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ESU Men Defeat WU, Earn MIAA Tournament Bid
By David Boyce
EMPORIA, Kan. -- The records put them in the seventh and eighth spots in the MIAA men's standings, but Emporia State and Washburn played with championship intensity.
The reason was obvious. The winner clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament, which will run March 5-7.
Considering what was at stake between these two bitter rivals, it was fitting Emporia State needed overtime to beat Washburn 71-62 Wednesday evening at White Auditorium.
"The girls playing for first place tonight definitely helped to bring in a crowd," Emporia State junior Adam Holthaus said. "It was definitely the environment we wanted. We wanted to use it to our advantage.
"For a little bit we didn't, but this game will definitely prepare us for what we will face in the tournament."
The win lifted Emporia State to 13-13 overall and 9-10 in the MIAA. Washburn finished the regular season 14-13 and 8-12.
"In the end I thought it was a great win for us," Emporia State coach Dave Moe said. "The way we played in the first half we were lucky to be down by four.
"I might have put too much pressure on us knowing how big of a game it was. You could see in overtime we were going to play. We took good shots. We played good defense. We didn't get tentative."
The Ichabods now must hope Northwest Missouri loses at home against Missouri Southern to get the eighth and final spot.
"It's going to be tough," Washburn coach Bob Chipman said. "Southern has been playing great. They have the long road trip. They have Omaha on Thursday and they are at Northwest on Saturday. Northwest has played great at their place. I'm hopeful, but we will see.
"I would like to get to Kansas City with this team. I don't think we would embarrass ourselves. Tonight we showed that for 40 minutes. We played great, fought them. We looked tired in overtime."
The Hornets made game-winning plays down the stretch in regulation. Consecutive baskets by Holthaus with under two minutes left broke a 46-46 tie and gave Emporia State a 50-46 lead.
"At that point we just didn't want to be denied," Holthaus said. "We knew if we attacked the rim we could get a couple of fouls and a couple of baskets."
Washburn fought back and with 46 seconds remaining, De'Andre Washington made a three-point play to tie the game 52-52.
Neither team converted on offense the rest of the way, causing the game to go into overtime.
"Don't lose," Holthaus said of the mindset for the extra five minutes. "We were playing for our lives right there."
Emporia State immediately seized the momentum on a three-pointer by Lamar Wilbern, and he wasn't done.
A little bit later, Wilbern knocked down two free throws that put the Hornets up 57-52. It was too much for Washburn to overcome.
"I knew with the crowd and having the momentum would get us rolling," said Wilbern, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Ichabods did close to 63-60. But Emporia State quickly answered with five straight points for a 68-60 lead with 26 seconds left.
Wilbern said the Hornets were motivated by something more than just making the MIAA Tournament.
"Kansas City was the backburner," Wilbern said. "The first time we played them they dominated us. As a player you want to come out and show them it's not going to happen again.
"We wanted to come out and make a statement. The cherry on the cake was making it to the MIAA Tournament."
The Hornets didn't like the way they played at Washburn on Jan. 16 when they lost 73-42.
Although Emporia State didn't play well in the first half, the Hornets went into halftime down only 25-21.
The second half was much more exciting. The Hornets took their first lead in the second half at 32-31 on two free throws by Matt Boswell.
The lead changed seven times in the second half, with the biggest lead in the last 14 minutes being four points with 1:22 left in regulation when Holthaus made back-to-back buckets in the paint.
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail dboyce@themiaa.com.
