Emporia State Men's Basketball ends Florida trip with72-59 win over Virginia Union

November 5, 2023-Emporia State put three players in double figures as the #20 Hornets defeated Virginia Union 72-59 in the final game of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla.
 
Emporia State got out to a 10-2 lead four minutes into the contest only to see the Panthers score eight straight to tie the game at 10 with 12:49 left in the half.  There would be six lead changes and three ties over the next five minutes with a Travis Vaughn three-pointer giving the Panthers their last lead at 23-22.  Owen Long and Kaden Evans hit back to back three-pointers to ignite a 14-2 run as ESU took a 36-25 lead with 3:50 left on another three from Evans.

The Hornets would lead 40-29 at the half as they shot seven of 14 from beyond the three-point arc.  Long hit five of ten treys in the opening half to lead all scorers with 15 points.

Solomon Oraegbu and Alijah Comithier each scored inside to open the second half and give the Hornets a 44-29 lead with 18:45 left.  Virginia Union used a 7-1 run to get the lead back to single digits at 45-36 with 15:18 remaining. Tahj Harding hit a layup for the Panthers with 14:12 to go to make it an eight point game at 47-39. Atavian Butler answered for the Hornets with 13:53 left before both teams went on a two and a half minute scoring drought.  PJ Johnson broke the drought with a three-pointer to beat the shot clock at the 11:22 mark and the lead would not drop below 11 points the rest of the night. The lead would grow to 16 points on several occasions before Virginia Union scored four of the final five points for the final score.
 
Comithier had 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals as he was named to the All-Tournament team.  Butler had 18 points on eight of 11 shooting with six rebounds off the bench while Long finished with 17 points thanks to five three-pointers.  Evans dished a team high seven assists.
 
The Hornets will return from Florida to play host to the MIAA-GAC Challenge starting Friday at White Auditorium.  The Hornets are scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. against Arkansas Tech.