Men's Basketball | 1/13/2012 10:34:00 AM
TURNPIKE TUSSLE
The Hornets will travel to Washburn for the 197th edition of the Turnpike Tussle. The series has seen six ties and the Hornets led the series for 91 years of the 105 years since first meeting in 1905.
LAST TIMEOUT
ESU got 13 points and 13 rebounds from Troy Pierce as they rolled to a 61-39 victory over Lincoln. The Hornets shot .521 and outrebounded the Blue Tigers 42-26 in their most lopsided win of the season. In addition to Pierce’s double-double he was perfect from the field hitting six of six shots. Antonio DiMaria finished the game with 10 points and added five rebounds and five assists while Tola Lawal added 13 points for the Hornets.
THE COACHES
Shaun Vandiver is 8-6 in his first year at ESU. The former NBA round draft pick spent the last ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, most recently at Boise State University. As a player he led Hutchinson CC’s to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado. This is his first Turnpike Tussle.
Bob Chipman is 706-293 in 33 seasons at Washburn. He is 47-23 against the Hornets in his career, but just 4-8 over the last five years.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 10-5, 5-3 in the MIAA this season. They are led by Will McNeil at 19.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Martin Mitchell joins him in double figures averaging 12.4 points per game. Bobby Chipman leads the team on the glass averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 197th meeting between the two teams with ESU holding a 99-97 advantage. The Hornets have won three of the last four and ten of the last 14 meetings. ESU has left Lee Arena with a win in four of the last six trips.
LAST TIME VS. WASHBURN
Robert Moores scored 19 points and Adam Houlthaus added 15 as #6 seed ESU kept its season alive with a 67-61 victory against #3 seed Washburn in the first round of the 2011 MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Matt Boswell scored 13 points, 12 in the first half, and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hornets.
UP NEXT
ESU will return home for a three game stretch that will include two match-ups with ranked teams. It all starts on Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. against #19 FHSU.
