Ichabods denied in upset bid over No. 8 Emporia State Wednesday

Jan. 3, 2007

Box Score | Season Stats

The Ichabods twice cut away 10-point deficits but for the second straight game they couldn’t hold a halftime lead to an unbeaten, top-10 opponent as they lost Wednesday, 80-77 to Emporia State in front of 3,750 at Lee Arena. Washburn (5-7, 1-2 MIAA) will continue its three-game home stand as it hosts No. 15 Northwest Missouri State (10-2, 3-0 MIAA). The Hornets went to 12-0 (3-0 MIAA) as they matched their best start in school history.

Senior guard Michael Williams hit a 3-pointer to give WU an early 5-2 lead. The Hornets answered with a 15-4 run to take a 17-9 lead with 11:40 left in the half. They built the lead to 10, 34-24 at 5:06 but the ’Bods kept ESU scoreless the rest of the half and went on a 12-0 run to take a 36-34 lead into the locker room.

Emporia State opened the second half on a 14-2 run to lead 48-38 at the 16:11 mark. The Hornets built their largest lead at 13 points when DeAndre Townsend hit a 3-pointer at 10:19 to make the score 64-51.

The Ichabods cut the lead to under 10 when Williams hit another 3 at 6:38. Junior guard Reed Hein hit another 3-pointer on the next possession to make the score 68-64, ESU. After a pair of missed shots from ESU junior forward Kyle Snyder’s lay up cut the lead to two points.

The Hornets made eight free throws in the final 3:46 and held off another Ichabods surge in the final seconds for the win. Down four at 79-75 with 10 seconds remaining Williams missed a 3. Snyder got the rebound and was tied up on a jump ball. Keeping the possession, junior guard Andrew Meile scored off the inbound pass from Snyder with three seconds remaining to put ESU within two.

ESU was fouled right away and Donta Watson missed his first free throw and then made his second. Down by three WU’s junior guard Grant Hargett ran the ball up court and found Hein on the left side. His shot at the buzzer from long distance was off the mark and the Hornets held on for the win, their third straight over Washburn.

The Ichabods shot a season-high 94 percent from the free throw line off a 17-of-18 effort. Sophomore forward Paul Byers was a perfect 6-for-6 and senior forward Frank Phifer was 4-for-4.

Williams led WU with a season-high 19 points off 7-of-14 shooting and three 3’s. Byers also had a season-high with 17 points. Snyder had the second double-double of the season and third of his career with 10 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds.

Washburn shot 41 percent in the game. The Ichabods shot 36 percent in the opening half but shot 46 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Hornets shot 43 percent.

Notes: Reed Hein was 2-for-4 from 3-point range, keeping his season percentage at .500 (13-for-26)…Michael Williams and Paul Byers had season highs of 19 and 17 points, respectively…Kyle Snyder had his second double-double of the season and third of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds…Washburn kept ESU to just six assists, a season-low for the Hornets and a season-low allowed by WU…Washburn had fewer turnovers than its opponents for the first time in the last seven games…Frank Phifer was held to eight points, marking the first time this year he was kept from double figures…In the 185th meeting between the two schools Emporia State closed the gap in the series to one game. Washburn leads 93-92 all-time and 17-6 in Lee Arena.