KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3-nationally-ranked and the top-seeded Washburn Ichabods opened up the MIAA Tournament Thursday night in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium, rolling past the Central Oklahoma Bronchos 91–52 in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Men's Basketball Tournament turning a 10-point halftime lead into a 39-point win. The Ichabods will face the winner of Friday's Missouri Western/Arkansas-Fort Smith contest at 6 p.m. on Saturday night.

Washburn set the tone early as Jack Bachelor opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and the Ichabods quickly pushed the lead to 16-6 five minutes into the game. Midway through the first half, Washburn used an 8-2 burst to stretch the margin to double digits.

Central Oklahoma briefly cut the deficit to 27-21 with 3:02 left in the half, but the Ichabods responded immediately. Washburn closed the half with a 9-5 run, including six straight points from Bachelor in the final 1:16 of the frame taking a 36-26 lead into halftime.

Washburn improved to 29-1 on the season and controlled the game from the opening possession, never trailing and leading for 39:38 of the 40 minutes. The Ichabods built a 10-point halftime advantage before erupting offensively in the second half to turn the game into a rout.

The second half belonged entirely to Washburn. The Ichabods opened the half on a 17-1 run in the first 4:32 of the half including a 15-0 run to start the half. Washburn over the first 8:18 of the second half, a 29-8 run pushed the Ichabod lead to 65-34 to play as Washburn was 10 of 12 from the field and 6 of 8 from deep.

Washburn caught fire from beyond the arc in the half, going 10-for-15 from 3-point range, while shooting a blistering 70 percent overall (21-of-30). The Ichabods shot 58.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, while holding Central Oklahoma to 31.3 percent shooting and just 10 percent from deep (2-for-20). Washburn also forced 16 Broncho turnovers, converting them into 28 points, and dominated the paint with 44 points inside.

Washburn's largest lead reached 42 points with 4:26 remaining as the Ichabods cruised into the tournament semifinals.

Bachelor led the Ichabods with 24 points, hitting 9-of-17 from the field and 5-of-11 from three-point range, while also adding seven assists and three rebounds with no turnovers. Dillon Claussen delivered a perfect shooting night, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3-point range adding five free throws.

Brady Christiansen contributed 11 points and five rebounds, while Bryson Smith filled the stat sheet with five points, five assists and three steals. Tyson Ruud led the Ichabods with six boards off the bench. Jeremiah Jones added five points, four steals and two assists, helping fuel Washburn's defensive pressure throughout the night.

Central Oklahoma was led by Trey Tuck with 13 points.

Washburn finished with 19 assists on 34 made field goals, 12 steals, and 20 fast-break points while outrebounding the Bronchos 34-33.

Notes:
• Washburn improved to 22-4 in the MIAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
• The last two games against UCO, the Ichabods have won by 24, earlier this season in Edmond and 39 points tonight – the two largest margin of victory in the series 45 games.
• Washburn is now 45-27 all-time in the MIAA Tournament.
• The Ichabods improved to 23-8 in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals.
• Washburn is now 20-17 all-time in MIAA Tournament games in Kansas City.
• The Ichabods evened their record with UCO in the MIAA Tournament at 2-2 all-time.
• Jack Bachelor tied a career-high with nine made field goals and set a career-high with 17 field goal attempts (11 from 3).
• Dillon Claussen tied a career high with 11 free throw attempts.
• The Ichabods have never faced Arkansas-Fort Smith in the MIAA Tournament and they have faced Missouri Western 10 times going 4-6 overall. The most-played opponent in the MIAA Tournament for the Ichabods with Northwest Missouri at 12.