Box Score

Topeka, Kan. - The Southwest Baptist University men's basketball fell at the hands of Washburn on Thursday evening 68-56. With the loss, SBU drops to 3-5 (0-1 MIAA) on the season.

The Bearcats and Ichabods played a tight first 10 minutes of the game, and a Derrick Stewart three pulled SBU within one, down 10-9 with 12:40 left in the first half. Southwest Baptist continued to play strong defense, and kept the Ichabods close, and after WU pushed their lead to nine, a three from Robert Shaw with 4:49 left in the first half brought SBU back within six at 31-25. However, Washburn ended the first half on a strong 10-0 run as SBU went into the break trailing 41-25.

In the second half the two teams played an evenly matched half, as Southwest Baptist held steady with Washburn. An old fashioned three-point play from Menas Stephens cut the Washburn lead back to single digits at 54-45 with 6:38 to go, and a free throw from Afam Obukwelu at the 5:27 mark brought SBU within seven (55-48), but the Bearcats wouldn't get any close as they would eventually fall 68-56.

Menas Stephens led the Bearcats offensively with 14 points off of 5 of 11 shooting from the field, while SBU saw excellent production from freshmen Robert Shaw and Patrick Burke. Shaw gave SBU 11 points, while Burke had 10 points to go along with a team high 7 rebounds. As a team, SBU shot 40.8% from the field, 31.6% from beyond the arc, and 66.7% from the free throw line.

Southwest Baptist will close out their road trip when they travel to Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, December 6. Tip-off against the Lopers is set for 3:30 p.m. from Kearney, Nebraska.