After four second half ties Ichabods fall away in loss at Emporia State

February 17, 2007

Box Score | Season Stats

EMPORIA, Kan. - As they have every other time they have played a ranked team this year, the Ichabods had a strong first half but couldn’t play a complete game as they fell 88-74 Saturday at No. 19 Emporia State. The Ichabods dropped to 8-17 and 4-12 in the MIAA and they have two games remaining to try and get a spot in the MIAA Postseason Tournament. Washburn will play at Fort Hays State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Junior forward Brady Sisk led the Ichabods with 11 points and senior guard Kyle Fisher had a season-high 10 points. Senior forward Frank Phifer fouled out of the game at 11:59 after scoring 10 points. Sisk also led WU with eight rebounds.

Washburn shot 48 percent in the first half and led by a point, 36-35 when junior forward Mamadou Sy made a jumper at 2:01. ESU’s Donta Watson, who ended the night with 28 points, followed Sy’s basket with one of his own to close the half and give the Hornets a 37-36 lead.

In the second half the Ichabods tied the game four times early, the last coming at 49-49 with 15:39 left. ESU then spent much of the half at the free throw line as the Ichabods were whistled for 22 fouls, compared to six for ESU. The Hornets shot 28 free throws in the half, making 22 of them.

Things got out of reach for the Ichabods when they were whistled for three technical fouls in 1:28 of play. At 11:59 Phifer was whistled for a foul and a technical and then the WU bench got one 37 seconds later. Junior forward Dylan Channel got the last at 10:31. Watson made 8-of-8 free throws during that time and added a 3-pointer as the Hornets built a 16-point lead.

They grew it as high as 22 points with under three minutes left and then the Ichabods closed it to 14 before losing for the fourth straight time to the Hornets. Fisher scored six points in the final eight minutes to set his season high and junior guard Sergio Negrin tied his season high with six, all in the final 1:38.

Washburn ended the game shooting 48 percent while the Hornets were 49 percent. ESU edged Washburn 32-29 on rebounds and shot more than twice as many free throws, 31 while WU shot just 14.

Notes:
• ESU’s 88 points was a season-high allowed by the Ichabods.
• The WU-ESU series record is now tied 93-93. The series, the most played for WU, goes back to 1905-06.