SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist (1-2, 0-0 GAC) will play host to the Ichabods of Washburn University (2-2, 0-0 GAC) on Tuesday, Nov. 22, inside the Noble Complex at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday's game will be live-streamed on
OBUBison.com and heard on the
Bison Sports Radio Network featuring Todd Miller on play-by-play and Scott Wanish on color commentary.
OBU is coming off a 98-86 defeat against Oral Roberts in a Saturday night exhibition game. Oklahoma Baptist gave ORU everything they could handle as the Golden Eagles had to fend off a persistent OBU squad late to prevail inside the Mabee Center. Sophomore
D.J. Freeman Freeman paced Oklahoma Baptist with 18 points on 8-16 (50%) shooting to go along with a team lead in rebounds (6).
Trey Doomes followed with 14 points, six assists, and four boards, while
Paul King pitched in 11 points.
Last Thursday's victory over Missouri Western marked the first home win over an MIAA opponent in the Division II era. The triumph pushed OBU's win streak inside the Noble Complex to 11, dating back to an 82-71 defeat against East Central on December 18, 2021. Furthermore, the Bison are an astounding 34-5 (87.1%) on its home court the past three seasons. Tomorrow presents an opportunity for Oklahoma Baptist to claim two victories in the same season against the MIAA conference.
HOT START
King and Doomes are off to hot starts in their first season of action on Bison Hill. Each has reached double digits in all four contests this year and is shooting over 40 percent from the field. Furthermore, with a combined 136 points, they are the highest-scoring duo among GAC affiliates.
Last week, Doomes led all scorers with outings of 25 and 14 points against Missouri Western State and Oral Roberts. Doomes averaged 19.5 points per contest on 14-25 shooting (56%) and made good on 11-of-13 attempts from the charity stripe. Additionally, he tied for first on the team in steals (4) and assists (9) while ranking second in rebounds.
Doomes' terrific run was highlighted by career highs in points (25), free throws (11-13), and steals (3) in OBU's win over Missouri Western. The Atlanta, Ga., native netted 9-11 from the free-throw line and shot 57.1 percent (8-14) from the floor. It was the most points by a Bison this season. The senior followed the performance with a 14-point showing against Oral Roberts on Saturday. This time, he was 6-11 (54.5%) from the field and dished out a season-high in assists (6). King averaged 12.5 points per game with point totals of 14 and 11. He handed out nine assists and poked away five steals, including three against ORU.
FREEMAN FRENZY
Freeman is the last of the trio with double-figure points in each game this season. He put up three straight 11-point totals before posting a season-high of 18 against Oral Roberts. Last week, the sophomore averaged 14.5 points in 31.4 minutes of work each game. He has registered the most minutes on the team (62:47). Versus the Griffons, Freeman was 5-6 (83.3%) shooting and led the team in rebounds (8) to go along with two steals.
The 6-6 forward coupled the game with an 18-point act against ORU, going to battle with the Golden Eagles' 7'5 big man. Freeman didn't flinch as he led the Bison in points and rebounds (6). Additionally, he added a block.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE ICHABODS
Oklahoma Baptist broke a three-game all-time skid against Washburn in a 69-63 victory in Topeka last season. OBU shot 52.1 percent from the floor, including a 56 percent field goal mark and a 6-8 tally from beyond the arc in the first half. The Bison used its hot start to fuel a 34-point closing half to garner its third win of the season. Burke Putnam led OBU with 22 points and nine boards, while Jaquan Simms chipped in 17 points. Simms knocked down five triples as forward Justin Tene rounded out the team's players in double figures with 10 points.
SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
Washburn enters Tuesday with a 2-2 (0-0 MIAA) overall record after falling to Rockhurst University 79-70 last Friday. Before, WU had won two consecutive games with victories over William Jewell College (70-63) and #18 Augustana University (75-46).
The Ichabods are outscoring their opponents 72.0-66.8 points per game, a +5.3 margin. Additionally, WU has posted better field-goal percentages than its opposition in all but one game and has not lost a game by more than nine points. Furthermore, Washburn has a +1.8 turnover margin, committing fewer turnovers than its opponents in all but one game.
WU was tabbed fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches and MIAA Media polls after a 22-11 record last year, the program's 30th 20-win season. The Ichabods reached its fourth NCAA postseason in five seasons.
Heach coach Brett Ballard is in his sixth season in Topeka, boasting a 106-52 overall record with the Ichabods. He has a 139-81 mark in eight seasons of coaching.
Junior guard Connor Deffebaugh leads Washburn in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Deffebaugh adds a team-high in assists (21) and three steals. He is followed by Andrew Orr's 10.3 ppg average, which completes the Ichabods' double-digit scorers.
Freshman forward Brady Christiansen paces the squad with 38 rebounds, averaging 9.5 per contest, to go along with a 5.3 points per game scoring average. Teammate Michael Keegan is second in rebounds, averaging 6.8 per game, while he leads WU in steals (7) and blocks (7). Scoring is consistent throughout the rest of the roster, led by sharpshooter Levi Braun's 8.8 scoring average and 56.3 percent clip from beyond the arc. Braun knocked down 7-9 from downtown in the season opener against Henderson State on Nov. 11.
