Men's Basketball | 2/15/2012 12:29:00 AM
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Hornets close out the regular season with three of their final four away from home. The Hornets are currently tied with Truman for the final spot in the MIAA Tournament which begins March 1.
LAST TIMEOUT
Playing in front of 40 Hornet men’s alumni who represented eight decades of Hornets basketball, ESU led late, but could not hold on in an upset bid against #19 Missouri Southern losing 61-57 at home. Antonio DiMaria led the Hornets with 17 points hitting four of six from behind the three point line. Chris Sights had 13 points and was one of three Hornets with six rebounds in the game. Tola Lawal also had 11 points and added six rebounds.
THE COACHES
Shaun Vandiver is 8-14 in his first year at ESU. The former NBA round draft pick spent the last ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level, most recently at Boise State University. As a player he led Hutchinson CC to the 1988 NJCAA National Championship before earning first-team All-Big 8 honors at Colorado. He is 0-1 in his career against Pittsburg State.
Kevin Muff is 26-24 in his second season at Pittsburg State. He is 2-1 against ESU in his career.
SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 13-11 and 9-8 in the MIAA this season. They are led by Eric Ray who is averaging 13.5 points per game. JaVon McGee is averaging 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for PSU and has come off the bench in the last four games.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 182nd meeting between the two teams with ESU holding a 93-88 overall advantage.
LAST TIME VS. PSU
The Hornets shot .490 from the field but could not overcome a strong performance from the line in a 75-68 loss to Pittsburg State. The Hornets made only nine free throws while the Gorillas hit 24 of 29 from the charity stripe. Tola Lawal led the Hornets with 24 points, scoring 16 of his points as ESU made their second half comeback. Chris Sights added 14 points for the Hornets going two of two from behind the three-point line. Troy Pierce and Taylor Euler had 11 points apiece while Euler led the team with six rebounds.
UP NEXT
ESU will travel to Lincoln on Feb. 18 for a scheduled 3 p.m. tip as they head into their final three regular season games.
