The Washburn Ichabods (15-13, 8-12) are alive and well in Kansas City, Mo.

The eighth-seeded men’s basketball team faced off against No. 4 Central Missouri (25-3, 18-2), the one-seed, in the opening game of the 2010 MIAA postseason tournament. Despite being an obvious underdog, the Ichabods had history on their side. The previous two eight seeds in the tournament both beat the one seed in their respective tournaments.

From the get-go, however, Washburn held a lead against the Mules, leading by 18 at one point during the first half and entering halftime with a 10-point lead. Washburn outshot Central Missouri by 20.1 percent during the first half, hitting 15-27 from the field compared to the Mules’ 11-31. The Bods also hit 4-11 from the three point line in the first half and hit 40 percent on the game.

Junior forward De’Andre Washington, an honorable mention all-MIAA pick, had another big game for the Bods, dropping 19 points and nine rebounds on the Mules, with solid efforts from fellow forward Logan Stutz (15 points, six rebounds) and William McNeill (11 points, three rebounds in 17 minutes). Washington led the way from behind the arc, nailing four of his six three-point shots.

In the end, Washburn’s offensive firepower was too much for Central Missouri to catch up with, and Washburn won 79-60 and will advance to Saturday’s second round game against four-seed Missouri Western (18-10, 12-8). Gametime is 6 p.m.

Seven-seed Emporia State (14-14, 9-11) also advanced, defeating two-seed Fort Hays State (22-6, 16-4) by a score of 65-61.