TOPEKA, Kan. – The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods controlled the game from the opening tip and never looked back in a dominant 94-44 win over Northwest Missouri State on Wednesday night at Lee Arena, pushing the Ichabods to 19-0 overall and 9-0 in MIAA play as Washburn won its 24th game in a row at home tying for the second-most in program history.
The Ichabods jumped out of the gate bouncing out to a 20-8 lead at the midway point of the first half as the Washburn would go on to turn a 24-12 advantage to a 40-14 halftime lead closing the final seven minutes of the frame on an 18-2 run holding the Bearcats (9-11, 2-7 MIAA) to 1 of 10 shooting including 0 of 7 from deep. Overall in the first stanza, the Ichabods shot 50 percent (15 of 30) while the Bearcats were limited to 6 of 24 from the field.
In the second half, Washburn doubled up the Bearcats at 56-28 with 13:38 to go and then went on a 20-3 run over the next 5:06 of the game moving the lead to 74-31 with 8:53 to play. From that point on, the Ichabods outscored Northwest Missouri 20-13 rolling to the 50-point win.
Dillon Claussen paced Washburn with 18 points on a highly efficient 4-of-5 shooting night while going a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line.
Jack Bachelor added 14 points, including a three 3-pointers, and
Jeremiah Jones tied the school record with nine steals in the game chipping in in seven points with five boards and three assists.
Marcus Glock scored 14 points, knocking down two triples while
Brady Christiansen contributed seven points and pulled down 11 rebounds helping the Ichabods to a 38 to 24 advantage on the glass, while
Tyson Ruud finished with 11 and four rebounds.
Washburn's depth was also a major factor, as the bench outscored the Bearcats 44-19 while turning 26 Bearcat turnovers into a 43-3 advantage in points off turnovers and outscoring Northwest 40 to 18 in the paint and 20 to 0 in fast break points.
As a team, Washburn shot 54.4 percent from the field (31-of-57), including 79 percent on two-point attempts, and finished 23-of-32 at the free-throw line.
Defensively, Washburn held Northwest Missouri to just 34 percent shooting overall and 20 percent from three-point range as Robert Garcia led Northwest with 10 points off the bench.
Notes:
• The Ichabods now own the longest winning streak in the nation at 19 with Daemen's 79-61 loss to Gannon.
• The 50-point win over the Bearcats is the largest in the series history between the two teams topping the 40 point win in a, 111-71 on Jan. 27, 1993 in Topeka.
• The nine steals from Jeremiah Jones tied the school record with Larry Farmer set vs Friends on Nov. 26, 1996.
• The 19-game winning streak by the Ichabods is tied for the fourth-longest in program history joining the 1992-93 squad who won 19 to start the season from Nov. 20, 1992 to Feb. 6, 1993.
