EMPORIA STATE MEN BEGIN RIVALRY WEEK AGAINST PITT STATE ON WEDNESDAY

Men's Basketball | 2/23/2022 12:49:00 AM

Game #27
Emporia State Hornets (19-7, 14-6 MIAA)
vs. Pittsburg State Gorillas (8-18, 7-13 MIAA)
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 • 7:30 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • WL White Auditorium
Series Record: ESU leads 102-95 Last Meeting: ESU 74, at PSU 59 (Jan. 13, 2022)   
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM  Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Television: None Internet Video: www.themiaanetwork.com/esuhornets
Live Stats • Ticket Info • Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Washburn • Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 • 3:30 p.m.
Emporia, Kan. • WL White Auditorium

FINAL COUNTDOWN     
Emporia State returns to White Auditorium for the final two regular season games starting with Pittsburg State on Wednesday.

LAST TIME OUT
Brenden Van Dyke had a career high 25 points as the Hornets defeated #7 Northwest Missouri 76-75 on Monday night. The Bearcats took a 60-59 lead with 4:57 left and the two teams traded scores over the next 11 possessions.  Trevor Hudgins missed a layup with 34 seconds and Van Dyke hit two free throws with 22.9 left to give the Hornets a 74-71 lead.  Luke Waters was fouled on a rebound with 3.3 seconds left. He hit the first free throw and his second did not hit rim and Emporia State got the ball on the violation. Tray Buchanan hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to give ESU a 76-72 lead.  Hudgins hit a three at the buzzer for the final score. Van Dyke was nine of ten from the field for 25 points while Mayuom Buom scored 18 points on five of five shooting from the field.  

THE COACHES
Craig Doty is 54-53 in his fourth season at Emporia State. In his ninth season as a head coach at the D2, NAIA, and NJCAA level he is 216-103 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 3-2 against Pitt State.
Kim Anderson is 64-74 in his fifth season at Pittsburg State and 365-236 in his 20th year overall. He is 3-3 against Emporia State while at Pitt State and 17-13 in his career.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 19-7, 14-6 in the MIAA. They lead the MIAA in blocks and are second in scoring and 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 five of the top 25 spots on the MIAA blocked shots list.

ABOUT THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 8-18, 7-13 in the MIAA. They have won their last two games, both against Missouri Southern. Bobby Arthur-Williams is their leading scorer at 12.5 points per game but has only played in 12 games.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 198th meeting between the two teams with Emporia State holding a 102-95 overall advantage.

LAST TIME VS PITTSBURG STATE
Tray Buchanan and Jumah'Ri Turner combined for 47 points in Emporia State's 74-59 victory at Pittsburg State. The Gorillas led 20-15 with 5:29 left in the first half. Turner would score 13 points during a 21-3 run to end the half as ESU took a 26-23 lead into the break. The Hornets used a 10-2 run to go up 46-28 with 15:46 left. Pitt State pulled within 54-45 before Buchanan scored five straight points to take a 59-45 lead and the deficit never went below double digits the rest of the way. Turner finished with 24 points while Buchanan had 23 points.  

UP NEXT
The Hornets play their final regular season game on Saturday against Washburn. The Senior Day Turnpike Tussle is set to tip-off at 1:30 p.m.

DOTY MAGIC
Three-time National Champion head coach Craig Doty is in his fourth season as head coach at Emporia State. He is 215-103 in his ninth year at the NCAA D2, NAIA and NJCAA levels, including an 108-74 mark in conference play. Doty is 103-75 as a head coach at four year schools with a 54-53 record since taking over for the Hornets.
He is 73-31 (.702) 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 107 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 26.1 points per game while Turner is averaging 20.2 to rank third in the MIAA. Their combined 46.3 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.