February 13, 2018-On Senior Night, Hornet senior Stephaun Limuel scored the final five points for Emporia State in a 68-66 win over Washburn in the Turnpike Tussle.
Washburn got out to a 19-8 lead midway through the first half. Grant Shell then hit four straight free throws and Limuel hit a layup to cut the lead to five with 8:33 left in the half. Cameron Wiggins pushed the Ichabods lead back to 11 points at 27-16 with 4:28 remaining. The Hornets then closed the half on a 13-0 run capped by a Brandon Hall buzzer beating three pointer to give Emporia State a 29-27 lead at the break.
Randall Smith scored the first bucket of the second half before the Hornets scored seven straight to make the run 20-2 and take a 36-29 lead with 17:31 left. The Ichabods would use an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 43-41 on a dunk by Jace Williams with 12:41 remaining. The teams went back and forth over the next five minutes with neither team taking more than a two point lead until Brady Skeens scored inside to give Washburn a 55-51 lead with 7:15 left. Grant Shell answered with a three-pointer with 5:33 remaining to jump start an 8-0 run to give Emporia State a 59-55 lead with 4:35 left. Brandon Hall nailed a three-pointer with 3:28 left to put the Hornets up 64-57 before Cameron Wiggins completed a four point play with 3:11 left to cut the lead to three.Â
Limuel scored with 1:27 left to put Emporia State back up by five but Cameron Wiggins answered with a three pointer for the Ichabods to make it 66-64 with 1:11 left. Randall Smith was fouled and hit two free throws with 34.1 seconds left to tie the game at 66. Emporia State worked the clock and Brandon Hall took a jumper with five seconds left that was off the mark. Limuel pulled the rebound and was fouled by Skeens with 1.2 seconds left. Limuel stepped to the line and hit both free throws to give the Hornets a 68-66 lead. Washburn inbounded to Javion Blake who got to half court and launched three-pointer that was off as the Hornets knocked off the Ichabods for the fifth time in the last six meetings in White Auditorium.
Grant Shell led all scorers with 16 points and four steals. He was joined in double figures by Garin Vandiver with 13 points, Hassan Thomas with 12, and Brandon Hall with ten points.
The Hornets will finish the regular season with three straight road games beginning on Thursday at Southwest Baptist. Tip-off in Bolivar, Mo. is set for 7:30 p.m.
