Men's Basketball | 12/4/2012 11:28:00 AM
HORNETS OPEN MIAA PLAY
Emporia State begins their conference schedule at MIAA newcomer Northeastern State. The Hornets have won six of their last eight MIAA openers.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State hit eight three-pointers but could not overcome a 12 of 23 night at the free throw line in a 69-62 overtime loss at Newman. The Hornets used a 15-0 run to take a 19-7 lead with 13:31 left in the first half. The Jets battled back to within 30-25 as the teams went to the locker rooms. Newman would cut the Emporia State lead to 34-32 with 16:58 left when the Hornets went on an 11-0 run. The lead would reach 14 points before Newman started to claw their way back into the game. A pair of Marquis Cuyler free throws tied the score at 56 with 1:51 left. Newman scored first in overtime and never trailed as they outscored Emporia State 13-6 in the extra frame. Chris Sights led the Hornets with 23 points including a career high five made three pointers. He was joined in double figures by Kaleb Wright with 13 and Gavin Brown with 10 points.
THE COACHES
Shaun Vandiver is 13-20 in his second season at Emporia State. A first round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1991 spent ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level. As a player he was a key component in Hutchinson CC’s tournament run to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado.
Larry Gipson is 250-180 in his 16th year at Northeastern State. He is 1-3 against ESU.
SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE
The Hornets are 4-2 on the season after playing four of their first six on the road. Kaleb Wright is the only player in double figures on the season, but six other players are averaging between 6.2 and 9.7 points per game. Paul Bunch is expected to make his first appearance of the season at Tahlequah.
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN STATE
The RiverHawks are 5-1 on the season. They opened the season with five straight wins, including four in a row at home before falling 5-63 at Harding in their last outing. Bryton Hobbs is the RiverHawks’ leading scorer at 17.3 points per game. Jermaine Bransford averages 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game this season.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the seventh meeting between the two schools. Emporia State leads the all-time series 5-1 and have won three of the last four, including the last meeting in Tahlequah in 2006.
LAST TIME VS. THE RIVERHAWKS
Emporia State defeated Northeastern State 70-58 at White Auditorium on Nov. 24, 2006. Four Hornets reached double-digits in scoring, led by Donta Watson with 15. The Hornets took a 37-27 lead into the locker room and extended the lead to as much as 19 points in the second half en route to a 12 point victory.
UP NEXT
Emporia State continues its MIAA schedule at Central MIssouri. Tip-off from the Multipurpose Building is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
