February 18, 2023 – Emporia State led for all but 54 seconds and fought off late Lincoln push to bring home a 72-66 road win on Saturday afternoon from Jefferson City, Missouri.
Owen Long got things started for the Hornets with a pullup three within the first minute to put Emporia State ahead 3-0, a lead the Hornets would not relinquish throughout the game.
Following the Long three, Emporia State continually built upon their early lead throughout the first half.
The Hornets built an early nine-point lead by the 12:39 mark of the first half after
Alijah Comithier scored to give Emporia State a 19-10 advantage.
Lincoln scored back-to-back baskets over the next two minutes as they trimmed the lead to just five points, the lowest margin the Hornets would lead by for the remainder of the first half.
With under two minutes remaining in the first half, back-to-back baskets from Comithier gave Emporia State a 38-23 lead over the Blue Tigers, their largest of the game.
Lincoln scored the final four points of the first half as Emporia State took a 38-27 lead into the halftime break.
At the half,
Owen Long led all scorers with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and 2-2 from the free throw line.
Alijah Comithier led five more Hornets on the scoresheet with 9 first-half points.
As a team, Emporia State shot 55.2% from the floor in the first half.
Following the halftime break, Lincoln quickly trimmed the Hornet lead down to two points as they scored nine straight points to begin the second half.
Emporia State was able to keep the Blue Tigers from tying the game as they held a narrow lead for much of the second half.
Lincoln would inch as close as one point following a three with 3:04 remaining in the game.
After an empty possession by both the Hornets and Blue Tigers, Emporia State regained possession. On an assist from
Peyton Rogers-Schmidt,
Owen Long knocked down a three and took contact for the and-one opportunity.
Long made the free throw and stretched the Hornet lead back to five points with 2:19 remaining in the game.
The Blue Tigers were able to trim the lead below three points on more time in the game as a jumpshot made the score 66-64 with 55 seconds left in the game.
Emporia State once again answered the Lincoln push with another Long three to take a five-point lead with 28 seconds remaining in the game.
The Hornets were able to close out the game as they defeated Lincoln 72-66 on Saturday afternoon.
Owen Long led all scorers with 32 points on 12-23 shooting and 5-5 on free throws.
Alijah Comithier added 9 points while
Mayuom Buom and
Atavian Butler each scored 8 points.
Emporia State will return home on Thursday, February 23 as they are scheduled to take on Pittsburg State. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. from White Auditorium.
