#20 Emporia State men's basketball sizzles from the field in 91-74 win over Truman

November 15, 2023-The #20 Hornets shot a blistering 60.8% from the field and 53.3% from the three-point line in a 91 74 win over Truman State on Wednesday night in White Auditorium.

The first seven minutes were close with three ties and two lead changes.  The Bulldogs pulled within 14-13 on an Xavier Hall layup with 13:18 left in the half before Alijah Comithier and Owen Long combined for a 7-0 run to give the Hornets some separation. Truman would creep back within two points with 8:37 left in the half when Long started and ended an 11-0 run to give Emporia State a 33-20 lead.  He started the run with a pull up jumper in the lane with 8:18 left. Following a Darius Yohe block, Long grabbed the rebound and went the distance to give the Hornets a 33-20 lead with 4:40 left in the half.  The lead reached 16 points at 41-25 on a three-pointer from Comithier with 2:09 left in the half. The Bulldogs ended the period on an 8-3 run to get within 44-33 at the break.

The Hornets went six of 11 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half and 18-29 overall.The Bulldogs hit 11 of 14 two point shots in the opening 20 minutes but went just three of 12 from outside the arc.

Emporia State led by ten at 46-36 less than two minutes into the second half when Truman went on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to four with 16:17 left. It was still a four point game at 57-53 with 12:26 left when the Hornets went on a 6-0 min-run to push the lead back to double digits. After going just three for 12 as a team from three in the first 20 minutes, Casen Lawrence hit the Bulldogs seventh triple in nine tries after the break to get Truman within 71-66 with 6:42 left. The Hornets answered with an 8-0 run capped by a step back jumper from Long as the shot clock expired with 4:52 left to give Emporia State a 79-66 lead. Truman would not get the deficit below double figures the rest of the game as the Hornets pulled away to the 91-74 win to improve to 4-1 on the season.

Alijah Comithier had 26 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead four Hornets in double figures.  Atavian Butler scored a career high 24 points and added four rebounds and three steals. Owen Long finished with 17 points and four assists while Solomon Oraegbu had 15 points to round out the double figure scorers.

As a team Emporia State hit 31 of 51 shots overall for 60.8% while going eight of 15 for 53.3% from the three-point line and 21 of 25 from the free throw line. They finished 13 assists on only five turnovers.

After playing five games in 12 days, the Hornets will now have a full week before their next contest.  Emporia State will play host to Oklahoma Panhandle State on Wednesday, November 22 in White Auditorium. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.