Ichabods headed to 'America's Playground' to take on Runnin' Rebels

Washburn (2-1)
at Nevada-Las Vegas (2-1)


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Runnin' Rebels Basketball Website

Date: Tuesday, November 21
Time: 9:30 p.m. Central/7:30 p.m. Pacific
Site: Thomas and Mack Center (18,500); Las Vegas, Nev.
Radio: KTPK-FM 106.9 Topeka (9:15 p.m. Central)
Rankings: Both teams are unranked
WU Coach Bob Chipman: 622-222 in 28th year at WU
(.737); 622-222 in 28th year overall (.737); 0-1 vs UNLV (Exh.)
UNLV Coach Lon Kruger: 36-28 in 3rd year at UNLV
(.563); 354-261 in 21st year overall (.584); 1-0 vs WU (Exh.)



Ichabods bound for “America’s Playground” to take on Runnin’ Rebels

Washburn will play its fourth game in seven days as it takes on Nevada-Las Vegas Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. Central/7:30 p.m. Pacific at the Thomas and Mack Center. The Ichabods (2-1) played UNLV last year in an exhibition and lost 73-53 but this year it will count, marking Washburn’s first game against an NCAA Division I school since taking on Kansas State November 18, 1998. Following the UNLV game, Washburn will return to Lee Arena to host Cameron on Friday for its fifth game in 10 days.

The Ichabods are coming off their first road win since January 21 of last season and are 2-1 while the Runnin’ Rebels are also sporting a 2-1 record in three home contests to open the season. Washburn defeated Eastern New Mexico 63-55 Saturday night in the consolation game of the ENMU/Harry Miller Shootout before losing to Fort Hays State in the tournament opener. UNLV suffered its first loss of the season Friday, 79-76 to California-Santa Barbara. The Runnin’ Rebels, in the middle of a season-opening five-game homestand, are coming off a 17-13 season.

WU head coach Bob Chipman and UNLV coach Lon Kruger will face each other as head coaches after playing together at Kansas State during the 1971-72 and 1972-73 seasons. Besides last year’s exhibition, the two played each other on December 17, 1983 when Kruger coached at Texas Pan American and Chipman was in his fifth year as the Ichabods coach. Kruger won that game 77-70.

Last Time Out for Washburn
Washburn 63, Eastern New Mexico 55
Snyder has double-double to lead Ichabods to win
November 18, 2006

PORTALES, N.M. - Junior forward Kyle Snyder had his second career double-double with a career-high 17 rebounds as the Ichabods defeated Eastern New Mexico 63-55 Saturday night in the consolation game of the ENMU Shootout. Washburn improved to 2-1 as it prepares to face NCAA Division I Nevada-Las Vegas Tuesday night on the road at 9:30 Central. Senior forward Frank Phifer led Washburn with 17 points, sophomore forward Paul Byers had 15 and Snyder chipped in 12. Phifer scored the first four points for Washburn and then was silenced until the second half when he exploded for 13. Byers led WU in the first half with 11 points. Each team shot 32 percent as they struggled from the field. Washburn was just 2-for-16 from the 3-point line but was able to edge the Greyhounds with a 48-24 advantage on rebounds, including a 17-1 lead on offensive boards, to make the difference. Washburn turned to ball over 21 times while ENMU let it go 18 times. Snyder also led WU with four assists while junior guard Sergio Negrin led with three steals.

Last Time Out for UNLV
UC-Santa Barbara 79, UNLV 76
Runnin’ Rebels drop first game of year, go to 2-1
November 17, 2006

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Chris Devine had a game-high 25 points for UC Santa Barbara Friday night and Alex Harris added 20 as the Gauchos shot 56 percent to hang on and beat UNLV 79-76. UNLV trailed by 13 points with nine minutes to play, but held UC Santa Barbara without a field goal for the final 5:50 and pulled within one, 73-72, with 1:12 to play. Curtis Terry and Michael Umeh had 3-pointers for the Rebels and Wendell White scored five straight points to cap the comeback. But the Gauchos (3-0) never relinquished the lead they took for good midway through the first half and won their third straight game to open the season. They hit six of eight foul shots in the final minute, including four straight by James Powell to keep the lead at three points. Powell finished with 17 points and Justin Joyner had a game-high seven assists. The Gauchos trailed 20-19 with 10:02 to play in the first half before going on a 10-2 run. Devine had consecutive baskets in the outburst and capped the rally with a three-point play. UC Santa Barbara would never trail again, leading 40-36 at halftime and extending its advantage to double digits four minutes into the second half. White led the Rebels (2-1) with 24 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Umeh connected on six 3-pointers in scoring 22. Wink Adams added 13 points.

Last Time Against UNLV
UNLV 73, Washburn 53
Washburn falls to Rebels in exhibition
November 8, 2005

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Washburn Ichabods fell 73-53 to Nevada-Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center in an exhibition game. J.B. Murray made three 3-pointers to score a team-high 12 points, while Paul Byers added 10 points for the Ichabods. Kris Milburn had a team-high nine rebounds. Dustin Villepigue led UNLV with 12 points.

About the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
UNLV will enter Tuesday’s game after picking up its first loss of the year. The Runnin’ Rebels are 2-1 after playing their first three of five straight home contests to start the season. Senior guard Wendell White leads UNLV with 15.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds. He led the Rebels with 24 points in a 79-76 loss to UC Barbara Friday. Sophomore guard Wink Adams is second on the team with 14.3 points a game. Three other UNLV players are averaging double-digit points.

Runnin’ Rebel head coach Lon Kruger is in his third year at UNLV with a 36-28 record (.563) and in his 21st year overall he is 354-261 (.584). The Silver Lake, Kansas, native is a 1975 graduate of Kansas State, playing two years with Ichabod coach Bob Chipman. Kruger came to UNLV in 2004 after four years as an assistant in the NBA. His collegiate coaching experience includes Pan American, Kansas State, Florida and Illinois. He has coached nine teams into the NCAA tournament, including his 1993-94 Florida team that advanced to the Final Four. His first coaching assignment was as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State.

The Runnin’ Rebels opened the season with a 70-37 exhibition win over DII Dixie State (Utah). UNLV last played an NCAA II school in a regular season game on January 5, 2005 when the Rebels defeated Fort Lewis 92-80.

Washburn against NCAA Division I schools
The Ichabods will be looking for their first win over an NCAA Division I school since Chipman took his team to Oklahoma State and defeated the Cowboys 67-66 on November, 29, 1984. The UNLV game will be the first against a DI school outside the state of Kansas since that game. Washburn is 3-0 against DI schools since joining Division II.

Washburn already has DI experience with exhibitions against Kansas and Kansas State this year. The Ichabods lost by 30 points to then-No. 3 KU but took the Wildcats to triple overtime in a four-point loss. Senior Michael Williams, a starter at guard, brings DI experience to WU after a year at Northern Iowa.

Washburn vs DI schools since joining DII in 1989-90
11/18/98 at Kansas State L 60-76
12/30/96 at Kansas L 65-90
12/06/93 at Kansas L 68-82

Chipman and Kruger face off on court after playing together
After taking Kansas State to back-to-back Big 8 titles in 1971-72 and 1972-73 as players, Lon Kruger and Bob Chipman will face off as head coaches for the second time in their careers. The two faced off on Dec. 17, 1983 when Chipman was in his fifth year as the Ichabods head coach and Kruger was coaching Texas Pan-American. Kruger’s squad won the game 77-70 and also defeated Chipman 73-53 in an exhibition game last year.

Kruger’s nephew Shannon was a four-year starter for the Ichabods from 1998 to 2002. Shannon finished his career No. 16 on Washburn’s all-time scoring chart with 1,014 points and also wore the same number as Lon did at Kansas State, No. 12. UNLV assistant coach Steve Henson’s younger brother Brian played for Washburn and Chipman from 1993-95 and hit 84 3-point attempts for his career. His .389 3-point FG percentage is No. 9 on the school’s all-time chart.

Chipman second in the MIAA in wins as a league coach
Chipman’s win over Kansas Wesleyan gave him his 380th win, making him the second winningest coach while coaching in the MIAA. He entered the year tied with Boyd King, the coach at Truman from 1946-71 who compiled 379 wins while there. Tom Smith, the Missouri Western coach, has over 400 wins under his belt as an MIAA coach to lead all league coaches.

A winning history
The Ichabods are 1,331-907 (.595 in 2,238 games) and are in their 103rd season of basketball. Starting their 23rd season in Lee Arena, the Ichabods are 304-49 (.861). The Ichabods are 1-0 this year at home and they finished the 2005-06 slate 7-6. The Ichabods are 118-18 in Lee Arena since the 1997-98 season.

Up next for the Ichabods
Washburn will play its fifth game in 10 days when it hosts Cameron Friday at 2 p.m. in Lee Arena. The game will be the first of a home-and-away series with the Aggies. Following that game the Ichabods will have 10 days off before playing at Central Oklahoma December 5.

Phifer gives Ichabods inside presence, leads team in scoring
After breaking his ankle in the preseason last year, Phifer leads the team with 16.0 points a game and has reached double figures in all three games. His last two games he has put up 17 points. Phifer is shooting 47 percent from the field and is 75 percent from the free throw line, leading the ’Bods with 12 made free throws and 16 attempts. He also leads the team with five blocks and is tied for second with 17 rebounds. He shot 5-for-10 in a start against No. 3 Kansas in an exhibition earlier this year. He got to the free throw line 14 times and made 12 of them for an 86 percent effort. He also pulled in 11 rebounds to lead all players in that category. Against K-State he was kept to just eight points but he finished the exhibition season strong with 20 against the Alumni. Phifer transferred to WU last year from Kentucky Wesleyan and was expected to start in the post. Prior to this year, his last appearance in a regular season game came while at Kentucky Wesleyan in 2004-05.

Byers climbs WU career block chart after strong freshman season
Returning for his sophomore season is forward Paul Byers. Playing all 26 games with 19 starts, he led the Ichabods last year with 31 blocks, the seventh highest single-season total at WU and 14th highest career total. He can get near the Washburn top-five with a repeat performance this year.

Byers put up 10 points against UNLV last year, the highest returning total for the Ichabods.

He has yet to block a shot this year, but he has been able to score more points. He has double-digit efforts in all three games this year, already passing his total of two double-figure games from last year. He leads the team with a .667 field goal percentage (16-24) and a .429 3-point percentage (3-7). He is averaging 13.7 points, second on the team, and 4.7 rebounds a game.

Meile has strong game against FHSU
Junior Andrew Meile comes back for his third year as the only returning starter at guard. He exploded for 18 points against Fort Hays State off 6-of-11 shooting. He is tied for the team lead in steals with four and he is 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

In three exhibitions this year he had 12.7 points a game, 3.7 rebounds and led WU with seven steals. Meile averaged 8.6 points per game last year with 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He reached double figures 10 times and had a career-high of 20 against Central Missouri. He led the team with 43 3-pointers and finished second shooting .426 from behind the arc. He finished the season strong, averaging 17.3 points per game in the final four games.

Ichabods looking for a solid starting five
Last year the Ichabods started 11 different players and used nine different starting lineups. Their best combination managed just three wins. Guard Andrew Meile started 24 of the 26 games, the most for any returner, and the team picked up nine of its 10 wins when he started. Washburn returns seven letterwinners, including four with a lot of starting experience. Forward Paul Byers returns after starting 19 games and going 8-11 when starting.

This year Washburn’s Williams, Meile, Byers, Snyder and Phifer have started all three games and are 2-1.

Final notes on the Harry Miller/ENMU Shootout
• Senior forward Frank Phifer was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 17 points in each game.
• WU’s win over ENMU was the first win in a true road game since defeating Missouri Southern 60-56 January 21 of last season. That win was Washburn’s only road win of the season.
• With WU’s win over ENMU ending in regulation, the Ichabods avoided going into overtime for the third straight time, something WU has never done. The Ichabods opened the year with a pair of OTs, marking the sixth time they have played consecutive overtimes and first to start a season.
• Kyle Snyder’s 17 rebounds against ENMU was the most since Travis Robbins pulled in 17 on 11/30/04 against Mid-American Nazarene. Joe Luebcke holds the WU single-game record with 23 boards against Emporia State in 1974.
• Washburn’s 48 rebounds against ENMU was the most since 2004-05 for the Ichabods. They doubled up the Greyhounds 48-24 on rebounds and held a 17-1 advantage on offensive rebounds.
• FHSU handed Washburn its first loss of the season for the second straight year. The Tigers beat Washburn 84-74 last year to make Washburn 1-1.
• Washburn played in consecutive overtime games for the first time since the 1994-95 season.
• Byers, Snyder and Williams all fouled out for their first time as Ichabods in the game against FHSU and Phifer followed by taking the bench during the ENMU game.
• The non-conference matchup against FHSU is the first of three the two teams will play this year. The next two will be MIAA games.

Bods and Ends
• Washburn’s win against Kansas Wesleyan snapped a five-game losing streak the Ichabods carried over from last year.
• The Ichabods improved to 28-22 in overtimes with the win over KWU, playing their second double-overtime game in two years. Washburn is now 6-6 all-time in 12 games that went into at least double-overtime.
• In 17 seasons as an NCAA II school, the Ichabods have 10 NCAA tournament appearances and nine MIAA titles. Last year snapped a streak of three straight conference championships.
• The Ichabods suffered their first losing season since 1976-77 and first of head coach Bob Chipman’s career. They also failed to advance to the MIAA tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1989-90.