November 29, 2016-Playing their third game in five days and tenth in 25 days, the Emporia State men built a 16 point lead and held on for a 73-66 victory over Central Christian on Tuesday night in White Auditorium.
The Hornets scored the first five points of the game and never trailed. A fast break dunk by Terrence Sardin gave Emporia State a 16-6 lead with 14:18 left in the first half. The Tigers would battle back and closed to within 25-22 with 6:47 left in the half. The Hornets then went on an 11-0 run to go back up by 14 points with 3:47 remaining before settling for a 38-27 lead at the break.
A Garin Vandiver three-pointer gave the Hornets their biggest lead of the night at 45-29 with 16:59 left in the game. Central Christian chipped away at the lead to pull within 61-57 with 7:38 remaining. The Tigers trailed by just three with 3:57 left before Brian Morton and Brandon Hall combined to score the final seven points for Emporia State in a 7-3 run to close out the game.
Jay Temaat led the Hornets with 15 points on five of nine shooting from behind the three-point arc. Tyler Jordan had 13 points, Brandon Hall 12 and Garin Vandiver ten points for the Hornets. Hall finished with eight rebounds and eight assists while Morton led the Hornets with ten rebounds.
Emporia State will now have nine days off before beginning MIAA play at Neb.-Kearney. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 at the Health and Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.
