Men's Basketball | 3/9/2019 7:10:07 PM
Coming off a solid first half, Washburn senior Javion Blake dialed it up to heat-check level hot in the second half against Pittsburg State in the semifinals of the MIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The two mid-range jumpers in the first minute sparked Washburn to quickly expand a three-point halftime advantage to a double-digit lead 5 minutes into the second half.
Washburn never relinquished the lead the rest of the way, and won 99-94 Saturday afternoon at Municipal Auditorium. Blake scored 12 points in the first half and 22 in the second half for 34.
“I just stayed confident,” Blake said. “I believe in our coaching staff and our players. They put me in the right position to make some shots, especially in the second half when we got out in transition. It got the crowd into the game.”
The Ichabods, 24-6, will play Northwest Missouri 1 p.m. Sunday for the MIAA Tournament title. The winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament. It is a rematch of last year’s championship game.
“I really admire programs that can consistently win because I know how hard that is to do on a consistent basis,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. “Not that we have done it long enough, but to trend in the right direction to get to the championship game two years in a row, I am really proud of our guys.”
The atmosphere should be electric inside Municipal Sunday afternoon.
“You have to respect what Northwest has done, especially in the last decade,” Ballard said. “They have had a heck of a year, obviously. The have a big-time team and a great coach.
“I think the cool thing is the two best teams are playing for the championship. It doesn’t always work out that way and that is okay. Our guys will play with confidence. We know we have to play well. I think the fans will be excited. It should be a great atmosphere.”
The first basket in the second half came from Blake, which increased the Ichabods’ lead to 46-41.
Every time Pittsburg State made a run, Blake had an answer. His three-pointer with about 14 minutes remaining in the game gave Washburn a 60-50 lead.
A little later, with 8 minutes left, Blake made a reverse layup that put Washburn back up by 10 at 76-66.
Pittsburg State senior Donovan Franklin kept the Gorillas close, especially with his high-arching three-pointers. One of those three-pointers sliced Pittsburg State’s deficit to79-73 with 5:40 left. Franklin scored 25 and senior Grant Lozoya had a team-high 26 for the Gorillas.
“It was a good win against a good team,” Ballard said. “Those guards are really hard to guard.”
Washburn had more than one player putting the ball through the basket. Senior David Salach hit a three-pointer as the shot clock was ticking down to zero. His trey gave Washburn an 82-73 lead that increased to 86-73 with under 5 minutes left.
“We just stuck together,” said Salach, who finished with 21 points. “Our motto is to get stops. We hit free throws down the stretch when we needed to.”
The Gorillas kept battling. They trailed only 92-87 with 1 minute left, but they didn’t have enough time to erase a 13-point deficit.
“Offensively, we did some good things, scoring 99 points,” Ballard said. “Guys stepped up and made some big plays. Javion was terrific tonight.
“Defensively, we have to guard without fouling. We put them on the line 32 times and they made 27 of them. It is not a great recipe to win games. Fortunately, we got enough stops.”
A floater in the lane by sophomore Tyler Geiman sent Washburn into halftime with a slim 44-41 lead.
The game went back and forth in the opening 10 minutes. Washburn put together a nice spurt and built a 37-27 lead. Pittsburg State fought back and closed to 40-39 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.
The 2019 MIAA Basketball Championships are presented by MoDOT’s Buckle Up, Phone Down campaign.