The Missouri Western men’s basketball team struggled from the free throw line making just 15-of-26 attempts falling for the third straight game by a score of 79-69 against the Washburn Ichabods. The Griffons had three players score in double figures with Ryan Devers finishing with a career best 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also made 11-of-13 free throws. The Griffons fall to 6-6 on the season and 1-3 with the loss.
The first ten minutes of the first half was an offensive struggle as the Griffons and the Ichabods played to an 11-11 with 9:06 to play in the first frame. From there the Ichabods would go on a 5-0 run which was capped by a Chris Davis three giving Washburn a 16-11 lead with 6:55 to play.
The Griffons continued battling cutting the score to 19-16 after a Cortrez Colbert three with 4:16 to play in the half. Unfortuntaly the rest of the half belonged to the Ichabods outscoring the Griffons 10-6 taking a seven point lead into the locker room at 29-22.
The Ichabods outscored the Griffons 18-10 in the paint and 13-6 in bench points. Kyle Wiggins had six points in the half while Jeff Reid had 10 of the Ichabods 23 rebounds.
The Griffons had five players scored in the half with Ryan Devers leading the way with six points and two assists. The Griffons had just 12 rebounds to the Ichabods 23.
The Griffons opened up the second half going on 11-5 run claiming a 35-34 lead after an Adarius Fulton three with 17:13 to play in the game. That marked their first lead since they led 11-9 with 9:27 to play in the first half. The Ichabods followed that up with a 7-0 run taking a 41-35 lead. The Griffons cut the lead to four a few times down the stretch but missed free throws hurt Missouri Western. On the other hand Washburn made 9-of-10 free throws in the final minute improving to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in MIAA play.
The Griffons made 46.2-percent (24-52) from the field and had nine assists with Devers collecting four. The Ichabods made 17-of-21 free throws and shot 49.1-percent (27-55) from the field. Leon Flowers led the way with 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and making 5-of-6 three point shots.
The Griffons return to action on Monday, January 6 when they take on the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at 7:30 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.
— MWSU Sports Information —