TOPEKA, Kan. - - In its final scheduled trip to Washburn University’s Lee Arena, the Truman men’s basketball team saved its best for last, handing the 10th-ranked Ichabods a 64-56 defeat on Wednesday night in front of more than 3,000 fans.
The Bulldogs (6-9, 3-4 MIAA) used a blistering second half – shooting 67% from the floor and dropping six of nine three-point attempts – to silence the nationally-ranked ’Bods (10-3, 3-2 MIAA), who shot a mere 29% and failed to make a three-pointer in the final 20 minutes.
Washburn put Truman on the ropes early, building a quick 10-0 lead through the first four minutes before Isaac Gardner hit a three-pointer to get the Bulldogs on the board.
Truman slowly chipped away the rest of the half, pulling to within one point on two occasions, but went into the intermission trailing 28-25.
The Ichabods maintained a small lead for the first five-plus minutes of the second half before a Mike Carlson lay-up gave Truman its first lead of the night, 37-36, at the 14:21 mark.
The squads would trade the lead, with Washburn holding a 40-39 edge until Truman got a three-pointer by Cole Myers in front of back-to-back triples by Tom Norton to lead 48-40.
The Bulldog run would cap at 16-3, as the purple and white led 55-43 on a Carlson trifecta from the corner with 6:04 on the clock.
However, the 10th-ranked ’Bods would ride the back of all-MIAA guard Will McNeill, as the senior scored 10 points as part of a 12-3 Washburn spurt to pull the home squad to within a pair, 55-53, with 3:42 to play.
A Carlson jumper and another Norton three would push the margin back to seven for the ’Dogs, and Washburn got to within only five the rest of the way as Truman logged a major road MIAA victory.
The win marked the first against a ranked opponent under the direction of second-year head coach Matt Woodley and first for the program since a Jan. 26, 2008 home win against Southwest Baptist.
The Bulldogs snapped a three-game overall losing streak, as well as picked up just the fourth win in 30 tries in Topeka.
The game marked the last scheduled trip to WU with next season’s move to the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
For the game, Norton led all Bulldogs with 15 points (4-5 3FG, 3-3 FT) off the bench, while Seth Jackson added 13 points (5-6 FG, 3-5 FT) and six rebounds in 29 minutes.
Carlson added nine points, while Cory Myers finished with seven points and five assists.
Overall, Truman shot 22-of-41 (54%) from the field, 8-of-16 (50%) from three-point range and 12-of-18 (67%) from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs were out-rebounded slightly at 31-30 and committed 18 turnovers.
McNeill’s 20 points led all scorers, with the Ichabods shooting just 36% overall for the game, including a 3-of-13 (23%) mark from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs return to Pershing Arena on Saturday (Jan. 19) afternoon to kick off a three-game homestand against Central Missouri. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.
*Courtesy: Truman State University
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