EMPORIA STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL GOING TO KANSAS CITY

Game #3
Emporia State Hornets (1-1, 0-0 MIAA)
at Rockhurst Hawks (1-0, 0-0 GLVC)
Series Record: ESU leads 45-30 Last Meeting: at ESU 74, Rockhurst 68 (Dec. 31, 2015)
Wednesday, Nov. 16 • 7:00 p.m. • Kansas City, Mo. • Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM  Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Internet Video: www.glvcsn.com/rockhurst/
Live Stats  Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Kansas Christian • Saturday, Nov. 19 • 7:30 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • Slaymaker Court/White Auditorium
 
GETTING CLOSER TO HOME 
Emporia State makes the one of the shortest of their four road trips to open the season when they travel to Kansas City to take on Rockhurst. It is the last of three regular season games to open the season and five total with exhibitions.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A day after hitting eight three-pointers in a win over Sioux Falls, Emporia State went just one of ten from behind the three point line in a 77-74 loss to Southwest Minnesota.
KJ Davis free throw gave Southwest Minnesota a 70-60 lead with 4:58 left before Emporia State went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 70 on a tip-in by Josh Pedersen with 2:01 left. The Mustangs hit five of six free throws over the next 1:52 to take a 77-72 lead with nine seconds left.  Hall scored with four seconds left to pull the Hornets within three and Ryan Bruggeman missed a pair of free throws with three seconds left. Pedersen grabbed the rebound off the second miss to give the Hornets a shot.  Hall's three-pointer to tie was off the mark.
 
THE COACHES
Shaun Vandiver is 66-78 in his sixth season at Emporia State. A first round draft pick by the Golden State Warriors in 1991 he spent ten years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level. 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 2-0 against Rockhurst.
Drew Diener is 13-15 in his second season at Rockhurst and 181-58 in his eighth year as a head coach. He is 0-1 against Emporia State.
 
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 1-1 on the season after splitting two games at the MIAA-NSIC Challenge in Sioux Falls, SD over the weekend. After two games the Hornets lead the MIAA in field goal percentage at .534 and are second in scoring at  87.5 points per game. Brandon Hall is eighth in the MIAA in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Stephaun Limuel is seventh in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game.
 
ABOUT THE HAWKS
Rockhurst is 1-0 on the season after a 101- 91 win over Nebraska Wesleyan. Alex Hagan had 26 points and nine boards in the win while Kaleb Warner added 20 points.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Emporia State leads the all-time series 46-30 and has won three straight against Rockhurst.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST ROCKHURST
Emporia State closed out 2015 with a 74-68 win over Rockhurst on New Year's Eve in White Auditorium. Kevin Allen led four Hornets in double figures with 14 points and added a game high nine rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Joshua Oswald with 13 points, Terrence Moore with 12 and Micah Swank with ten points.  Moore and Swank each had four assists while Moore added three steals and two blocked shots.
 
UP NEXT
Emporia State will make their White Auditorium debut on Saturday night against Kansas Christian. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Emporia State has won 143 of their last 192 games (.745) in White Auditorium. Thirty-three of the 49 losses have been by less than ten points. The have won 11 straight regular season non-conference home games. The Hornets are 365-162 (.693) since 1979 in White Auditorium. The Hornets have had 12 winning home records in the past 13 years in White Auditorium. 
 
HORNETS RANK IN NATION IN ATTENDANCE
The Emporia State men's basketball team continued a string of 14 straight years ranking in the top 25 in attendance among the over 300 NCAA Division II basketball playing schools. The Hornets averaged 1,586 fans to 13 home games and were ranked 17th nationally. Emporia State outdrew 97 NCAA Division I schools during the 2015-16 school year, including two that made the NCAA Tournament and three that participated in the NIT Postseason Tournament.
The Hornets were among six MIAA teams in the top 25 nationally. As a conference the MIAA drew 286,670 fans to the 202 games to lead all Division II conference in average attendance at 1,419 fans per game. The MIAA's total attendance was better than ten NCAA Division I conferences. All three of the conferences in the NCAA Central Region ranked in the top ten of the Division II conferences in average attendance with 12 regional teams ranked in the top 25.
The court at William L. White Auditorium was formally named Ron Slaymaker Court at half-time of the Hornets win over Washburn on Feb. 28, 2014 after the City of Emporia approved a proclamation at their Feb. 20 city commission meeting.
 
KID IN THE HALL
Guard Brandon Hall (So./Arlington, Texas) is in his third year at Emporia State. He is ranked eighth in the MIAA in scoring after two games. He had 18 points at Sioux Falls.  He matched his career high with 23 points against Southwest Minnesota State, the second time in his career he has reached that mark against the Mustangs. He had nine points and six assists at Kansas with no turnovers in exhibition play.
As a redshirt freshman last year scored 15 points off the bench against Missouri Southern after starting the previous five games. He scored ten points and had four assists at Washburn. He scored six points and was four of five from the free throw line in his first start against Northwest Missouri. He scored 13 points at Central Oklahoma. He had 19 points and a career high seven assists at Neb.-Kearney. He scored 18 points on nine of 13 shooting at West Texas A&M.  He had 15 points and hit nine of 11 free throws against Eastern New Mexico. He was eight of 13 from the field, two of three from behind the arc, for 23 points against Southwest Minnesota.  He scored 17 points, all in the second half, with two assists in his Hornet debut against Sioux Falls.
He is ranked eighth in freshman scoring at Emporia State with 234 points.
He was a first-team All-District performer at Bowie HS before redshirting for the Hornets.
 
MORTON MAGIC
Guard Brian Morton (Jr./Lansing, Mich.) is ranked 15th in the MIAA in scoring, coming off the bench in the first two games.  He had 12 points against Southwest Minnesota before fouling out. He scored 18 points in his Hornet regular season debut at Sioux Falls. He was four of four from the free throw line at Kansas.
He started 25 of 32 games for the Lansing CC Stars last season and averaged 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He is a graduate of Lansing Eastern HS.
 
BETTER WITH LIMES
Forward Stephaun Limuel (Jr./Rosharon, Texas) is seventh in the MIAA in rebounding coming off the bench in the first two games. He had ten points and seven rebounds against Southwest Minnesota. He scored 13 points and pulled eight boards at Sioux Falls. He had three rebounds off the bench at Kansas.
He started 21 of 28 games for Jacksonville College last year and averaged 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He shot .584 from the field for the Jags. He is a graduate of Angleton HS.
 
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Forward Garin Vandiver (Jr./Emporia, Kan.) scored ten points and had four rebounds against Southwest Minnesota. He had 11 points in ten minutes off the bench at Sioux Falls. He scored nine points with three rebounds at Kansas.
He averaged 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for Neosho CC in 27 games last year. He is the son of Emporia State coach Shaun Vandiver. He is a graduate of Emporia HS.
 
THE BENTLEY OF BICYCLES
Forward Josh Pedersen (Sr./Overland Park, Kan.) is in his fourth year with the Hornets. He scored seven points with seven rebounds against Southwest Minnesota. He had six points and five rebounds before fouling out at Sioux Falls. He had five points and three rebounds at Kansas in exhibition play.
Last year he scored 15 points with three rebounds against Washburn. He had a career high 23 points on eight of ten shooting from the field including a perfect three of three from beyond the arc at Ft. Hays State. He was named to the All-Tournament team at the Pak-A-Sak Classic after scoring 15 points with four rebounds against West Texas A&M.
He made 21 straight free throws from the Lindenwood game on Jan. 5, 2015 through the final game of the year against Pittsburg State as a sophomore. He had 11 points and four rebounds at Neb.-Kearney. He had a career high nine rebounds against Washburn. He had 11 points and seven rebounds at Mo. Southern. He had 15 points and six rebounds at Newman.
As a freshman he scored nine points with five rebounds at Central Oklahoma. He was eight for eight from the free throw line against Pittsburg State. He scored a then career high 12 points against Newman and twice tied the score on a pair of free throws in the final three minutes.
 
TEMAAT MIGHT
Guard Jay Temaat (Sr./Lenexa, Kan.) is in his fourth year with the Hornets. He is seventh in the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage. He had just three points against Southwest Minnesota after scoring 16 points on five of seven shooting, including a four of five night from behind the arc at Sioux Falls. He had six points at Kansas in exhibition play.
As a junior he matched his career high with four assists against Pittsburg State. He scored nine points against Missouri Western. He scored 11 points against Lindenwood. He scored 14 points against Central Missouri. He scored 12 points with four rebounds and three assists at West Texas A&M. He had 14 points on five of seven shooting with four assists against Northwestern Oklahoma. He had 11 points and was three of seven from behind the arc against Sioux Falls.
He was 13th in the MIAA in made three-pointers as a sophomore. He was four of six from the three-point line for 12 points at Neb.-Kearney. He had 20 points on five of seven shooting against Central Oklahoma. He scored 14 points, including the game winner at the buzzer to go with a career high seven rebounds against Washburn. He had a career high 21 points on seven of ten shooting from behind the three point line against Rockhurst. He scored 21 points against Eastern New Mexico. He led all scorers with 16 points off the bench at Kansas.
As a freshman he scored 12 points, going three of four from the three-point arc and three of three from the free throw line against Pittsburg State. He scored 18 points on six of nine shooting with five three-pointers in 14 minutes against McPherson. He was the leading scorer for the Hornets at Oklahoma State with 12 points in 13 minutes, hitting three three pointers against the Cowboys.
 
WINDY CITY WILDMAN
Forward Terrence Sardin (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) is in his fourth season at Emporia State. He has yet to miss a shot in the regular season going two of two against both Southwest Minnesota and Sioux Falls.
As a junior last year he pulled four rebounds in eight minutes against Northeastern State. He scored four points and had two blocks at Ft. Hays State. He had eight points and three rebounds in ten minutes off the bench against Eastern New Mexico. He got the start in the exhibition game at Wichita State and scored six points on three of four shooting from the field with a blocked shot.
He was ranked 13th in the MIAA in blocked shots as a sophomore. He had three rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes at Central Oklahoma. He pulled six rebounds at Pittsburg State. He tied his career high with ten points against Lincoln. He had a career high eight rebounds at Mo. Southern. He had four points and seven rebounds at Southwest Baptist. He had a career high four steals against West Texas A&M.  He had ten points and six rebounds at Northwestern Oklahoma. He led Emporia State with a game high nine rebounds against Kansas and scored four points.
He had a career high four blocked shots against Neb.-Kearney as a freshman.
 
JORDANAIRRE
Guard Tyler Jordan (Sr./Ballwin, Mo.) is in his fourth year at Emporia State. He had four rebounds at Kansas.
He had a season high 13 points on four of seven shooting and added two assists, a block and a steal against Northeastern State last year. He had four points and four rebounds in a then season high 15 minutes against Northwest Missouri.
He had eight points, four rebounds and three assists at Central Oklahoma as a sophomore. He scored a career high 15 points with eight rebounds, and three assists against Sterling. He had a career high 11 rebounds at Southwest Baptist. He scored ten points against Eastern New Mexico.
As a freshman he scored ten points with seven rebounds at Ft. Hays State. He scored 11 points on four of five shooting with three assists at Northwest Missouri. He dished a career high seven assists and had five rebounds against McPherson. He had seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in the exhibition game at Oklahoma State as a freshman.
 
TAYLOR MADE
Guard Jevon Taylor (Sr./Denver, Colo.) is in his fourth year at Emporia State. He scored eight points against Sioux Falls, but is zero for seven from behind the three-point line on the year. He scored five points at Kansas.
Last year he scored ten points in 13 minutes against Northeastern State. He hit three of four three-pointers for 11 points against Pittsburg State. He scored a season high 12 points and was three of nine from the three point line against Lincoln. In the first nine games of the regular season he was just two of 15 from the field and one of 11 from the three-point line for seven points.  After that he went 27 of 62 (.435) from behind the arc. He had six points at Kansas State.
He was seventh in the MIAA in three-point percentage and eighth in the league in made three-pointers as a sophomore. He had 12 points and a career high six rebounds against Neb.-Kearney. He matched his career high with 20 points on five of six shooting from the arc at Central Missouri. He was six of eight on three-pointers for 18 points against Sterling. He was five of eight from beyond the arc against McPherson for 17 points. He had a team high 14 points at Southwest Baptist and was nine of nine from the free throw line. He scored 17 points and was five of eight from the three-point line against Rockhurst. He had 13 points on five of seven shooting against Northwest Missouri. He was four of five from the field for 14 points against West Texas. He scored 14 points and was five of eight from the field at Newman. He scored 11 points off the bench against St. Cloud State.
He scored 19 points with four made three-pointers at Lincoln as a freshman. He scored a then career high 20 points on six of seven shooting from the field at Northwest Missouri. He was five of seven from behind the three-point line for 15 points against Southeastern Oklahoma. He scored 12 points against Mary and had ten points and four rebounds at Alaska. 
 
BIG FISH
Forward Bradley Fisher (Jr./Chorley, England) is in his second year at Emporia State.
Last year he started ten of 13 games he played in. He had two rebounds against Northeastern State. He pulled three rebounds in four minutes at Pittsburg State. He had two rebounds and a block at Missouri Southern. He scored four points with two blocks against Central Missouri. He scored four points with three rebounds at Neb.-Kearney. He had three rebounds in nine minutes against Northwestern Oklahoma.
He is a 7-0 transfer from Montana State. He played in 11 games with one start for the Bobcats.
 
NEWBIES
Several other newcomers will be counted on to contribute for the Hornets.
Jawan Emery (Jr./Olathe, Kan.) scored four points in five minutes against Southwest Minnesota and had two points at Sioux Falls. He had five points at Kansas. He averaged 4.5 points in 37 games with seven starts for Hutchinson CC last season. A Blue Valley North HS graduate he helped the Blue Dragons to the NJCAA Championship game last year.
Malik McLemore (Fr./Plano, Texas) scored a team high seven points for the Hornets against Arkansas. He earned al-conference honors for Plano West HS last year.
Duncan Fort (Fr./Osage City, Kan.) had a team high ten points in ten minutes at Kansas. He was a first-team All-Kansas player for Osage City HS last year. His father Dennis played at Emporia State from 1985-89.
Jack Dale (Fr./Tonganoxie, Kan.) was an honorable mention All-state performer at Basehor-Linwood HS last season.
Danny Hodge (Fr.-RS/Spring Hill, Kan.) red shirted at Emporia State last season.
Jaylen Lowe (Jr./Owasso, Okla.) is still with the 9th ranked Hornet football team and has rushed for two touchdowns, thrown a touchdown pass, caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for a touchdown this season.  He averaged 13.6 points and 3.8 assists on the basketball court for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M last season.
 
IN THE RAFTERS
On February 22, 2014 All-American Dale Cushinberry (1966-69) joined the five Hornets who have had their jersey's retired to the wall of White Auditorium. He was an All-American for Emporia State and became the first Hornet with 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.
•Wilbur Reeser (1944-48) - Reeser was named an NAIB All-American and was the Hornets leading scorer as the won a conference championship in 1948.
•Ron Slaymaker (Player 1954-60, Coach 1970-98) - As a player Slaymaker was named All-Conference and All-American during the 1957-58 season. As a coach he won an ESU leading 464 games from 1970-98.
•Jim Fraley (1956-60) - Fraley was the school's all-time leading scorer (1,509) until Brian Robinson broke his record in 1985. He was named Second-team NAIA All-American.
•Doug Glaysher (1960-64) - Glaysher was named an All-American after leading the Hornets to the NAIA National Semi-finals in 1964. He graduated as the second leading scorer in ESU history.
•Brian Robinson (1984-86) - Robinson was named a first team All-American in both his junior and senior season. He is the ESU all-time leading scorer with 2,533 career points.