Men's Basketball | 11/12/2024 8:08:00 PM
GAME 3
Emporia State Hornets (1-1) at Truman State Bulldogs (1-1)
Wednesday, November 13 • 6:00 p.m. • Kirksville, Mo. • Pershing Arena
Series Record: ESU leads 30-14 •
Last Meeting: at ESU 91, TSU 74 (11/15/23)
Radio: Hornet Sports Network KFFX-FM (104.9)/1490AM Topeka/103.7FM Kansas City
Internet Audio:
kvoe.com |
Television: None |
Internet Video:
The GLVC Network
Live Stats |
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at William Jewell • Tuesday, Nov. 19 • Liberty, Mo. • 7:30 PM
NON-CON THROWBACK
Emporia State makes their first trip to Kirksville, Mo. since 2013 when they take on former MIAA foe Truman State in Pershing Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
Emproia State scored the first points of the game on an offensive rebound and never trailed in an 83-69 win over Northern State on Sunday at the Hillyard Classic in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Hornets put four players in double figures led by
Dallas Bear's 18 points and four made three-pointers.
Parker Day had a double-double with 12 points on six of ten shooting and ten rebounds. They were joined in double figures by Malik Edwards with 16 and
Brayson Laube with 13 points.
Arhman Lewis had six points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals for the Hornets.
ABOUT THE COACHES
Tom Billeter is 1-1 in his first season at Emporia State after going 393-224 in 21 seasons at Augustana and is 491-275 in his 27th season as a head coach. He took the Vikings to nine NCAA Tournaments, won three regular season NSIC Championships, two NSIC Tournament Championships, and 18 consecutive winnings seasons since 2007. He is 2-2 against Truman, going 2-0 at Augie and 0-2 at NDSU.
Jeff Horner is 105-67 in his seventh year at Truman State. He is 0-2 against Emporia State.
UP NEXT
The Hornets continue their six game, four city road trip as they travel to Liberty, Mo. on November 19 to take on William Jewell. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 1-1 in their first year under coach
Tom Billeter. Three players are averaging double figures after the first weekend led by Malik Edwards at 14.0 points per game and four players have scored at least ten points in a game with
Dallas Bear scoring a season high 18 points against Northern State. Both Don Coats and
Parker Day have had at least ten rebounds in a game.
Arhman Lewis is averaging 6.5 assists with a 6.5-1 assist to turnover ratio. It is an almost entirely new roster this season as only one player who saw action for the Hornets last year is on this year's roster.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Truman State is 1-1 with a win over Cedarville and a loss to Findlay. They are led by the 1-2 punch of Kobi Williams and Trey Shearer. Williams is averaging 21.5 points per game with 24 in the win over Cedarville while Trey Shearer is averaging 17.5 points per game. Xavier Hall is averaging 6.0 assists per game.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 45th meeting between the two teams with Emporia State holding a 30-14 overall advantage. The Hornets won 12 of the last 13 contests between the two with ten of the 11 coming before Truman left the MIAA for the GLVC following the 2012-13 season.
LAST TIME VS TRUMAN STATE
The #20 Hornets shot a blistering 60.8% from the field and 53.3% from the three-point line in a 91 74 win over Truman State in White Auditorium. The Hornets used an 8-0 run capped by an
Owen Long jumper as the shot clock expired with 4:52 left to give Emporia State a 79-66 lead. Truman would not get the deficit below double figures the rest of the game.
Alijah Comithier had 26 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead four Hornets in double figures.
Atavian Butler scored a career high 24 points and added four rebounds and three steals.
Owen Long finished with 17 points and four assists while
Solomon Oraegbu had 15 points to round out the double figure scorers.
As a team Emporia State hit 31 of 51 shots overall for 60.8% while going eight of 15 for 53.3% from the three-point line and 21 of 25 from the free throw line. They finished 13 assists on only five turnovers.
1500 AND COUNTING
The Hornets have won 1,511 games in their 120th year of playing basketball. They are ranked 16th in total wins among active NCAA Division II schools.
CENTURY MARK
Emporia State's 100-73 win over Newman last year marked the 104th time the Hornets have cracked the century mark in their history.
The Hornets scored at least 100 points 60 times under coach Ron Slaymaker (827 total games in 28 seasons), 26 times under David Moe (288 games in 10 seasons), eight times under Craig Doty (173 games in six seasons), five times under Shaun Vandiver (199 games in seven seasons), three times under Gus Fish (602 games in 25 seasons) and once under Marc Comstock (82 games in three seasons).
REGIONALLY SPEAKING
The NCAA Central Region is made up of teams in the MIAA, Northern Sun and Great American Conferences. This year the MIAA is 14-15 against the region with a 10-9 record against the NSIC and a 4-6 mark against the GAC. The MIAA went 19-10 against the region with a 7-9 record against the NSIC and 12-1 against the GAC. The MIAA was 76-35 (.685) against outside competition last year with a 50-33 (.602) mark against D2 foes. The NSIC was 87-38 (.696) out of conference with a 65-37 (.637) record against D2 while the GAC was 37-48 (.435) overall and 17-46 (.270) against D2 schools.
Seven of the last ten national champions have come from the Central Region, including coach Billeter's 2016 win at Augustana, and the region has been represented in eight of the last ten national championship games.
LAST THREE YEARS
For the first time in school history Emporia State has recorded three straight years with at least a .500 record in MIAA play. Starting in 2020-21 the Hornets have gone 53-35 in MIAA play with a 73-43 overall record.
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Hornets have won 18 of their last 21 games in White Auditorium. The 14 wins are the most home wins by the Hornets since they went 14-3 in 2006-07. They are 435-201 (.684) since 1979 in White Auditorium. Emporia State has won 36 of their last 45 (.800) games since the start of the 2021-22 season and 219 of their last 315 games (.695) in White Auditorium dating back to the 2002-03 season. In the last 35 years, they have twice had home court winning streaks of at least 20 games. The first was 23 games from 1985-87 followed by a school record 25 game streak from February 12, 2003-January 1, 2005. They have posted home winning seasons in 20 of the last 22 seasons.
HORNETS RANK IN NATION IN ATTENDANCE
In 17 home games last year the Hornets averaged 1,224 fans per game to rank 16th in the nation among the over 300 NCAA Division II basketball playing schools. It continued a string of 20 straight years, not counting COVID, ranking in the top 25 in attendance for Emporia State. The Hornets drew 19,627 total fans for an average of 1,402 fans to their 14 home games at Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium during the 2021-22 season to rank seventh nationally.
HORNETS IN THE POST SEASON
The 2022-23 season marked Emporia State's third trip to the NCAA Tournament in 33 years as a member of the NCAA Division II. The Hornets first NCAA Tournament game was an 85-81 loss to Drury in Stephenville, Texas on March 13, 2004. Their next appearance was a 72-66 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma on March 10, 2007. Prior to joining the NCAA, Emporia State made ten trips to Kansas City for the NAIA National Tournament and compiled a record of 13-12 with a pair of national semifinal appearances. The finished fourth in 1947 and again in 1964.
IN THE RANKINGS
Emporia State has received votes in seven National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Polls last season and were in the Top 25 the first five weeks of the season. There were two MIAA teams in the Top 25 and one more receiving votes in the final regular season NABC poll last year. During the 2022-23 season Emporia State had a string of five straight weeks being ranked, their longest streak since a ten week span during the 2006-07 season. The Hornets spent 22 weeks in the NABC Top 25 from 2003-08, getting as high as seventh in the nation on three different occasions.
CLOSERS
The Hornets have won 39 of their last 42 games when leading at the 5:00 minute mark of the second half.
GIVE ME 20
The 2023 season was the fourth time Emporia State won 20 games as a member of the NCAA and the 12th time in school history. The Hornets had not won 20 games in back to back years since reaching the 20 win mark in three straight seasons from 1987-90. ESU won at least 20 games in five out of six seasons from 1985-90. Emporia State has won at least ten games in conference play 12 times over the last 34 seasons.
LISTEN & WATCH LIVE
Audio of all Emporia State games are available on the Hornet Sports Network across Northeast Kansas and into Missouri. Flagship station KFFX 104.9FM is joined by SportsRadio 1490AM in Topeka and 103.7FM in Kansas City as the Voice of the Hornets Blake Cripps calls the action. Audio is also available on kvoe.com and the Audacy app. KFFX is in their 37th straight year as the radio home of Hornet Athletics, the longest active streak between a commercial station and an MIAA school.
Video webcasts for all of Emporia State's regular season games are available on a pay per view basis from the MIAA Digital Network. The MIAA Network content is available live and is immediately archived for on-demand viewing after each event. Fans can find the action on www.themiaanetwork.com and on The MIAA Network apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
ON THE COURT
The court at William L. White Auditorium was formally named Ron Slaymaker Court at half-time of the Hornets win over Washburn on Feb. 28, 2014 after the City of Emporia approved a proclamation at their Feb. 20, 2014 city commission meeting.
AND IN THE RAFTERS
•Dale Cushinberry (1966-69) - Cushinberry was an All-American for Emporia State and became the first Hornet with 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.
•Wilbur Reeser (1944-48) - Reeser was named an NAIB All-American and was the Hornets leading scorer as the won a conference championship in 1948.
•Ron Slaymaker (Player 1954-60, Coach 1970-98) - As a player Slaymaker was named All-Conference and All-American during the 1957-58 season. As a coach he won an ESU leading 462 games from 1970-98.
•Jim Fraley (1956-60) - Fraley was the school's all-time leading scorer (1,509) until Brian Robinson broke his record in 1985. He was named Second-team NAIA All-American.
•Doug Glaysher (1960-64) - Glaysher was named an All-American after leading the Hornets to the NAIA National Semi-finals in 1964. He graduated as the second leading scorer in ESU history.
•Brian Robinson (1984-86) - Robinson was named a first team All-American in both his junior and senior season. He is the ESU all-time leading scorer with 2,533 career points.
