EMPORIA STATE MEN KNOCK OFF #2 NORTHWEST MISSOURI 75-56

February 8, 2022-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 over second ranked and defending national champion Northwest Missouri on Tuesday night in White Auditorium.
 
Both teams started slowly offensively as neither team scored over the first 4:20 of the game.  Brenden Van Dyke finally broke the ice scoring on a fast break lay-up for the Hornets with 15:40 left in the half.  The Bearcats answered with a 7-0 run and led 11-6 at the 11:33 mark of the half.  Emporia State then went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good.  Mason Thiessen started the run with a dunk, the nation's leading scorer Tray Buchanan provided the six points in the middle and Jumah'Ri Turner ended it with a step back jumper to give Emporia State a 16-11 lead with 8:48 left in the half.
 
The Hornets were up 23-15 when Turner scored on a lay-up off a Buchanan assist with 5:18 remaining in the half.  Trevor Hudgins, the third leading scorer in the nation, buried a three pointer with 4:55 left to pull the Bearcats with five.  It would be the last points of the half for Northwest as Emporia State ended the first half on a 9-0 run capped by Tyreek Robinson's put back at the buzzer.
 
Emporia State had the ball to start the second half and Kaden Evans found Van Dyke for an alley-oop dunk that extended the run to 11-0 and gave the Hornets a 34-18 lead. The Bearcats would not get closer than 13 points the rest of the night as Emporia State built their lead to as many as 22 points with 1:11 left in the game.
 
Tray Buchanan scored a game high 29 points with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He was joined in double figures by Jumah'Ri Turner with 20 points and Brenden Van Dyke with 15 points on seven of ten shooting.  Trevor Hudgins led Northwest with 20 points.
 
As a team Emporia State shot 49.1% from the field while limiting the Bearcats to just 37.7% shooting.  The 56 points were the fewest scored by Northwest Missouri since a 55-51 win over Mercyhurst in the 2019 Elite Eight.
 
The Hornets are back in action on Saturday, February 12 when they play host to Lincoln. Tip-off from White Auditorium is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
NOTES
With his 29 points Tray Buchanan has now scored 628 points in 23 games and moved past Cleo Gardner (609 pts/30 games/1976-77), George Jerman (610 pts/28 games/1979-80), Derrick Howse (621 pts/32 games/1986-87), and James McCallop (624 pts/27 games/1993-94) into seventh place on the Emporia State single season scoring list.
The win snapped a nine game losing streak to NWMSU and was Emporia State's first win over the Bearcats since a 70-63 win in White Auditorium on January 13, 2016.
The 19 point win was the largest margin of victory over the Bearcats since a 79-56 win on December 3, 2008.
Northwest Missouri entered the game ranked #2 in the NABC National Poll. This is the highest ranked team Emporia State has defeated as a member of NCAA Division II.