January 2, 2023 – Emporia State fell against Central Oklahoma 80-58 on Monday night.
The Hornets started the game which the first five points as
Owen Long hit a step back jumper before
Alijah Comithier knocked down a three to put the Hornets up 5-0 in the first two mintutes of the game.
Central Oklahoma was able to respond as they put together an 11-2 scoring that lasted until 13:25 remaining in the first half, which was ended Comithier hitting his second three of the game to cut the deficit to 11-10.
Following the three-pointer from Comithier, the Bronchos scored 10 of the next 12 points as they took a 21-12 lead over the Hornets. Emporia State was unable to bridge the gap between the two teams for the remainder of the first half as Central Oklahoma took a 38-25 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half, eight different Hornets scored with
Alijah Comithier leading the way with 8 points. As a team, the Hornets shot just 30.8% from the floor and 3-12 from beyond the arc.
Emporia State struggled to generate much on the offensive end of the floor in the second half as the Hornets were unable to cut the deficit to single digits in the second half.
The Hornets cut the Bronchos lead down to 11 points on multiple occasions, including midway through the second half following a three from
Atavian Butler to make the score 54-43. Central Oklahoma responded with an 11-4 scoring run as they extended their lead back to 18 points.
Emporia State was not able to trim the deficit any further over the final eight minutes of the game as the Hornets fell to the Bronchos 80-58.
In the second half, the Hornets were able to limit the Bronchos to just 37% shooting but only shot 28.6% on the offensive end of the floor.
Alijah Comithier and
Atavian Butler both reached double-digit scoring with 14 and 13 points respectively. Comithier and Butler tied
Mayuom Buom with a team-high 6 rebounds in the game.
Emporia State will return home to take on Lincoln on Thursday, January 5. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
