October 25, 2019-Emporia State opened the exhibition season with an 86-49 loss at Kansas State on the night the Wildcats raised their 2019 Big 12 Championship banner.
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The Hornets tied the game at 3-3 on a
Mason Thiessen three-pointer with 17:48 left in the half, but would not score again until a
Zac Owens layup with 13:34 left in the frame as the Wildcats took a 14-5 lead. Emporia State would trail 23-7 before going on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 11 with 8:56 left in the half. K-State would take a 42-19 lead into the break after closing the half on a 5-0 run of their own.
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The Wildcats would go up 53-26 to start the second half but the Hornets would go on a 6-0 run to pull back within 53-32 on a
Gage McGuire fast break jumper in the lane with 13:15 left. A
Justin Balcome three pointer made it 60-42 with under ten minutes remaining. The two teams played fairly even over the next six minutes but Kansas State ended the game on a 12-0 run in the last four minutes for the final score of 86-49.
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Brenden Van Dyke led the Hornets with 11 points while
Zac Owens added nine points and three steals.Â
Mason Thiessen had a team high nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
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The Hornets will open the regular season on November 8 when they take on Southwestern Oklahoma in Russellville, Ark. as part of the MIAA-GAC Challenge. Tip-off from Tucker Coliseum on the campus of Arkansas Tech is set for 7:30 p.m.
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