BIG MONDAY FOR EMPORIA STATE AND NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Men's Basketball | 2/21/2022 12:15:00 PM

Game #26
Emporia State Hornets (18-7, 13-6 MIAA)
at #7 Northwest Missouri Bearcats (23-4, 16-3 MIAA)
Monday, Feb. 21, 2022 • 7:30 p.m. • Maryville,Mo. • Bearcat Arena
Series Record: MWSU leads 45-35 Last Meeting: at ESU 75, #2 NWMSU 56 (Feb. 8, 2022)   
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM  Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Television: None Internet Video: www.themiaanetwork.com/esuhornets
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Pittsburg State • Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 • 7:30 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • WL White Auditorium

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN     
Emporia State travels to #7 Northwest Missouri for a game that was postponed from last Thursday due to road conditions.

LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State came back from a 13 point first half deficit but could not overcome hitting a season low four three-pointers in an 80-75 loss at Missouri Western. ESU jumped out to a 6-0 lead and led 18-16 before MWSU went on a 14-0 run to take a 30-18 lead with 8:19 left in the first.  A 10-2 run got Emporia State back within five at 37-32 and the Hornets trailed 40-34 at the break. Western led 47-40 with 16:06 left iwhen the Hornets went on an 8-0 run to take a 48-47 lead. It would the first of eight lead changes over the next three minutes.  Brenden Van Dyke had back to back dunks to give the Hornets a 73-71 lead with 2:27 remaining.  The Griffs would hit five of eight free throws over the final 2:08 for the win. Jumah'Ri Turner scored 29 points for Emporia State and was joined in double figures by Tray Buchanan with 16 and Brenden Van Dyke with 12 points and eight rebounds.

THE COACHES
Craig Doty is 53-53 in his fourth season at Emporia State. In his ninth season as a head coach at the D2, NAIA, and NJCAA level he is 215-103 with three national championships. He was 49-22 in two seasons at Graceland, and won the 2018 NAIA National Championship. Doty spent four years as the head coach at Rock Valley College winning two NJCAA Division III national championships to finish with a 113-28 record. He is 1-6 against NWMSU.
Ben McCollum is 323-82 in his 13th year at Northwest Mo. He is 16-5 against ESU.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 18-7, 13-6 in the MIAA. They lead the MIAA in blocks and are second in made three-pointers. Tray Buchanan is the nation's leading scorer while Jumah'Ri Turner is third in the MIAA in scoring.  Hornets take up six of the top 25 spots on the MIAA blocked shots list.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
Northwest Missouri is 23-3, 16-2 in the MIAA and ranked #7 in the NABC National Poll. They lead the MIAA in scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and made three-pointers. Trevor Hudgins is second in the MIAA in scoring and leads the league in made threes.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 73rd meeting with the Bearcats leading 47-25 overall. Emporia State has not won in Maryville, Mo. since a 74-62 win on Jan. 22, 2011.

LAST TIME VS NW MISSOURI
In a game that featured two of the top ten teams in the nation in points per possession and the top three individual scorers in the MIAA, it was defense that proved to be the difference in Emporia State's 75-56 victory #2 Northwest Missouri. Emporia State ended the first half on a 9-0 run to lead 32-18 at the break. Tray Buchanan scored 29 points and was joined in double figures by Jumah'Ri Turner with 20 points and Brenden Van Dyke with 15 points.  

UP NEXT
The Hornets play their final two regular season games at home starting with Pittsburg State on Wednesday. Tip is at 7:30 pm in White Auditorium.

DOTY MAGIC
Three-time National Champion head coach Craig Doty is in his fourth season as head coach at Emporia State. He is 214-103 in his ninth year at the NCAA D2, NAIA and NJCAA levels, including an 107-74 mark in conference play. Doty is 102-75 as a head coach at four year schools with a 53-53 record since taking over for the Hornets.
He is 72-31 (.699) in games played in February and March with a 29-6 (.829) record in the post-season. Three of those six post season losses were to the eventual national champion.
Doty led Rock Valley College and Graceland University to national prominence earlier in his career. In just two seasons at Graceland, Doty's program had a 49-22 record and won the 2018 NAIA Division I National Championship in the school's first trip to the national tournament at Kansas City's historic Municipal Auditorium. The Yellowjackets started the 2017-18 season 10-8 and ended the year winning 19 of their final 21 games. Along the way Doty earned NAIA National Coach of the Year, HoopDirt.com NAIA National Coach of the Year, and the 2018 Don Meyer Award.
Doty's programs at Rock Valley College won NJCAA Division III National titles in 2014 and 2016 while his 2015 squad came up just short finishing National Runner-up.

HOT START
The Hornets 15-5 start was their best record after 20 games since opening the 2006-07 season 18-2.
The 10-4 start to MIAA play also matches the 2006-07 team that started conference play 10-4. Since joining the MIAA for the 1991-92 season, Emporia State has won at least seven of their first ten games 11 times.  
Emporia State has won at least ten games in conference play ten times over the last 32 seasons.

CENTURY MARK
Emporia State's 112-54 win over Tabor marked the 102nd time the Hornets have cracked the century mark in their history.  They have reached 100 points six times in 106 games under Coach Doty, matching their total for the previous eight seasons combined.  
The Hornets scored at least 100 points 60 times under coach Ron Slaymaker (827 total games in 28 seasons), 26 times under coach David Moe (288 games in 10 seasons), five times under Shaun Vandiver (199 games in seven seasons), three times under coach Gus Fish (602 games in 25 seasons) and once under coach Marc Comstock (82 games in three seasons).

TOUGH ENOUGH
The NCAA Central Region is made up of teams in the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conferences. So far this season the MIAA is 16-17 against the rest of the region with a 9-6 record against the GAC and a 7-11 record against  he NSIC. The NSIC has an 10-3 record against the GAC and is 17-14 in region while the GAC is 9-19 in region.

IN THE RANKINGS
Emporia State received votes in the NABC National Poll for five straight weeks earlier this year.  It is the second straight year the Hornets have received votes in the NABC poll.  Emporia State was not in the first NCAA Central Regional Rankings.
The Regional Rankings are based on the following criteria in no particular order:
? In-region winning percentage;
? Division II winning percentage;
? Division II strength of schedule (opponents' average winning percentage and opponents' opponents' average winning percentage);
? Division II head-to-head competition; and
? Results versus Division II common opponents.
The Division II Men's Basketball Committee may consider the following criteria in the selection of at-large teams for the Division II Men's Basketball Championship (in no particular order):
? Rating percentage index (RPI);
? Performance indicator; and
? Record vs. ranked teams.
Additionally, input is provided by regional advisory committees for consideration by the Division II Men's Basketball Committee

TOP SCORERS
The duo of Tray Buchanan and Jumah'Ri Turner are the top scoring back court in the nation. Turner leads the nation in scoring at 26.7 points per game while Turner is averaging 20.5 to rank third in the MIAA. Their combined 47.2 points per game is the top average in NCAA Division II for a pair of guards.  The next best scoring combo in the nation is Nova Southeastern's guard/forward Sekou Sylla (22.8) and forward RJ Sunahara (19.2 ppg) who combine to score 42.0 points per game

FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Hornets are 411-194 (.679) since 1979 in White Auditorium. Emporia State has won 195 of their last 284 games (.687) in White Auditorium dating back to the 2002-03 season. In the last 35 years, they have twice had home court winning streaks of at least 20 games. The first was 23 games from 1985-87 followed by a school record 25 game streak from February 12, 2003-January 1, 2005.  They have posted home winning seasons in 18 of the last 20 seasons.

STATE OF KANSAS CHAMPS
Emporia State went 6-1 against the other MIAA schools from the state of Kansas last season for the best winning percentage amongst the five Division II Sunflower State schools.  The Hornets have not gone undefeated against Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State and Washburn in a season since 1957-58.

HORNETS RANK IN NATION IN ATTENDANCE
Prior to the COVID pandemic restricting attendance, the Emporia State men's basketball team had a string of 18 straight years ranking in the top 25 in attendance among the over 300 NCAA Division II basketball playing schools.
The Hornets drew 21,675 total fans for an average of 1,355 fans to their 16 home games at Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium during the 2019-20 season to rank 18th nationally.  
Emporia State outdrew 109 NCAA Division I schools in total attendance during the 2019-20 school year. Within the Division II ranks, the Hornets outdrew 55 of the 64 teams that were selected for the NCAA Tournament, including five of the eight #1 seeds.
The Hornets were among seven MIAA teams in the top 25 nationally. As a conference the MIAA drew 251,994 fans to 196 games to lead all Division II conference in average attendance at 1,286 fans per game. It is the 12th straight year the MIAA has led the nation in average attendance. The MIAA's total attendance was better than seven NCAA Division I conferences. The Central Region had a total of nine teams ranked in the top 25 as two teams from the NSIC were on the list as well.

ON THE COURT
The court at William L. White Auditorium was formally named Ron Slaymaker Court at half-time of the Hornets win over Washburn on Feb. 28, 2014 after the City of Emporia approved a proclamation at their Feb. 20, 2014  city commission meeting.

AND IN THE RAFTERS
Dale Cushinberry (1966-69) - Cushinberry was an All-American for Emporia State and became the first Hornet with 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.
•Wilbur Reeser (1944-48) - Reeser was named an NAIB All-American and was the Hornets leading scorer as the won a conference championship in 1948.
•Ron Slaymaker (Player 1954-60, Coach 1970-98) - As a player Slaymaker was named All-Conference and All-American during the 1957-58 season. As a coach he won an ESU leading 462 games from 1970-98.
•Jim Fraley (1956-60) - Fraley was the school's all-time leading scorer (1,509) until Brian Robinson broke his record in 1985. He was named Second-team NAIA All-American.
•Doug Glaysher (1960-64) - Glaysher was named an All-American after leading the Hornets to the NAIA National Semi-finals in 1964. He graduated as the second leading scorer in ESU history.
•Brian Robinson (1984-86) - Robinson was named a first team All-American in both his junior and senior season. He is the ESU all-time leading scorer with 2,533 career points.

LISTEN & WATCH LIVE
Video webcasts for all of Emporia State's regular season home games are available on a pay per view basis from the MIAA Network. Content is available live and is immediately archived for on-demand viewing after each event at www.themiaanetwork.com. Audio of all Emporia State games are available on KFFX 104.9FM and at www.kvoe.com with Greg Rahe on the call. KFFX is in their 32nd straight year as the radio home of Hornet Athletics, the longest active streak between a commercial station and an MIAA school. All games will also be available on the internet at www.kvoe.com.

TURNING PRO
Emporia State's Julius Jackson became the fourth Hornet men's basketball player to sign professionally following the 2018-19 season when he signed a professional contract with Raiders Basket Jarvenpaa in Finland. Hassan Thomas signed with Sampaense Basket of Portugal Proliga while Malik Hluchoweckyj signed with KK Bratunac of the Bosnia BiH Liga also signed pro contracts overseas while Kooper Glick played with the Washington Generals - the regular opponent of the Harlem Globetrotters. It is the first time in school history the Hornets  had four players from the same class sign to play professionally in the same year.

BRIEF BURSTS, LONG DELAYS AND RESCHEDULES
The Hornets had their first game postponed this year when their home game against Northwest Missouri scheduled for January 8 was postponed due to COVID protocols within the Bearcat program. The game against Pittsburg State was delayed one day to January 13 due to COVID protocols for the Gorilla program.  The second game against Northwest Missouri in Maryville has been delayed one day to accommodate a rescheduled Lady Hornet game with Missouri Western
Between various COVID protocols at both Emporia State and their opponents, and the weather the Hornets had six games postponed and rescheduled last year. Due to Northeastern State being in COVID protocols at the time, the Rogers State game on February 13 was the only game in a 13 day window for the Hornets. Emporia State has had periods where they played four games in eight days, three games in three days and stretches of 14 days and 19 days without a game. Despite all of the delays, including weather delays, the entire MIAA schedule was completed.