Bod Brief: Men’s basketball’s season ends in second round of NCAA Tournament
Head coach Brett Ballard talks to the team during a timeout Mar. 4, 2022. Washburn defeated Emporia State 88-81 in the game.
For the second straight season, Washburn men’s basketball’s season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Central Region Championships.
Just like the previous season, the loss came at the hands of the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats. The 70-55 loss made the Ichabods final record 22-11, the most wins for the program since the 2018-19 season.
Before the loss Washburn played the University of Minnesota Duluth in the opening round, where they defeated the Bulldogs 83-73 to set up the fourth meeting between themselves and Northwest Missouri State.
After falling behind early in the game the Ichabods were not able to muster much on the offensive end, as they trailed 27-41 at halftime.
Hot shooting from junior Jalen Lewis and freshman Michael Keegan pulled Washburn within five points in the final ten minutes. Multiple runs were made but the defending national champion Bearcats always had an answer to secure the win.
Keegan and Lewis scored 16 and 14 respectively to lead the way while junior Jonny Clausing added 10. Senior Tyler Geiman, who was named to the NCAA Division II All-Central Region second team prior to the game, finished with nine assists in his final game with the program.
After a 3-3 non-conference start in head coach Brett Ballard’s fifth season, Washburn went 16-6 in MIAA play to eclipse 20 wins for a second year in a row and made the 16th NCAA postseason appearance in program history.
Edited by: Alyssa Storm
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