Triple Double for Yohe as Emporia State men defeat Friends 64-50

December 30, 2023-Emporia State overcame a cold shooting night thanks in part to the first triple double of the NCAA era for the Hornets Darius Yohe in a 64-50 win over Friends on Saturday in White Auditorium.

Both teams started out slow as Emporia State led 5-3 at the first media timeout. The Hornets used a 7-2 run to take a 12-5 lead with 10:28 left in the half only to see the Falcons close within 12-10 just two minutes later.  Owen Long hit a three-pointer and was fouled with 7:57 left to start a 10-2 run that gave ESU their biggest lead of the first half at 22-12 with 6:28 remaining in the period. A 10-5 run by the Falcons to close the half left the Hornets with a 27-22 lead at the break.

Emporia State shot just 10 of 36 overall and four of 16 from beyond the three-point line in the first half while holding Friends to nine of 33 shooting with a one of eight effort from the arc. Yohe had five blocks in the opening 20 minutes to lead the Hornet defensive effort.

Alijah Comithier hit a three-pointer to open the second half and give Emporia State a 30-22 lead only to see Friends answer with a 7-0 run to get within a point at 30-29 with 17:04 left. The Hornets answered on the next trip with a pair of free throws from Comithier and would go up 35-29 as Solomon Oraegbu hit one of two free throws after being fouled with 16:27 left.  A KJ Spiller three-pointer got the Falcons back within a point at 35-34 with 14:49 left and following a Hornet turnover had a chance to take the lead. Oraegbu grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast with 14:20 left to ignite a 12-0 run.  PJ Johnson hit a three pointer with 11:15 left to give Emporia State a 47-34 lead and cap off the run. Friends would not get closer than seven points the rest of the game. The lead would eventually reach 17 points when Yohe scored on a fast break layup with 1:51 left. The bucket did not only give Emporia State a 61-44 lead but put Yohe over 1,000 points in his career and gave him a triple double.

Yohe finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks as he set the Emporia State single game record for blocked shots.  He was joined in double figures by Comithier with 19 points, Oraegbu with 14 points, and Johnson with a career high 13 points.  Kaden Evans had a game high five assists for the Hornets.

Emporia State will return to MIAA play on Wednesday, January 3 when they play host to Newman. Tip-off in White Auditorium is set for 7:30 p.m.

NOTES:
Yohe broke Marcellus Steide's school record of ten blocks in a game set against Washburn on January 20, 1993.
Yohe has now scored 1,001 points in his career with the first 956 coming in 100 games at William Woods.
Comithier eclipsed the 1,800 point mark in his career and now has 1,815 with the last 704 coming in 45 games at Emporia State after scoring 1,111 in 71 games at UC-Colorado Springs.