HORNETS SEE SEASON END IN MIAA TOURNAMENT TURNPIKE TUSSLE

March 4, 2022-In a Turnpike Tussle that saw 11 ties and 12 lead changes it was a 10-2 run midway through the second half that proved to be the difference as Washburn prevailed 88-81 over Emporia State in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo.

The Ichabods led 8-3 with 16:32 left in the first half when the Hornets went on an 8-3 run of their own to take an 11-8 lead with 13:29 remaining.  Neither team would take more than a three point lead the rest of the half.  Levi Braun hit a three-pointer to give WU a 34-32 lead with 1:11 left but Kaden Evans hit his third three-pointer of the half to put ESU up 35-34 with 36 seconds left.  Jonny Clausing hit one of two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to send the teams to the locker rooms tied at 35.
 
With the score tied at 40 Tray Buchanan and Jumah'Ri Turner combined on an 8-2 run to with Buchanan's three-pointer giving the Hornets a 48-42 lead with 17:01 left.  The Ichabods came back with a 7-0 run of their own to go up 49-48 on two free throws from Clausing coming out of the under 16 media timeout.    
 
Emporia State was down three at 56-53 on another Evans three-pointer following the under 12 media timeout.  Washburn got back to back three-pointers from Jalen Lewis and Tyler Nelson to take a 62-53 lead with 11:04 left.  Gage McGuire hit a free throw to break the run but Lewis responded with two more inside buckets to go up 66-55 with 10:14 left.
 
Washburn had their biggest lead of the night at 73-60 with 6:30 left when Emporia State made it last big run.  Turner scored ten points during a 12-2 run as the Hornets pulled within 75-72 on a pair of free throws from Turner with 3:04 left.  Tyler Geiman hit two free throws with 2:48 left to put the Ichabods back up by five by Brenden Van Dyke got a put back dunk at the 26 seconds later to get it back to three points.   Clausing scored inside with 2:11 left and Peyton Rogers-Schmidt hit two free throws with 1:44 left to make it 79-76.  Geiman then delivered the knockout with a three-pointer at the 1:30 mark to put the Ichabods up by six.  Washburn then hit six of eight free throws in the final minute to ice the 88-81 win and advance to Saturday's Semifinals.
 
Jumah'Ri Turner led all scorers with 23 points while Tray Bychanan, who was questionable most of the week, added 22.  They were joined in double figures by Kaden Evans with 12 while Brenden Van Dyke had a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.
 
Emporia State ends the season 20-9, the first 20 win season for the Hornets since 2007.
 
NOTES
Jumah'Ri Turner will end his career with 1,351 points to move into the top ten on the Emporia State all-time list.
Tray Buchanan finished the season with 742 points to rank fourth all-time in a single season at Emporia State.