KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn men's basketball ended its season on Wednesday afternoon in the opening round of the MIAA Conference Tournament with a 69-63 loss to Missouri Western State University. The Ichabods finish the season 14-15.
Washburn (14-15, 11-11) trailed for much of the opening half, with the Griffons (14-15, 9-12) jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead. Two free throws at the 14:18 mark made it a 12-5 game in favor of the No. 9 seed Missouri Western.
The Ichabods did not let the lead get larger than that, hanging around until the end of the half when they were able to make a run. Washburn trailed by four with under two minutes left in the half but finished on an 6-2 run to take a 30-28 lead into the break.
Michael Keegan got the first two points of the second half on a layup, giving the Ichabods a four-point advantage, the largest they would possess in the game.
Just like early in the game Washburn had trouble with turnovers and the Griffons were able to go on a 13-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Julius Dixon with 14:28 left to go in the game. The Ichabods kept the game within 5-7 points for the next few minutes, cutting the deficit to four points after two free throws by Andrew Orr at the 10:13 mark.
In less than two minutes Missouri Western went on a 7-1 run, pushing the lead to double figures for the first time in the game with 8:45 left to play. Washburn went on a 6-0 run to bring it right back to four points heading into the final six minutes.
With 1:33 left the Ichabods trailed by eight points but a quick 5-0 burst by Jaden Monday put them right back in it, down by three with 58 seconds left. Washburn forced a turnover on the other end and Connor Deffebaugh knocked down two free throws to bring the Ichabods within one. The Griffons were able to break Washburn's press with a dunk and after an empty possession for Washburn on offense Missouri Western held on to win by six.
Orr led the Ichabods 19 points and finished with a double-double adding a team-high 11 rebounds. Nelson scored 14 points on 6-12 shooting and paced the team with three assists. Keegan added nine points on 2-3 shooting with three boards. As a team Washburn shot 37.3% from the floor and could not find the mark from behind the line, shooting 22.2% from deep (4-18).
Dixon had 20 points for the Griffons to lead all scorers. JaRon Thames added 15 points along with seven steals, Taye Fields also had 15 points along with 16 rebounds.
Missouri Western came away with 15 steals in the game compared to just three for Washburn. The Ichabods also lost the turnover battle 18 to 14.
Washburn got to the line more and converted at a higher clip going 21-26 compared to 13-24 shooting for the Griffons. From the floor overall Missouri Western shot 43.9% compared to 37.3% for the No. 8 seed Ichabods.
