Muleskinner

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Drew Woolery: Muleskinner Senior forward Kevin Wollbrinck (center) will have to battle Washburn's big men again Friday. [Click to enlarge]

After a 64-59 win against Washburn Saturday, coach Kim Anderson knew there was a possibility of his team playing the Ichabods again.

He also knew with a Northwest Missouri win over Fort Hays later that night, the Mules would face Washburn in the first round of the MIAA postseason tournament.

Turns out, Anderson had the right scenario in mind and the Mules have another match with the Ichabods Friday night.

"I knew there was a bunch of scenarios," Anderson said. "With that said, all you can do is play whoever is on the other side of the court."

As for the rematch, the Mules hope to carry Saturday's win as momentum heading into the tournament. Although the Mules did not have their best performance, they came away with a close victory.

With a minute left and the game tied at 58-58, senior forward Kevin Wollbrinck made one of two free throws. Anderson called a timeout and told the team to focus on the thing that could seal the victory.

"He looked at me, and asked me if we, as a team, could play defense," said junior forward Skip Thomas. "Then he looked at me again and said, 'Can you get me a rebound?'"

On the following possession, Washburn came down the court and ran its play. The Mules played man-to-man defense and tried to do something the team had not pulled off the entire game. Get a rebound.

The Ichabods missed their shot and Thomas skied for the rebound. He then made two critical free throws to put the Mules up for good with 47 seconds left.

Although the Mules were out-rebounded 38-30, Anderson was pleased to see his team get the most important rebound of the game.

"I thought our rebounding was horrible until the end of the game," Anderson said. "We were very fortunate to get the win, but I was happy we finished the game strong."

With the win, the Mules, (18-9, 11-7 MIAA) finished the regular season in third place. It also improved the team's chances of getting in the NCAA tournament by beating a team in Washburn that was ranked 10th in the South Central Regional rankings last week.

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