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No. 2-ranked Washburn men rally to christen new Lee Arena with 85-81 win over Rockhurst
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2-ranked Washburn University men's basketball used a furious late-game rally Wednesday night to remain unbeaten with an 85-81 win over Rockhurst in the debut of the newly renovated Lee Arena.
Sophomore Tyson Ruud slams home a dunk in Washburn's 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods turned a five-point deficit with 2:29 to play into the four-point win, improving to 5-0 on the season.
"I think when you have the year we had last year and you play really well early and you're ranked where you're ranked, I think the expectations are high and I think our guys felt a little bit of pressure and pressed a little bit in that game,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said.
"That happens, but I was proud of how we responded when we could have caved and handled those last couple of minutes. Ultimately, this is really good for us to play in these type of games and it's good for us if we can really learn from it.''
Washburn, which led for the bulk of the game, pushed its lead to a game-high 15 at 62-47 midway through the second half, but Rockhurst responded with its best stretch of the night, using an 11-0 run to quickly close the gap.
The Hawks (2-1) hit three 3-pointers in less than four minutes to take a 79-74 lead, but from that point on the Ichabods outscored the Hawks 11-2 the rest of the game.
Bryson Smith scored 22 points, including the go-ahead basket, in Washburn's 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Bryson Smith's driving layup with 51 seconds remaining gave Ichabods an 81-79 lead.
Then, after a key defensive stop, sophomore Tyson Ruud stepped to the free throw line and hit one of two free throws to extend the Washburn edge to three.
The Hawks came up empty on the following trip, and when senior Sam Ungashick came up with a steal in the final seconds and sank two free throws with three seconds left, the Ichabods' comeback was sealed.
Smith led the Ichabods with 22 points, including 19 in the second half, on 7 of 11 shooting and a 7 of 9 showing at the free throw line.
"Coach Ballard kind of got on me at halftime and the first half I wasn't playing a good game and I felt like I had to turn it up as a senior and a leader on the team to make winning plays at the end,'' Smith said.
Jack Bachelor had 17 points with four assists as Washburn rallied for an 85-81 win over Rockhurst Wednesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Dillon Claussen had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in Wednesday's 85-81 Washburn win over Rockhurst. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jack Bachelor added 17 points and four assists while Ruud came off the bench for a career-high 13 points and six rebounds and Dillon Claussen scored 12 points, with five rebounds and four assists.
Ruud has been hampered by injuries in his first two seasons at Washburn, but is now living up to the potential he showed out of Basehor-Linwood.
"It's so good to be healthy,'' Ruud said. "My prayers have been answered and it feels amazing to be out there finally.''
Scots' Savage top defensive player, Monroe Meadowlark Conference coach of the year
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park senior Tremaine Savage was one of three players who shared Meadowlark Conference defensive player of the year honors while Scots coach Jermaine Monroe was named the conference coach of the year after leading Hi Park to the Meadowlark title.
Tremaine Savage, Highland Park
Jermaine Monroe, Highland Park
Junior G'Honi Montgomery was named to the first team at running back and returner and senior lineman Josh Weeks was a first-teamer on the offensive line.
Defensively, Savage was also named a first-team pick at defensive back while junior defensive lineman Bratton Bennett, junior defensive back Ki'Sioun Drew and senior utility player Genesis Cooper were also named to the first-team defense.
Savage was a second-team selection at wide receiver while senior defensive lineman Philiciono Rice, senior linebacker Aaron Irons and junior defensive back Rayshon Pollard were second-team picks on defense.
The wait is over! Ichabod basketball teams set to christen newly-renovated Lee Arena
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been a long wait, but Washburn University's basketball teams will finally get the opportunity to officially christen the newly-renovated Lee Arena this week as the Ichabods tip off the home portion of the 2025-2026 basketball season.
After seventh months of waiting, Lee Arena will be rocking Wednesday night when Washburn's men's basketball team hosts Rockhurst in a 7 p.m. contest. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabod men will host Rockhurst at 7 p.m. Wednesday while the WU women will host back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday in the Washburn Invitational.
The $8 million dollar, seven-month-long renovation of Lee, which opened in 1984 and is the home for the Ichabod basketball and volleyball teams, necessitated major schedule changes, including the nationally-ranked WU volleyball team playing all of its regular-season matches in Whiting Fieldhouse.
But now its time to reap the rewards the new state of the art facility will provide.
"My office looks into the gym, so for the last six months every day you see it,'' Washburn men's basketball coach Brett Ballard said. "That's good and bad because it just feels like at first nothing's happening and then it's all come together.
"It looks amazing. I've always felt like we had a great atmosphere in Lee Arena, and I think this will just enhance it. I know our guys are really appreciative and excited about it. We're just ready to get that opportunity to play out there.''
Lee, which had not been used since the Washburn men captured the NCAA Division II regional championship in late March, features a new court and scoreboards, a new seating system and updated technology.
Both Washburn basketball teams will make their debuts in the newly-renovated Lee Arena this week. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"You just walk down there and I don't know if you can feel energy in a place, but you can feel it in there,'' Washburn women's coach Lora Westling said. "It's fresh, it's clean, it's sharp and I just can't imagine a better venue in Division II in the country. We're just dying to get on it because they've done an exceptional job with the renovation.''
"I'm excited, it looks great,'' said Washburn women's senior standout Payton Sterk. "It's really going to be awesome in there.
"It was beautiful before, so it's really been cool to see what they've been doing and I'm really excited to play in it and have my family and friends and everyone be able to be in there and watch, too.''
