#20 Hornets hold on for 75-72 win over Central Missouri

January 7, 2023-The #20 Hornets got out to a hot start from the three-point line and then stiffened up on the defensive end on the way to a 75-72 victory over Central Missouri on Saturday afternoon in White Auditorium.
 
The first 21 points of the game were scored from beyond the three-point arc. Gavin Pinkley gave the Mules a brief 3-0 lead forty seconds into the game.  Kaden Evans answered with a shot clock buzzer beating three of his own for Emporia State to tie the game and then got an assist on an Owen Long three-pointer with 18:20 left. After a Trey Sides three tied it again, Evans beat the shot clock again with a three with 17:26 left that started a 9-0 run for the Hornets.  Long hit back to back threes to give ESU a 15-6 lead with 16:37 remaining in the half.
 
Central Missouri responded with a 12-3 run to tie the game at 18 with 11:54 left in the half.  The Hornets scored the next seven points on the way to a 13-2 run to take their biggest lead at 31-20 at the 6:20 mark.  The Mules would cut the lead down to five at 31-26 with 4:25 left but Emporia State would push the lead back up to 11 before Mikel Henderson hit a three with 1:14 remaining to make it 39-31.  Neither team would score the rest of the half as the Hornets took the eight point lead to the locker room.
 
It took a while for either team to get going in the second half before Levelle Zeigler got the hoop and harm three-point play with 18:30 left to give the Hornets a 42-31 lead.  The Mules would use a 10-2 run with the final eight points coming from Pinkley to pull within 48-47 with 10:11 left in the game.  With Emporia State leading 50-49, Long hit back to back three-pointers in 30 seconds to push the lead back to seven at 56-49 with 8:01 left. 
 
Alijah Comithier scored inside with 1:38 left to put the Hornets up 68-61.  Pinkley was fouled with 1:29 left and hit the first of two free throws and the second was tipped in by Kobe Campbell to bring UCM within 68-64. Long hit a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to put the Hornets up 70-64.  Jordan Hayes scored on a driving layup with 28.8 seconds left to get the Mules back within four points. UCM forced a turnover on the next possession for ESU and Jack Chapman hit one of two free throws with 21.0 seconds left to make it 70-67.  Sides stole a cross court pass and take it to the hole to bring the Mules within a point with nine seconds remaining but this time the Hornets were able to get the ball in bounds and up the floor quickly for a dunk by Peyton Rogers-Schmidt to push the lead to 72-69 with 5.6 seconds remaining.
 
Following a review to set the clock Emporia State fouled Sides with 4.0 left and he hit both free throws to get UCM within a point at 72-71. Zeigler was fouled with 3.3 seconds left and he hit both free throws to give Emporia State a 74-71 lead.    Up thee the Hornets again fouled in the back court sending Sides to the line with 2.4 seconds left.  He hit the first to get within two points but his intentional miss on the second did not draw iron giving ESU the ball back.  Zeigler was fouled with 1.9 left.  He hit the first to make it 75-72 and missed the second but UCM did not have time to get a clean shot off as the Hornets improved to 12-3 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA.
 
Alijah Comithier recorded his first career double-double at Emporia State, finishing with 22 points and ten rebounds.  He was joined in double figures by Owen Long with 21 points on five of 11 shooting from beyond the arc and a six of six effort from the free throw line.  Kaden Evans just missed his first double-double of the season, ending the game with nine points, nine rebounds and five assists.
 
After playing four games in eight days after returning from break, the #20 Hornets are off until Thursday, January 12 when they travel to Pittsburg State.  Tip-off from John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan. is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
NOTES:
Alijah Comithier passed the 1,300 point mark in career scoring and now has 1,318 points including his time at UC-Colorado Springs.
This is the second straight year Emporia State has gone 12-3 after 15 games.