Men fight off Washburn comeback to win game
Last Updated on Friday, 5 February 2010 04:03 Written by Online Editor Friday, 5 February 2010 03:49
A late first half run that continued into the second half put the Griffons in the driver’s seat as they took down Washburn 74-63 last Saturday night.
For much of the first half, neither team could really break away from each other, as the lead swung back and forth.
By the 5:00 mark in the first half, the Griffons started to pull away.
Western relied heavily on three point shots early in the game against Washburn’s zone defense. Key minutes from Brandon Beck off the bench in the middle of the first half helped Western establish a presence in the post as well as open up shots for players like Martin Nolan and Justin Taylor on the perimeter.
“I think Brandon, in the first half, gave us a lift,” coach Tom Smith said.
A designed alley-oop and buzzer beating three by Justin Taylor helped to spark the Griffons at the end of the first half as they went into halftime with a nine point lead.
The Griffons’ hot hand continued in the start of the second half as they locked down on defense and worked the shot clock more on offense.
“We told everybody that the first five minutes of the second half were crucial and we defended pretty well,” said senior guard Martin Nolan, who finished with 13 points
and six assists.
Marcus Rhodes drives to the hoop during Western’s basketball game against the Washburn Ichabods. The Griffons won the game 74-63. Photo by Ryan Richardson
Midway through the second half, Western relaxed a little bit and the Ichabods took advantage of that. The Griffons saw their 20 point lead slowly start to slip away and soon started seeing full court pressure. Western’s lead evaporated to eight points at the 3:40 media timeout and fell to seven points before they were able to stop the bleeding.
“Our problem was we couldn’t hit free throws,” Smith said.
Tempers flared as Washburn mounted their comeback when Washburn’s DeAndre Washington and Dominique Thuston both received technical fouls after an argument on the court.
The Griffons managed to compose themselves to slowly start to rebuild their lead, despite losing Marcus Rhodes and Thuston to foul trouble and regain a comfortable double digit lead as they went on to win by 11.
“We showed how tough our team is tonight,” said junior forward, Justin Taylor, who led Western with 18 points.
Western improves to 13-7 overall and 8-5 in the MIAA. This Saturday, Feb. 6, the Griffons will take on Missouri Southern in Joplin, Mo. at 7:30 p.m.
Loading ...
