Feb. 3, 2009 – The Bulldogs will play their fourth road game out of their last five games as they travel to Washburn University on Wednesday night in Topeka. The Ichabods defeated the Bulldogs 66-58 in Pershing Arena back on Dec. 13th.
Brandon Griffin earned his third conference start of the season and led the Bulldogs with 16 points but it wasn’t enough as the Emporia State Hornets shot 57% from the field, including 10 three-pointers in an 87-63 victory over the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon in Emporia.
Emporia broke the game open with a 17-0 run early in the second half and Robert Moores hit five of the 10 three-pointers for the Hornets. Moores finished with 19 points while Tim Niles came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points.
Washburn has won their last two games after holding off Missouri Western 79-78 on Saturday night in Topeka. Darnell Kimble scored 22 points and five Ichabods reached double-figures in the wire-to-wire victory over the Griffons.
DeAndre Eggins leads the Ichabods in scoring at 17.5 points per game, while Lekheythan Malone averages 13.0 points per game.
In their first meeting, Washburn held the Bulldogs to just 17 points in the first half and allowed the ‘Dogs to get no closer than seven in the second half in a 66-58 victory on Dec. 13th. Eggins had 22 points for Washburn while Patrick Fandja scored 22 for Truman.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?:
The Bulldogs are 4 ½ games out of the final conference tournament spot with seven games remaining on the schedule.
Washburn is tied with Emporia State in third place in the league standings with an 8-5 record. The Ichabods are two games behind conference leader Central Missouri.
Truman is looking for their first win on the road this season (0-9) and their first road win since defeating Missouri Western on Feb. 20, 2008.
Washburn is 9-1 in Lee Arena this season and 6-1 in MIAA games played in Topeka. The only Ichabods loss came on Jan. 3rd against Central Missouri (73-64). Washburn has won their last three conference home games.
BULLDOGS BITES:
- Senior Banks Estridge is the team leader in points, assists and steals. Estridge averages 10.6 points per game, has 53 assists and 31 steals. He is averaging 1.55 steals per game, good for eighth in the MIAA.
- Sophomore Ethan Freeman is second in scoring at 9.5 points per game and the top rebounder. Freeman is currently 13th in the conference in board per game at 5.8. He is second on the team in assists with 39 and shoots 49% from the floor.
- The Bulldogs have had 13 different starting lineups this season through 20 games. Only one combination (Fandja, Freeman, Estridge, Gabe Landau, Alex Henderson) has started four games together. Truman has had six different starting line-ups the last seven games.
- In road conference games this season, Truman is averaging 59.3 points per game, shooting 42.7% from the field and 30.7% from outside. Opponents are averaging 75.6 points, shooting 48.4% from the floor and 43.1% from beyond the arc. Estridge averages 10.7 points and Freeman averages 10.3 points in those games. Vesko Filchev is third in scoring at 8.9 points per game.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 when leading at the half, 5-4 when winning the battle of the boards.
- Truman is averaging 63.0 points per game and has a season-high 97 against Central Christian College. The Bulldogs are fourth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 68.8 points per game.
- Three Bulldogs have topped 20 points in a game this season. Patrick Fandja holds the season-high with 23 points against Missouri Western last time out. Fandja also had 22 against Washburn. Banks Estridge’s 21 against UNO and Northwest is third. Ethan Freeman scored 20 against William Woods.
- Fandja and Brandon Griffin have recorded the only double-doubles this season. Fandja had 23 and 11 against Missouri Western and 22 and 11 against Washburn on Dec. 13th while Griffin scored 19 and had 12 rebounds against Central Christian College on Nov. 20th.
SCOUTING WASHBURN:
The Ichabods are 12-8 overall, 9-1 in games played at Lee Arena but 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Washburn is averaging 79.8 points per game (4th in the MIAA) and giving up 74.4 points (9th). The Ichabods are second in the conference in rebounding offense (40.0), rebounding margin (+5.0), blocks per game (3.75) and offensive rebounds (13.90). They are also third in defensive field goal percentage at 41.9%.
DeAndre Eggins is second in the conference and leads the team scoring 17.5 points per game. He scored 31 points in the 85-75 loss at Emporia State on Jan. 17th. Eggins is a 77.9% free throw shooter (7th) and sixth in three-point shooting (43.3%). Eggins averages 2.17 three-pointers per game.
Lekheythan Malone (13.0) and Darnell Kimble (12.7) are the other Ichabods that average in double-figures. Kimble is tops on the squad in rebounding at 6.1 per contest and Mario Scott leads in both assists and steals. Scott averages 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
COACHES:
Jack Schrader is in his 14th season as head coach of the Bulldogs. He has an overall record of 153-225. Schrader has guided two Bulldog team to the NCAA Division II tournament. The 1998-99 team finished their season at the NCAA Final Four, while the 2005-06 team was a participant in the NCAA South Central regional.
Truman has only had three men’s basketball coaches since 1946, Boyd King (1946-1971), Willard Sims (1971-1995) and Schrader (1996-present). Schrader has twice been named the MIAA and NABC South Central region Coach of the Year.
Coach Schrader picked up his 150th victory of his career as Bulldog head coach in a 97-71 win over Central Christian on Nov. 20th. He is currently third all-time among Truman coaches trailing Boyd King (379 wins) and Williard Sims (310 wins).
Bob Chipman is the dean of MIAA coaches as he has been with the Ichabods for 30 seasons. Chipman is the all-time leader among league coaches in victories with 658.
SERIES:
This is the 47th meeting between Washburn and Truman in men’s basketball. The Ichabods hold a 33-13 advantage in the series and a 22-3 advantage in games played in Topeka.
Truman’s last win in Topeka was a 81-72 victory on Jan. 28th 2006.
UP NEXT:
Truman plays four of their last six games in Pershing Arena and kicks it off by hosting nationally-ranked Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
The Bearcats were ranked ninth in the last NABC Division II Poll and defeated the Bulldogs 70-57 back on Dec. 31st. Southwest Baptist plays host to Pittsburg State on Tuesday night before travelling to Kirksville.