Washburn University underwent a season-ending loss to Nova Southeastern University, 94-68, and will not advance to the national NCAA DII championship game.

The first two points on the board came from an Andrew Orr, senior guard, layup. Despite getting the two right off the bat, Washburn only led for 1:22 throughout the game. 

Jack Bachelor, sophomore guard, struggled to get any assists in the first half, which was out of character for him. In the previous game, Bachelor had nine total assists. Washburn was able to put up three assists in the first while Nova had 14. 

The Ichabods were off their game as the stats did not reflect the reputation they had built throughout the season. The team started to trail significantly around 13:32 left in the first, which was uncommon for the season. 

Only one of eight 3-point attempts was made by Washburn in the first half. The successful 3-pointer was thanks to Jacob Hanna, senior guard. 

Brayden Shorter, sophomore guard, a known top 3-point shooter in the nation, struggled from the perimeter as he was unsuccessful from beyond the arc throughout the entire game with nine total missed attempts. 

With 3:12 left in the first half, the Ichabods received their tenth foul due to a bench technical. 

At halftime, Washburn was in a major deficit with a score of 53-29. 

Despite their efforts, the Ichabods couldn’t keep up with Nova Southeastern. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong. The momentum was in Nova’s favor throughout the entire semifinal game. 

With 6:42 left in the game Nova Southeastern’s MJ Iraldi, senior guard, received a technical foul for trash-talking Washburn. 

Key players for Washburn were Hanna, who made 15 of the total 68 points, and Orr who contributed 13.

The Ichabods ended the game with 32 total rebounds, going 4-19 on 3-pointers and having nine assists, seven steals and four blocks. 

The Washburn Ichabods ended their historic season in the NCAA DII Final Four against the Sharks with a record of 30-4. 

Edited by Morgan Albrecht