December 14, 2023 – The Emporia State men struggled from floor, shooting just 32.8% from the floor and 3-19 from three as the dropped their first MIAA game of the season 76-54 at Missouri Western.
Missouri Western took the opening tipoff and scored on their opening possession to take a 2-0 lead before both teams remained scoreless until a pair of free throws by the Griffons at the 17:29 mark doubled their advantage.
After missing their first six shots, Emporia State found their way onto the scoreboard with a layup from
Alijah Comithier at the 15:33 mark of the first half. Following a free throw and a second layup by Comithier at the 14:40 mark, the Hornets entered the first media timeout trailing the Griffons 6-5.
The first lead for Emporia State came with 11:47 remaining in the first half as a pullup jumper from
Owen Long put the Hornets in front 9-8. Missouri Western scored on the ensuing possession to retake the lead. The Griffons scored before a
Cael McGee layup returned the score to 12-11.
Missouri Western used the next six minutes to put together a 12-4 scoring run, building a 24-15 lead, their largest advantage of the first half with 4:03 remaining before halftime.
Over the final four minutes of the first half, Emporia State put together a 10-4 scoring run, including trimming the deficit to just one point before entering the halftime break trailing 28-25.
In the first half, Emporia State shot 9-25 from the floor and just 1-7 from three and led for just 27 seconds. The Griffons held a 20-11 rebounding advantage over the Hornets.
Emporia State opened the second half with five straight points on a layup from
Solomon Oraegbu and a three from
Owen Long as they took a 30-28 lead, their first advantage since leading 9-8 in the first half.
Missouri Western followed the Long three with a 13-4 scoring run to take a 41-34 lead with 12:40 remaining. A quick 7-0 scoring run from the Hornets closed the gap and tied the game at 41-41 with 10:27 to go in the game.
A dunk from Missouri Western sent the game into the under ten media timeout with the Griffons leading the Hornets 43-41 with 9:42 left in the game.
Following the media timeout, Emporia State was outscored by the Griffons 16-2 over the next three minutes as Missouri Western led 59-43 with 6:26 remaining. The Hornets cut the deficit to as little as 11 points with 4:47 remaining but were unable to inch any closer.
Emporia State fell 76-54 for their first MIAA loss of the season as Missouri Western pulled away late.
Owen Long and
Alijah Comithier led the way for Emporia State with 16 points each. Comithier also recorded a team-high five rebounds for the Hornets.
Cael McGee added eight points while
Solomon Oraegbu and
Darius Yohe each had five points.
Emporia State will return to action on Saturday, December 16 as they travel to take on Northwest Missouri. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from Bearcat Arena in Maryville, Mo.
