KEARNEY, Neb. – The top-ranked Washburn kept its unbeaten season intact Saturday afternoon, using balance, depth and a pair of timely scoring bursts to pull away from Nebraska-Kearney for an 89-67 road win at the Health & Sports Center. Washburn will return to action on Saturday at Central Missouri wrapping up a stretch of seven of its last 10 games on the road in Warrensburg.
The Ichabods had to navigate a competitive opening stretch that featured six lead changes and four ties in the first 10 minutes. UNK grabbed an early 6-3 edge, but Washburn answered with a transition-heavy surge keyed by
Dillon Claussen and
Jack Bachelor to regain control. A 9-0 Washburn run late in the first half created separation, highlighted by back-to-back threes from Claussen and
Brady Christiansen, pushing the margin to double digits.
Washburn closed the half on a 17-5 run overall and carried a 44-29 lead into the break after shooting 44 percent from the floor and forcing 10 Loper turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
The Ichabods quickly stretched the advantage in the second half. Claussen opened with a three and
Bryson Smith followed with a layup to ignite another push that ballooned the lead to 20 at 53-33 with 15:34 left. Nebraska-Kearney countered with its best stretch of the afternoon, trimming the deficit to eight behind Ja'Bryant Hill and Clayton Moore during a 9-0 Loper run midway through the half.
Each time UNK threatened, Washburn responded. Smith attacked the rim for consecutive scores, Bachelor knocked down a pair of threes, and Claussen controlled the paint to steady the lead. The Ichabods eventually built their largest cushion at 22 points with 2:46 remaining and closed out the win from the free throw line.
Claussen led four Ichabods in double figures with a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting, adding eight rebounds and two assists. Smith finished with 19 points - with 18 coming in the second half - and four rebounds, Bachelor added 17 points and six boards, and Christiansen chipped in six points and four rebounds. Washburn shot 44.4 percent (28-63) from the field, hit 10-of-28 from three and went 23-of-30 at the line while holding a 39-36 rebounding edge and scoring 34 points in the paint.
Moore paced Nebraska-Kearney with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Hill added 19 points. The Lopers shot 40.0 percent (22-55) overall and 32.0 percent (8-25) from deep.
Washburn improved to 22-0 overall and 12-0 in conference play, controlling the game for more than 35 minutes and turning 19 UNK turnovers into 21 points while getting 17 points from its bench in another complete performance by the nation's top-ranked team.
