February 25, 2023-Emporia State shot 63% from the field in the second half on the way to an 86-64 win over Washburn on Senior Day at White Auditorium.
The teams traded buckets over the first 90 seconds with two Jaden Monday three-pointers giving Washburn a brief 6-5 lead. Just 24 seconds later
Mayuom Buom scored inside to put the Hornets up 7-6 and they would never trail again. Monday scored inside with 13:18 left in the half to get the Ichabods within a point at 14-13 but Emporia State scored the next nine points to take a 23-13 lead at the 10:43 mark.
The Ichabods would cut the lead back to with a point on two occasions in the final two minutes.
Owen Long and
Kaden Evans hit three-pointers around Tyler Nelson lay-up to give the Hornets a 34-29 lead with 1:32 left in the half. Nelson hit a three with 16 seconds left to get Washburn within 34-32 at the break.
Emporia State outshot Washburn 51.9% to 41.9% in the opening 20 minutes but a 7-0 advantage on the offensive glass kept the Ichabods in the game.
It was still a three point game at 39-36 with 17:37 left when ESU went on a 13-2 run to take control.
Peyton Rogers-Schmidt hit a pair of three-pointers around one from Long as the Hornets took a 52-38 lead with 11:15 left. Washburn would not get closer than ten points the rest of the way.
The Hornets steadily built the lead and were up by 17 with 1:39 when they called a timeout to put in the four seniors honored prior to the game.
Sam Baker hit a three to push the lead to 20 points and after a Nelson three for Washburn,
Tyreek Robinson hit one of two free throws to make it 80-62 with 54 seconds left.
Mason Thiessen ended the senior scoring with an old fashioned three-point play to give the Hornets a 21 point lead with 43 seconds left. With the shot clock winding down, Kebaya Tshibangu got the final points on a step back three-pointer with 16 seconds left for the final score.
In the second half Emporia State hit 17 of 27 (.630) shots from the field including a nine of 15 (.600) effort from beyond the three-point line. For the game they shot a season best 51.9% (14 of 27) from beyond the three-point arc.
Owen Long had 26 points to lead four Hornets in double figures.
Kaden Evans scored 13 points,
Alijah Comithier had 12 and
Mayuom Buom scored ten points as 11 Hornets reached the scoring column.
The net action for the Hornets will be on Friday, March 3 when they take on Lincoln in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. from Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
NOTES
Owen Long hit six three-pointers to give him 82 for the season and pass Thomas Vincent (79 in 2003-04) for fifth on the Emporia State single season list.
With their 74-63 win in Topeka, this is the first time Emporia State has taken the two game regular season series from Washburn since the 2008-09 season.
