EMPORIA STATE MEN PICK UP KEY 82-71 WIN OVER MISSOURI WESTERN

February 20, 2021-Emporia State put four players in double figures on the way to an 82-71 victory over Missouri Western on Saturday night.
 
There were ten ties and five lead changes in the first half with neither team taking more than a six point lead in the opening 20 minutes.  A Jumah'Ri Turner layup with 16:18 left gave Emporia State an 11-6 lead.  Q Mays gave the Griffons a 17-16 lead on a driving layup with 12:40 left to spark an 8-2 run and give Western their biggest lead of the game at 23-18 with 10:42 left in the half.
 
The Griffs led 28-24 when Mason Thiessen hit a three pointer and Kong Kong scored on a drive to give Emporia State a 29-28 lead with 7:56 left. They traded score for the next nearly five minutes and a Tyree Martin layup tied the score at 35 with 3:04 left in the half. The Hornets got free throws from Mayuom Buom and Dallas Bailey followed by a floater from Turner to take a 41-35 lead with 1:40 remaining.  Tyrell Carroll hit two free throws with 48 seconds left before Gage McGuire got a tip in at the buzzer to give Emporia State a 43-37 lead going into the locker room.
 
Turner scored the first points of the second half on a turnaround jumper in the lane to put Emporia State up 45-37 with 18:28 left but Will Eames hit two free throws with 18:04 left to cut the lead back to six points.  The Hornets then went on a 13-0 run to take control of the game.  McGuire scored back to back buckets to make it 49-39 with 17:10 left then Thiessen hit a three-pointer to put the Hornets up 13 before McGuire scored two more buckets in the paint. Turner gave Emporia State their biggest lead of the night at 58-39 on a floater in the lane with 14:55 left.  Mays finally broke the run for the Griffons with a layup headed into the under 15 minute media timeout.  Out of the media McGuire got the ball on the wing and drove for a dunk to put Emporia State back up by 19 with 14:08 left.
 
The Hornets led by 17 with 11:16 left when the Griffons went on a 10-0 run to pull within 62-55 with 7:45 remaining.  Turner scored with 7:26 left to stop the run and Thiessen hit his fourth three-pointer of the game with 6:20 remaining to put Emporia State back up by 12 at 67-55. Mays would hit a step back three followed by a steal and layup to pull the Griffons within seven at 72-65 with 2:57 left.  That would be as close as they would get as Emporia State went eight of ten from the free throw line in the final 2:32 to ice the 82-71 victory.
 
Jumah'Ri Turner led all scorers with 27 points on ten of 16 shooting from the field and a perfect seven of seven from the charity stripe.  Gage McGuire had a career high 20 points, going nine of 11 from the field and two of three at the free throw line.  Mason Thiessen had 15 points and tied his career high with four made three pointers and four blocked shots. Austin Downing was the other Hornet in double figures with 12 points and seven assists.  Dallas Bailey led all rebounders with 11 boards and matched Downing for game high honors with seven assists.
 
Emporia State is back in action on Wednesday, February 24 when they play host to Northeastern State in a game that has been postponed once due to COVID protocols within the RiverHawk program and once due to last week's winter storm.  Tip-off in White Auditorium is set for 6:00 p.m.