 |  |
Washburn Advances to Final with Win over MWSU
By David Boyce
The aggressive zone defense Washburn used through much of the second half caused all sorts of problems for Missouri Western.
The Griffons couldn't get the ball inside and were left to launching three-pointers that didn't go in.
It all added up to Washburn pulling off another upset. The Ichabods became the third straight eighth seed to advance the MIAA Men's Basketball Tournament championship game by beating Missouri Western 56-43 Saturday evening.
"It was a defensive battle. I know it wasn't pretty but we will take them any way we can get them," Washburn coach Bob Chipman said. "You hold a team like Missouri Western to 19 points in the second half, that's almost unheard of. I can't believe we did it."
Washburn, 16-13, will try to become the first eighth seed to win the tournament title when it plays at 4 p.m. Sunday.
"We are looking forward to it to try and win this championship," Washburn guard Will McNeill said. "No one expected Washburn to be in the championship game. We started 1-7 in conference. We believe right now."
Missouri Western led nearly the entire first half, but went into halftime trailing 25-24.
"I sure wish we were the eighth seed," said Missouri Western coach Tom Smith, whose team made the MIAA championship game last year as an eighth seed. "We had a lot more success as the eighth seed.
"Washburn just had a lot more zip in their step than we did and that's to their credit. The zone was it. The zone really hurt us."
All indications were that the second half would be just as close as the first. But when the game was tied 30-30, Washburn's zone defense became really stingy in allowing high percentage shots.
The frustrations started to show on the Griffons as Washburn scored the next six points for a 36-30 lead.
"It was basically communication on what we did tonight," McNeill said. "It was great seeing everybody fly around.
"When players on a team don't hit shots, it definitely frustrates them. Missouri Western is a good 1-on-1 team. But tonight we played them zone and forced them to shoot the ball outside."
The one Griffon who refused to give in was Marcus Rhodes, who played attacking basketball. His three-point play pulled Missouri Western to 36-33.
"I'm always trying to get my team going and keep the energy level high," Rhodes said. "Tonight our legs weren't under us. We were kind of sluggish a little bit. We let that zone throw off our defense."
Washburn answered Rhodes' three-point play with the next five points, including a three-point play by De'Andre Washington.
The Ichabods had a 41-33 lead and the growing confidence that Missouri Western was no closer to solving the zone puzzle.
"We weren't hitting too many outside shots, and that was the big key for us not having success against that zone," Missouri Western senior James Bush said. "Other than that, I couldn't get touches inside because they were so crowded in."
Missouri Western's solution was to throw up more three-pointers. They didn't fall through the nets, and thus the Griffons never made a run. Missouri Western was 4-for-26 behind the arc.
"I thought the zone bothered them and we got the ball inside. I thought that was the difference in the game," Chipman said. "Logan was tremendous in there. Our guys recognized that and got the ball to him. And of course De'Andre, wow, that was pretty special."
Meanwhile, Washburn was getting all kinds of offense in the paint from forward Logan Stutz. He went 7-for-9 from the field and finished with 19 points.
"I love it when teams don't come out and challenge a post-entry pass," Stutz said. "It allows me and Dre to go to work and kick it back out. It opens up the whole floor on offense."
Washington was an absolute warrior for the Ichabods. He scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
The Ichabods increased their lead to 49-38 with 4:13 left to play, and the game was basically over.
The Griffons shot just 25 percent in the second half compared to 62.5 percent for Washburn.
Missouri Western will now have to spend a nervous day wondering if it did enough to earn a spot in the South Central Regional. The loss dropped Missouri Western to 18-11.
"I'm real nervous, especially Marcus and I because this is our last year," Bush said.
The Griffons need Nebraska-Omaha to win the MIAA Tournament to have a good chance to make the regional.
"We knew we had to win one game here and then everything fell apart," Smith said. "Central Missouri and Fort Hays lost. We did enough to earn a spot, but we might get bumped."
As for the Ichabods, they are on an unbelievable run. Ten days ago when they lost their final regular season game at Emporia State it looked like their season was over. Washburn needed Missouri Southern to win at Northwest Missouri last Saturday just to get the last spot in the MIAA Tournament.
"It's really crazy," McNeill said. "Sitting there and listening to the Northwest Missouri game and Missouri Southern was down seven with 35 seconds to go.
"The whole week coach Chipman was stressing we can do this."
To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, e-mail to
dboyce@themiaa.com.
