Men’s Basketball Plays Pair of Post-Thanksgiving Exhibitions

TOPEKA, Kan. and KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Avila men's basketball returned from a brief Thanksgiving break to face off against two more NCAA Division II foes – their third and fourth games against NCAA schools this season. The Eagles kept things local against nearby Rockhurst on Monday night after facing Washburn in Topeka on Saturday afternoon.

Avila and Washburn have matched up a few times in JV contests in the year-plus since Avila renewed its JV program, but this was the first varsity matchup between the two schools since 2018. And if there is such a thing as a post-Thanksgiving hangover, the Ichabods were feeling no ill effects two days removed from the holiday: Washburn began the game on a 12-0 run and never looked back, and coasted to a 98-50 victory.

Interestingly, Washburn had the exact same field goal percentage (57.1%) in both the first half, the second half, and in the game overall, and Avila could not overcome that advantage. The Eagles had a couple of strong stretches, highlighted by a 12-6 run into the final two minutes of the first half to stay within 14, but the Ichabods stamped out that fire by scoring the final six points of the half and preventing the Eagles from doing serious damage in the second.

Forward Andrew Orr led Washburn with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and Jarnell Johnson scored 15 on 6-of-9 from the field. Thanks to a strong shooting showing in the second half, George Williams paced the Eagles with 11 points along with two steals; Jaren Miller went 4-of-5 from the field to score nine; Matthew Boldt finished with six points and seven rebounds.

Just over two days later, the Eagles made the short trek north up Troost Avenue to take on local foes Rockhurst on Monday night in Kansas City. This has become a somewhat annual affair between the two squads separated by less than half an hour of drive time, and despite a short turnaround for both teams, it was a very exciting game for much of the first half.

Avila shot extremely well all game, especially in the first half: the Eagles finished the night shooting 42% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc, both very good marks. 48% from the free throw line didn't help, but it ultimately didn't matter because Rockhurst matched every one of Avila's makes in the first half, and once the Eagles finally cooled off down the stretch the Hawks never did: Rockhurst shot 58% from the floor and 57% from downtown, courtesy of what would be a school-record 21 made threes.

That truly was the difference in the game. Even though the Eagles held the lead only briefly early in the game, Avila was right within arm's reach for much of the first half, even getting back to within a single point thanks to back-to-back threes from George Williams and Jordan Majeed, both of which were assisted by Jehoiada Goins, around the 14-minute mark of the first half. But Rockhurst scored the next 11 points after those two Avila buckets and stayed hot in the second half to ultimately put the Eagles away and prevail 96-58.

Timaris Brown led the Hawks with 20 points and nine rebounds. Avila was expectedly balanced, evenly distributing both minutes and points throughout the team. Josh Kilpatrick ultimately paced the team with nine points and Desmond Combs had eight; Goins had a strong all-around game with eight points, seven boards and three assists.

Up next, Avila men's basketball will return to KCAC action this Wednesday, November 29, with a road game against Tabor. The Eagle women will begin the doubleheader against the Bluejays at 6 PM, with the men to follow at 8; as always, you can watch all the action live on the KCAC Network.