Men’s basketball conquers MIAA standings

Tom Huppe looks to pass during an Ichabod basketball game during MIAA conference play.

Trevor Beurman

After two conference games against the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Fort Hays State, the Ichabods are still on top in the MIAA conference rankings. During this road trip, the Ichabods continue to hold a tie with Northwest Missouri State.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p><span>“Every game is an important game, you know, we are tied for first in the league with Northwest Missouri so we just got to keep improving.” -David Salach</span></p>” id=”e4f47512-d363-46ac-aa0d-8cc935a740e4″ style-type=”quote” title=”Salach Quote” type=”relcontent”}}

The first game was especially important for the Ichabods, since they have not won a single game at the Health and Sports Center in their last four tries. This time, however, the Ichabods would keep the Lopers away for almost the entirety of the game.

“Every game is an important game, you know, we are tied for first in the league with Northwest Missouri so we just got to keep improving,” junior David Salach said.

The Ichabods improved in this game by attacking in the end. While the games before this one against the Lopers had seen the Ichabods lose by going cold in the second half, this one was entirely different.

The Ichabods would finish this game on a 25-10 run, after starting out a little sluggish at the beginning of the game. The Ichabods would finish with a 14 point win against the University of Nebraska at Kearney sealing their first win in the Sports and Health Center since four seasons ago.

“I personally have not won at Kearney since I have been here, so they are a really good team at home, [this game] is huge,” senior Randall Smith said.

The final score would end up seeing Washburn extend their conference record to 10-2 with a final score against the Lopers of 87-73.

The next road game for Washburn was against Fort Hays State University, Feb. 3 in Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Ichabods would look to break another drought against the Tigers in Gross Memorial Coliseum, where they have not won since the 2015-2016 season.

Washburn started off the game with a neck and neck score against the Tigers, breaking the 9-9 tie with 13:06 left in the first half.

The Tigers kept it close part way through the first half, but after halftime, Washburn would never surrender the lead, and they would end up with the regular season sweep.

The final score was 76-60 with Washburn adding another win to their conference record, extending it to 11-2 in MIAA play.

{{tncms-inline content=”<p>Washburn v. Missouri Western State University</p> <p>Wednesday, February 7th</p> <p>7:30pm</p> <p>Lee Arena</p>” id=”4ac2fa14-5010-44ae-b310-91028e5e624c” style-type=”fact” title=”Up Next…” type=”relcontent”}}

Up next for the Ichabods is a home game against Missouri Western State University, Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. Washburn looks to continue to stay on top of MIAA rankings until they play a crucial game at home against Northwest Missouri State University.