November 10, 2023-The #20 Hornets put four players in double figures in an 86-76 win over Arkansas Tech on Friday evening in White Auditorium.
Emporia State scored the first 13 points of the game and held the WonderBoys scoreless for the first five and a half minutes of action.  Arkansas Tech finally scored on a pair of free throws with 14:27 left in the half. The Hornets would score five more to take an 18-2 before ATU hit their first field goal with 13:07 left in the half.
The WonderBoys got within 24-13 on a Peter Taelon dunk with 9:48 left when the Hornets went on an 11-2 run to take their biggest lead of the first half at 35-15.Â
Atavian Butler hit a three pointer to start and end the run. Emporia State would take a 43-26 lead thanks in part to 14 first half points from Butler.
Emporia State shot 53.6% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, going five of nine from beyond the three point line, while holding Arkansas Tech to just 30.3% from the field and one for 11 from beyond the arc.
Alijah Comithier hit a three-pointer with 17:38 left to give Emporia State a 51-30 lead. ATU then scored seven straight to get back within 14 at 51-37 with 16:42 left. The Hornets followed with a 10-2 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 61-39 with 13:08 left. Â
The lead would hover between 16 and 22 points until the final four minutes. Emporia State led 78-60 on a pair of Butler free throws with 3:49 remaining. The WonderBoys then went on a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to 79-72 with 1:59 left.Â
Owen Long broke the run with a free throw at the 1:32 mark and
Kaden Evans hit two from the charity stripe with 1:21 left to push the lead back to double digits. The Hornets would hit five of six free throws in the final two minutes to preserve the ten point win.
Batavian Butler had a career high 23 points to lead four Hornets in double figures.
Alijah Comithier scored 20 points,
Solomon Oraegbu had 16 and
Owen Long finished with 12 points. Comithier and Oraegbu each had six rebounds while Butler and
Owen Long had three assists apiece.
Emporia State is back in action on Saturday afternoon when they take on Southwestern Oklahoma. Tip-off from White Auditorium is set for 3:30 p.m.
