By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The short-handed Washburn Ichabods registered their second consecutive 30-win season with Saturday's 85-69 win over Missouri Western, advancing into the MIAA Tournament championship game in Kansas City, Mo.'s Municipal Auditorium.
Washburn improved to 30-1 despite being without injured sophomore star Dillon Claussen, who sat out the game with a leg injury.
Sophomore Tyson Ruud scored 16 points in his second career start, helping Washburn advance to the MIAA Tournament title game with an 85-69 win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"That's a good team and a really good win for us, especially when you find out the morning of the game Dillon's not going to play,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard told KTPK Radio.
"The guy's really rallied around that and rallied around him. Obviously losing that caliber of player is not easy.''
The Ichabods, now 30-1, will face Rogers State in the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday after the Hillcats' 72-70 win over Missouri Southern.
The Ichabods jumped out to a 15-6 lead, starting the game 6 of 11 from the field as junior All-MIAA guard Jack Bachleor led with eight early points.
Bachelor, the Washburn Rural product, would go on to score 18 points in the first 20 minutes as the Ichabods carried a 10-point lead at 41-31 lead into the break.
Washburn continued its steady play in the second half, matching Missouri Western basket-for-basket before gradually stretching the advantage to a game-high 22 midway through the half.
The Griffons (21-11) did trim the lead to nine with 4:17 to play, but a 3-pointer from Bachelor sparked a 14-7 advantage for the Ichabods the rest of the contest as the Ichabods won their seventh in a row over the Griffons in the 16-point win.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored a career-high 27 points with seven treys in Saturday's 85-69 Washburn win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Bachelor led the Ichabods with a career and game-high 27 points.
Bachelor connected on seven 3-pointers while also adding six assists and three boards.
"Jack Bachelor was the best player on the court again tonight,'' Ballard said. "He just loves this gym and he's really playing at a high level.''
Senior Brady Christiansen recorded the sixth double-double of his Ichabod career with 17 points and 10 rebounds, going 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from deep.
Sophomore Tyson Ruud made his second start of the season in place of Claussen and recorded 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting while adding five rebounds and a block.
"I think starting or not it's the same mentality,'' Ruud told KTPK Radio. "We're so deep. We're one of the most talented teams in the nation, so starting or not the mentality's the same.''
Junior Jeremiah Jones scored eight points, and an MIAA Tournament game record of eight steals, recording six in the first half alone.
Senior Bryson Smith added six points, four assists and two steals.
The Ichabods were efficient as a team, shooting 49 percent from the field (33 of 68) and 44 percent from 3-point range (12 of 27).
Missouri Western was paced by former Seaman star Ty Henry, who scored 15 points to pace four Griffons in double figures.
Missouri Western finished shooting at 44 percent from the field, going 9 of 24 from deep.
Washburn also held advantages in second-chance scoring (15-2) while outrebounding the Griffons 38-30 and forcing 16 Western turnovers.
The Ichabods are in their first MIAA Tournament championship game since 2021 and their first one in Kansas City since March 4, 2012 when Washburn topped Pittsburg State 67-63 in the championship game.
The Ichabods are looking for their seventh MIAA Tournament title.
