December 5, 2019-Every Hornet who played scored and got a rebound as Emporia State opened MIAA play with a 78-68 win over Neb.-Kearney on Thursday night in White Auditorium.
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The Lopers jumped out to a 7-4 lead early but the Hornets scored five straight to take a 9-7 lead with 14:20 left in the half. Emporia State opened up a nine point lead with 6:18 left as
Mason Thiessen's layup capped a 9-2 run for a 31-22 Hornet lead.
Zac Owens gave Emporia State their biggest lead of the first half at 35-25 with 45 seconds left before Cedric Johnson scored with 21 seconds left and the Hornets took a 35-27 lead to the locker rooms.
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Johnson's lay up started a 10-0 run that spanned halftime as back to back three-pointers from RJ Pair and Kyle Juhl tied the game at 35 with 18:19 left. The Hornets called timeout and responded with an 8-1 lead to go up 43-36 with 16:26 left in the game. The gap would not go below five points the rest of the night and a 10-4 run gave Emporia State a 57-46 lead with 8:51 remaining. A
Brenden Van Dyke dunk with 5:50 left gave the Hornets their biggest lead of the night at 63-50. After making just four of their first 11 free throws Emporia State went 13 of 14 from the line in the final 3:32 to ice the 78-68 win.
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Jumah'Ri Turner led Emporia State with 19 points and four assists.Â
Mason Thiessen had 16 points on six of seven shooting including a four of four effort from beyond the arc and
Justin Williams added 12 points.
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The Hornets are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they play host to Fort Hays State. Tip-off from White Auditorium is set for 3:30 p.m.
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