Washburn men’s basketball was back in action for the fourth time in eight days as they played host to Central Missouri on Feb. 12.

There was no drag as the Ichabods led from start to finish, backed by a near triple-double from senior guard Tyler Geiman leading to an 85-74 win over the Mules.

The Ichabods did not look rusty as they got out to an early 16-9 lead. Geiman controlled the game for Washburn in that stretch, scoring seven points and dishing out three assists.

“One of our focuses this week has been getting off to good starts in both halves and I think that starts with me and J-Lew. So just being able to get off to a good start and get everyone else going (is important),” Geiman said.

Inside of ten minutes, Ichabod’s offense stalled for a bit and was held scoreless from the 8:40 mark until there were just over five minutes to play in the half.

In that time the Mules did not make up any ground with Washburn holding them to 30% shooting through 15 minutes.

After leading by as many as 11, the Ichabod lead was cut to just three inside of two minutes after Central Missouri began to knock down jump shots and get to the line.

The run was calmed down by Geiman, who scored the final seven points of the half, giving him 14 to go along with seven assists after 20 minutes. The burst gave Washburn a 38-30 lead at the break.

“Unbelievable, he is probably playing at 80%. He’s not healthy and he gets 22, 10, seven and two steals and plays the whole game,” said head coach Brett Ballard. “It’s a lot of fun to watch that every game, and it makes me a hell of a lot better of a coach.”
Seven quick points inside and at the line from senior forward Jeremy Harrell had the Ichabods up by double digits with just over 16 minutes to play.

From there the Mules began to chip away at the lead with aggressive drives to the basket and strong finishes.

Just under the eleven-minute mark, Washburn got back-to-back baskets from junior forward Jonny Clausing to stem the tide.

Central Missouri kept attacking the basket and finally pulled within one after free throws from senior Cameron Hunter with 7:48 to play.

Over the next two minutes, the Ichabods would go on a quick 9-0 run with six free throws from Geiman leading the way.

“In the first half, I feel like we didn’t take advantage of how the refs were calling it. So that was one of our key points at half was to get downhill and take those bumps and get to the foul line,” Geiman said.

Both sides traded baskets all the way down to the two-minute mark with Washburn still up by 10.
A turnover from the Ichabods and a three-point play for the Mules allowed them to cut the lead down to five with one minute left.

Washburn’s defense ramped up, forcing a missed shot and turn over the next two possessions, and on the other end, they converted at the free- throw line to leave with an 85-74 win.

“We came up with every loose ball, every 50-50 ball,” Ballard said. “Those were huge, and maybe the difference in the game, so I was proud of that.”

Geiman led the Ichabods with 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Harrell added 18 points and pulled down a team- best eight rebounds. Junior guard Jalen Lewis was in double figures with 11 points.

The win moved Washburn to 15-9 on the year and 12-6 in MIAA play.

“I am happy that we bounced back, the road trip was tough,” Ballard said. “It was a little bit of an anomaly, but you know we got to bounce back and we came and took care of business here at home.”

Next up the Ichabods will be on the road to face Missouri Western State on Feb. 17.

Edited by: Ellie Walker, Simran Shrestha