Men's Basketball | 12/15/2011 12:42:00 PM
November 25, 2011 -- Troy Pierce hit two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to give Emporia State a 71-70 win over #11 Central Oklahoma at the SBU Thanksgiving Classic in Bolivar, Mo. It was ESU's first win over a ranked team since defeating then #17 Ft. Hays State 81-77 in the final regular season game last year and the Bronchos are the highest ranked team the Hornets have beaten since defeating then #8 Central Missouri 78-71 on Feb. 19, 2007.
There were two ties and five lead changes in the first 7:33 before Taylor Euler hit a three pointer to ignite an 8-0 run to give the Hornets a 19-12 lead with 10:42 left in the half. A 10-0 run capped by another three from Euler, gave ESU their biggest lead of the night at 31-17 with 4:35 left before heading to the locker rooms with a 40-31 lead.
Central Oklahoma opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull within 42-40 with 17:52 left on Josh Davis' jumper. ESU responded with a 7-0 run of their own to go back up by nine at 49-40 with 15:47 left on a pair of Antonio DiMaria free throws. UCO would get their first lead of the second half at 53-51 with 12:13 remaining on two free throws by Brent Friday to cap another 9-0 run. Travis Dykman hit his only shot of the night, a three pointer with 5:43 left, to give ESU a 62-57 lead at the end of an 11-4 run.
The final five minutes was back and forth with three ties and six lead changes. UCO's Tyler Phillips tied it at 62-62 on a put back with 4:20 left. After a Justin Ikhide free throw, Davis gave the Bronchos a 65-63 lead with a three pointer at the 3:33 mark. Chris Sights answered for ESU with 2:50 left on a three of his own for a 66-65 Hornet lead. Phillips hit another trey to make it 68-66 UCO with 2:32 remaining. Derrell Conner gave ESU the lead back with a three pointer with 1:21 left. Johnny Stephene hit a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds left to give UCO their final lead at 70-69. The Bronchos had a foul to give with 8.1 seconds left and ESU called a timeout after the foul. Pierce then got the ball in the lane and was fouled by Josh Davis with 5.2 seconds left. He hit both free throws to reach double figures and move ESU to 3-1 on the season.
The Hornets shot .511 from the field, including a ten of 20 performance from the three point line, while holding the Bronchos to just .439 shooting from the field.
Sights led ESU with 16 points while DiMaria added 15 points. Pierce had 11 points and a team high six rebounds while Conner rounded out the double figure scorers for ESU with ten points. Euler had eight points with team highs of four assists and three steals. Brent Friday led UCO with 18 points.
The Hornets will take on Evangel on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on the second night of the SBU Thanksgiving Classic.
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