KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Northwest Missouri and Washburn advance to the championship game of the 2022 MIAA Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Fourth-seeded Washburn Knocked off the No.1 seed Central Oklahoma and the No.2 seed Northwest Missouri defeated No.3 seed Fort Hays State. The Bearcats and Ichabods will compete for the MIAA Championship title on Sunday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium. Below are game recaps from Saturday’s semifinals.
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No.4 Washburn 79, No.1 Central Oklahoma 65 – Box Score
The No.4 seeded-Washburn Ichabods knocked off No.1 seeded-Central Oklahoma Bronchos in the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
Washburn shot 43.8 percent (28-64) from the field, 50.0 percent (14-28) from the three and just 52.9 percent (9-17) from the free-throw line while the Bronchos finished with 33.3 percent (19-57) shooting overall, 28.6 percent (8-28) from the three and 82.6 percent (19-23) from the line.
Four Ichabods finished in double-figure scoring led by Jonny Clausing with 18 while All-MIAA selections Tyler Geiman and Jalen Lewis followed close behind with 17 and 15, respectively. Clausing also totaled 11 rebounds for a double-double while the 2022 Freshman of the Year Michael Keegan lede the Ichabods with a game-high 15 rebounds. Geiman hit a game-high five threes on eight attempts while also recording a game-high seven assists. Conner Deffebaugh added 10 points for Washburn on 4-of-6 shooting which included a 2-of-2 finish from deep.
Central Oklahoma was led by All-MIAA selection Callen Haydon with 22 points. Haydon landed 7-of-14 overall while hitting 4-of-7 from the three-point range and 4-of-4 at the line. Fellow All-MIAA honoree Isaiah Wade totaled 15 points and led the Bronchos with three assists while Davon Richardson posted a team-high nine rebounds. Also finishing in double-figure scoring was Davon Richardson with 10.
No.2 Northwest Missouri 53, No.3 Fort Hays State 50 – Box Score
The No.2 seeded-Northwest Missouri defeated No.3-seeded Fort Hays State in the semifinals of the 2022 MIAA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Citizens Bank & Trust.
The Bearcats shot 38.1 percent (16-42) overall, 21.1 percent (4-19) from the three and 85.0 percent (17-20) from the free-throw line while the Tigers finished with 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field and 30.0 percent (6-20) from the three. Fort Hays State did not shoot a free-throw the entire game.
With eight minutes left in the game, Fort Hays State led 50-42. Northwest held the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the game while the Bearcats scored 11 straight for the win.
The 2022 MIAA Player of the Year Trevor Hudgins led the Northwest offense with 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting from the field, 1-of-9 from the three and 4-of-4 at the line. All-MIAA selection Wes Dreamer was the only other Bearcat to finish in double-figure scoring as he ended with 12. All-MIAA honoree Diego Bernard led the Northwest defense with six boards.
Four Tigers finished in double-figure scoring led by All-MIAA selections Jared Vitztum and Nyjee Wright with 12 apiece. Gabe Pieschl joined another All-MIAA honoree Bjarni Jonsson with 10 each. Vitztum finished with a game-high eight rebounds while All-MIAA selection Kaleb Hammeke totaled a game-high six assists.