The Washburn University Ichabods continue through the NCAA Central Regional tournament with a semifinals win over Concordia University St. Paul, now advancing to the finals.
For the second night in a row, Washburn played in an almost-full Lee Arena against a team they had not played previously. The Ichabods won with the same starting line-up as the previous night’s game.
The first points of the game were scored by Andrew Orr, senior forward, as he made a driving layup before the lead quickly changed to Concordia with a 3-pointer by senior forward, Marcus Skeete.
Despite Concordia becoming the leading team, it didn’t last long as Washburn took back the lead after just 28 seconds. The Ichabods kept that lead for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t easy as the Golden Bears put up a fight leaving Washburn eager for points.
After Saturday night’s quarterfinal win, Brett Ballard, head coach, asked the Washburn community on social media to show up and support the team Sunday with the same amount of energy as he believes it helps the team’s motivation.
“[Lee Arena] gets loud, and the crowd was a big part of that. And our guys, they feed off it. I feed off of it as a coach,” Ballard said. “It’s just really fun to be a part of that environment.”
The fans listened and the audience was engaged in the semifinal game from the start with high-energy and loud cheers for the Ichabods as Brayden Shorter, sophomore guard, made a 3-pointer with an assist from sophomore guard, Jack Bachelor.
“I don’t know if there’s a better Division II atmosphere, or really at any level, than what we just played in tonight,” Ballard said. “Our fans were phenomenal, they gave us a ton of energy once again.”
While Jacob Hanna, senior guard, put up a solid defense in the game, other players came prepared to block when the time called for it. With 15:06 left of the first half, Concordia’s Skeete went up for a layup as the shot clock was counting down around four seconds, but was quickly blocked by Washburn’s Dillon Claussen, freshman forward. Concordia grabbed the rebound and tried again, but was blocked a second time by Claussen as Concordia’s shot clock ran out of time and gave possession to Washburn.
“It’s not just me on defense. I mean, there’s five guys out there so I think my team has done a great job being in gaps and telling me they have my back,” said Hanna.
Washburn tried to keep the lead before halftime, but then senior guard Michael Keegan got fouled giving Concordia two free throws. The first free throw was made, amping up the intensity as the second would tie the game. However, Concordia’s sophomore forward, Chet Kloss, missed the second and the Ichabods kept their lead.
Concordia made a layup with 17 seconds remaining in the first half. Claussen then tried for a layup but missed, did a 2-point jumper, which almost went in but rimmed out of the basket, but got his own rebound and finally got the ball in the hoop as the buzzer hit zero. Giving Washburn a 46-37 lead going into the half.
Orr credited rebounds as a key to the team’s success on the night.
“We emphasize rebounding every single day. That’s one of the biggest things that we can control, is our rebounding whether that be offensive or defensive,” Orr said.
The second half of the game started off hot with some members of the crowd upset as they started booing the refs for calling fouls on Washburn multiple times within a short period of time that they believed weren’t actually fouls.
Bachelor had his first foul of the night with 11:12 left of the game. Then Orr got his third foul at 10:51 and his fourth at 10:50. The back-to-back fouls on Orr caused some frustration from the Ichabods. The bench received a technical foul with 10:36 left of the second half.
“We try to play at the level of toughness and physicality on a nightly basis, and I think these guys do that,” Ballard said. “You [have] to be careful that you don’t just go out there and hack and foul. So, it’s got to be smart. But I think we did for the most part.”
Concordia kept up with Washburn’s pace hoping to narrow the lead, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The Ichabods won 94-78 and will advance to the regional finals.
Washburn will face Minnesota State University-Moorhead Tuesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena. The winner will advance to the NCAA DII Elite Eight, which will occur March 25-29.
Edited by Morgan Albrecht
