3-1 in the MIAA after defeating Northeastern State on Monday night in overtime 76-71 in their third overtime game of the season.
> The Ichabods were tabbed third in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Preseason Media Polls for the second year in a row which were released on Oct. 9 at the MIAA Basketball Media Day in Kansas City.
  > Tyler Geiman leads the Ichabods in scoring at 15.8 ppg as well as assists (6.4) and minutes (36.1) and he is tied for second in rebounds (5.8).
> Geiman has 107 3-pointers in his Washburn career … he is 15th on the all-time 3-point chart.
> Geiman's 314 career assist chart is fifth all-time at Washburn … he needs eight to move into fourth (321-Randall Smith, 2015-18) and nine to pass Javion Blake for third with 322 career assists.
>  Jalen Lewis is scoring 13.2 ppg while Drew Maschoff is scoring 11.8 ppg and Jonny Clausing is scoring 10.2 ppg.
>  Clausing leads the team in rebounds at 8.2 rpg (fourth in the MIAA) … he also leads the team in blocks at 2.3 per game which leads the MIAA and is also 10th in the latest national rankings.
> Tyler Nelson is the Ichabods' leading scorer off the bench at 5.1 ppg scoring.
> The Ichabods are currently ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage at .445 (338 of 759) and they rank ninth in field goal defense at .428 (303 of 708).
> Tyler Geiman is second in the MIAA in assists (6.4 apg) and leads the MIAA in minutes per game at 36.1 and is eighth in scoring.
> In their five home games this season, the Ichabods are shooting 49 percent from the field compared to Ichabods opponents shooting 43 percent, however from 3-point range, the Ichabods are being out shot 36 percent (41 of 115) to 32 percent (48 of 152).
> Ichabod opponents are shooting 68 percent from the free throw line (55 of 81) compared to 66 percent for the Ichabods (57 of 87).
> Jalen Lewis is hitting 44 percent of his 3-point attempts in Lee Arena (18 of 41).
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD
>  is 53-23 in his third season as the Ichabods' head coach and 86-53 overall in his fifth year as a head coach.
>  has led the Ichabods to two NCAA postseason appearances in both seasons at Washburn.
>  was named the Washburn Ichabod men's basketball head coach on April 6, 2017 after spending the 2014-15 to 2016-17 seasons as an assistant coach with the Wake Forest basketball program after working under head coach Danny Manning 2014-17 seasons and at the University of Tulsa during the 2012-14 seasons.
>  he helped Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season following the 2016-17 season.
>  while at Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane played in the postseason both years, including earning a No. 13 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Tulsa also participated in the 2013 CBI, finishing that season with a winning record of 17-16 overall.
>  before joining Manning at Tulsa, Ballard spent two seasons as the head basketball coach at Baker University going 33-30 overall, including a 21-12 mark in his final season at the helm in 2011-12.
>  prior to taking over the head coaching position at Baker, Ballard spent seven years on Bill Self's staff at Kansas, his alma mater.
>  he played two years for the Jayhawks under head coach Roy Williams from 2000-02 after transferring from Hutchinson Community College in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kan. In his two seasons as a Jayhawk, the team reached the 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and appeared in the 2002 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.
>  he earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2003 earning an Academic All-Big 12 selection as a senior for his efforts in the classroom.
>  is 3-0 against Missouri Western.
 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH SUNDANCE WICKS
> is 19-26 in his second season as the Griffons' head coach.
> in 2017-18, Wicks helped lead Northern State to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season and postseason championships this year. Northern State also claimed the central region championship en route to the program's first-ever appearance in the national championship game.
> lettered four years as a student-athlete at Northern State from 1999-2003, Wicks
> held assistant coaching positions at Northern State, Colorado (2006-07), Northern Illinois (2007-11) and San Francisco (2015-16).
> is 0-2 against Washburn.
  WASHBURN (7-5, 2-1 MIAA)
EMPORIA STATE (8-4, 2-1 MIAA)
JAN. 4, 2020
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods opened the new decade in big fashion shaking off a slow start rallying from a 15-point deficit with just under 13 minutes to go outscoring arch rival Emporia State 36-19 the rest of the game for a come from behind 80-78 win in Lee Arena on Saturday night. Jalen Lewis scored 14 of his game and career-tying-high 25 points during the final run moving the Ichabods to 7-5 on the season and 2-1 in conference play handing the Hornets their first MIAA loss of the season falling to 8-4 and 2-1 in league play.
The Ichabods trailed 39-31 at the break after hitting 10 of 29 shots going 1 of 12 from 3-point range while the Hornets connected on 16 of 28 shots overall jumping out to an eight-point margin at the break. The Ichabods held a 16-14 lead midway through the opening half, but 10-straight points by the Hornets pushed the lead to 24-16 and would go on to lead by as many as 10 on five different occasions.
Coming out of the locker rooms after the half, the Ichabods trimmed back the margin to six on a 3-pointer by Lewis with 18:19 to play and eventually cut it to five at 44-39 with 17:43 remaining and then to four after another Lewis' 3-pointer with 16:47 to play but a 13-2 run by the Hornets pushed the Ichabod deficit to 15 at 59-44 before a Jace Williams 3-point play jump started the comeback.
Behind Lewis' 25 points on 5 of 8 shooting from 3-point range and 8 of 13 overall from the field, Geiman scored 18 points adding six rebounds and seven assists followed by Jonny Clausing's 13 points and eight rebounds. Washburn shot 65 percent in the second half from the field (17-26) and 5 of 12 from deep finishing 6 of 24 overall. The Ichabods did hit 20 of 29 free throws in the game.
The Ichabods scored 38 of their 80 points in the paint and outscored the Hornets 21 to 7 in fastbreak points.
  > The Griffons are 7-8 this season and 3-1 in conference play at beating Northeastern State 76-71 in overtime on Monday night.
> The Griffons are riding a three-game winning streak entering the game with the Ichabods.
> Missouri Western is 5-0 in home games and 1-4 in road contests.
> Tyrell Carroll leads the Griffons in scoring at 17.6 ppg and in assists at 6.3 per game … in MIAA play is he averaging 20.0 ppg and 6.0 apg.
> Will Eames is the leading rebounder at 7.2 per game adding 11.4 ppg … in conference play he is scoring 11.5 ppg with 7.8 rpg.
> Tyus Millhollin is scoring 14.7 ppg hitting a team-high 44 of 119 3-point attempts and averaging 16.5 ppg in MIAA play.
> The Griffons are averaging 77.1 ppg and have been outscored 521 to 515 in the first half of games this season but in the second half have outscored their opponents 612 to 557 - an average of 40.8 to 37.1.
  >   Thursday's meeting will be the 93rd between the two schools with Washburn leading the series 55-37 winning the last four games overall.
>   The Ichabods are 31-21 against MWSU in MIAA games and 24-11 in Lee Arena and 31-13 in games played in Topeka overall.
>   The Ichabods are 22-23 in games played in St. Joseph against the Griffons.
>   Since joining the MIAA, the Ichabods are 11-18 in MIAA games played in St. Joseph.
>   In the MIAA Tournament the Ichabods are 3-5 against the Griffons.
>   The Ichabods lead 6-4 in overtime games including the 95-94 win on Jan. 9, 2019.
  WASHBURN 93 (22-6, 15-4 MIAA)
MISSOURI WESTERN 81 (12-18, 6-13 MIAA)
MARCH 2, 2019
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the No. 2 seed at the MIAA Basketball Championships in a 93-90 thriller over Missouri Western on Senior Day in Lee Arena.
Making his second start of his career, senior Emeka Ogbonna scored the Ichabods' first seven points of the game as the Ichabods jumped out to a 7-2 lead and then after a layup by fellow senior Javion Blake would lead 9-2. The Griffons scored five straight points cutting the lead to two, but Ogbonna scored again with his ninth point of the game en route to tying his career high of 11 scored against Fort Hays State in his first start of his career during the 2016-17 season.
The Ichabods led by as many as 13 in the first half at 26-13 before the Griffons ripped out a 22-8 run over the next five minutes to take a lead of 35-34 for their first lead of the game. Washburn scored 11 of the final 15 points of the first half to take a 46-43 lead into the break.
Washburn opened the second half on an 18-5 run to build a 64-48 lead with 13:02 to go in the game, but the Griffons, who finished the season with a 12-18 record going 6-13 in the MIAA, would rally and cut the lead to three times in the final 6:28 including under four twice in the final 50 seconds but would not get any closer.
Blake led the Ichabods scoring 19 of his game-high 34 points in the second half adding five assists and six rebounds. Sevon Witt scored 18 with six rebounds and three blocks while Tyler Geiman had 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds with two steals. Ogbonna, in addition to his 11 points, had seven rebounds playing a career-high 28 minutes.
The Griffons were led by Tyrell Carroll who had 23 points.
Washburn was outrebounded 38 to 37 in the game, but forced 11 turnovers leading to 17 points and had nine boards leading to 13 points.
The Ichabods were 32 of 66 from the field for a 49 percent average while holding the Griffons to 44 percent for the game. Washburn's bench outscored the Griffons 34 to 5 in the game..
  >  The Ichabods are 1593-1080-2 all-time in the 115th year in the program's history.
>  Washburn is the 10th-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
>  Washburn is the winningest MIAA program since the 1989-90 season with an overall record of 612-282 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
>  The Ichabods have recorded 28 20-win seasons and they have one 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season.
>  Washburn has won 21 conference championships including 10 MIAA titles.
>  Washburn has received 12 NCAA Tournament bids going to three Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  >  The Ichabods are 450-91 (.848) all-time in Lee Arena.
>  The 2019-20 season marks the 36th season of play in Lee Arena.
>  The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.
  >  The Ichabods will wrap up the three-game slate with Northwest Missouri on Saturday afternoon in Topeka before opening a two-game road trip starting at Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 16 and at Fort Hays State on Jan. 18 before returning home to face Central Oklahoma on Jan. 23.