February 3, 2016-Emporia State battled back from an eight point deficit with 8:30 left to force overtime, but could not complete the comeback in a 102-97 loss to Missouri Southern on Wednesday night at White Auditorium.
HOT SHOOTING
Both teams were on fire from the field, behind the arc and at the free throw line in the first half. The Lions hit .633 from the field while the Hornets converted at a .571 clip. Both teams hit five of seven three-pointers and each missed just one free throw in the first 20 minutes. The half ended with a Brandon Hall buzzer beating half court shot to pull the Hornets within 47-44 at the break.
SECOND HALF RUNS
The Hornets scored the first six points of the second half to take a 50-47 lead with 18:09 left in the game. They would extend the lead to seven with 15:09 left when Kevin Allen scored to make it 56-49. The Lions would answer with a 14-2 run to go up 63-58 with 10:02 remaining. Southern would eventually hit four straight from behind the arc to take their biggest lead of the night at 69-61 with 8:30 left. Hall hit a three-pointer to ignite a 10-2 run over 2:02 and the Hornets tied the game at 71 on a Terrence Moore three-pointer with 6:28 left. From that point on there would be four ties and two lead changes, with neither team taking more than a four point lead in the final 6:55 of regulation.
THE FINAL MINUTE
With the score tied at 81, Taevaunn Prince scored on a put back with 1:06 left to give the Lions the lead. Moore answered with a pair of free throws with 45.1 seconds left. Prince hit two free throws with 22.5 left to put Southern back up by two. Moore hit one of two free throws with :12.4 left to pull the Hornets within 85-84. Prince was fouled on the inbounds play and hit one of two to make it 86-84. Hall raced down court and hit a layup with 3.9 left to send the game to overtime.
FREE BASKETBALL
The Lions scored the first five points of the overtime to take a 91-86 lead with 4:01 left. The Hornets were within three at 95-92 after a Moore layup with 1:36 left. They played solid defense for 29 seconds but Austin Wright drained a three-pointer from the corner with 1:08 left to make it a two possession game again. The Lions would hit four of six free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the 102-97 win.
THE NUMBERS
Terrence Moore led Emporia State with 25 points and six rebounds. Charles McKinney had 17 points and five rebounds before fouling out after playing only 20 minutes, They were joined in double figures by Brandon Hall with 15 and Joshua Oswald with ten points. Taevaunn Prince had 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to lead Missouri Southern.
UP NEXT
The Hornets play host to Pittsburg State on Saturday evening in White Auditorium. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. with the annual Alumni Game scheduled for earlier in the day at 1:00 p.m.
