January 12, 2023 – Emporia State defeated Pittsburg State 79-63 on Thursday night as they led for all but 28 seconds in the game.
Emporia State took the lead just 28 seconds into the game following an
Owen Long three. The Hornets would lead the Gorillas for the remainder of the game.
Through the first five minutes of the game, both teams traded points with the Hornets leading 11-7 at the first media timeout. Following the timeout, Emporia State put together a 9-1 scoring run as they built a 20-8 lead over Pittsburg State. During the scoring run,
Owen Long hit his second three of the game as he surpassed 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
The Gorillas were able to respond with seven consecutive points as they trimmed the Hornet lead to just five points with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
After the Pittsburg State scoring run, Emporia State put together a 19-1 scoring run that lasted six minutes. The Hornet scoring run gave Emporia State their largest lead of the first half as they led the Gorillas 39-16 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.
Pittsburg State scored the final five points of the first half as the Hornets took a 39-21 lead into the halftime break.
At the half,
Kaden Evans led the Hornets with 11 points and 3 steals.
Owen Long led seven more Hornets on the scoresheet with 8 first half points. As a team, Emporia State outrebounded the Gorillas 19-16 with
Alijah Comithier leading the way with 4 rebounds.
The Hornets shot 14-29 from the floor in the first half and 6-13 from three while limiting the Gorillas to 33.3% shooting and just 8 made field goals.
In the second half, Emporia State jumped out to a quick start as they put together a 10-4 scoring run which was capped off by an
Owen Long three to give the Hornets a 49-25 lead over the Gorillas with 17:30 remaining in the game.
Over the next five minutes, Pittsburg State outscored the Hornets 16-5 as they cut the Emporia State lead to 54-41 with 12 minutes remaining.
The Hornets were able to respond to the Gorillas scoring run as they outscored Pittsburg State 14-1 over the next five minutes as they built a 26-point lead, their largest of the game.
Over the final seven minutes, Emporia State maintained control of the game as they were able to complete the 79-63 victory over Pittsburg State to advance to 13-3 overall and 7-3 in MIAA action.
Owen Long led the Hornets with 24 points, including 16 in the second half.
Kaden Evans finished with 11 points and a team-high 6 steals.
Alijah Comithier brought in a team-high 7 rebounds while adding 9 points of his own and
Levelle Zeigler also scored 9 points.
Emporia State shot 47.4% for the game and 44% from three in the game.
The Hornets will continue their road trip as they travel to Joplin, Mo. to take on Missouri Southern on Saturday, January 14. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 3:30 p.m.
