Men's Basketball | 2/29/2012 11:01:00 AM
TOURNEY TURNPIKE TUSSLE
The Hornets will play the Ichabods for the 199th time as they face off for the fifth time in the MIAA Tournament. Emporia State is the only school in the MIAA to have both their teams advance to the MIAA Tournament in every season since it moved to Kansas City. The Hornets are 5-14 overall in the MIAA Tournament and 2-3 when playing as the #8 seed.
LAST TIMEOUT
ESU was outshot .520 to .333 from the field in a 73-48 loss to Fort Hays State. Troy Pierce scored 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Hornets. Chris Sights went six for six from the free throw line and added 12 points.
THE COACHES
Shaun Vandiver is 9-17 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 to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado. He is 0-2 in his career against Washburn.
Bob Chipman is 717-295 in his 33rd season with the Ichabods. He is 49-23 against the Hornets in his career.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 21-7 and went 15-5 in the MIAA winning the regular season title and the top seed in the MIAA Tournament. They are led by Will McNeil who is averaging 19.9 points per game. He is joined by Martin Mitchell who is averaging 10.3 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 199th meeting between the two teams and their fifth meeting in the MIAA Tournament. The series is all tied at 99 games apiece with Washburn leading 3-1 in MIAA Tourney play though ESU won the last Tournament meeting.
LAST TIME VS. WU
ESU shot .632 in the second half, but came up shy of a comeback against Washburn in a 68-60 loss in the Turnpike Tussle. The Hornets were led by Tola Lawal who finished with 21 points and five rebounds for ESU. Chris Sights added 11 points for the Hornets while Antonio DiMaria added 10 points. Chris Simmons had a career high eight rebounds.
UP NEXT
The winner of the game will face the winner of the Missouri Southern/Fort Hays State game at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 3 from Kansas City, Mo.
