Hornets fall late to Wayne State on Friday morning in St. Joseph

November 8, 2024-Emporia State led for over 30 minutes but Wayne State got a bucket from Sean Stokes with 4.1 seconds left as the Wildcats came away with a 67-66 win in game one of the Hillyard Classic in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
The Hornets used an 8-3 run to take a 13-7 lead with 13:57 left on a pair of Cael McGee free throws.  The Wildcats would tie the score three times before Emporia State ended the half on a 10-4 run to take a 36-29 lead into the half.
 
Wayne State used an 11-3 run to start the second half and took their first lead at 40-39 with 16:15 left in the game. The Wildcats took their biggest lead at 45-41 with 14:21 left before the Hornets answered with a 9-0 run of their own. The run started with a free throw from Karyiek Dixon before Justin Mack scored five straight on two free throws and a three-pointer.  McGee capped the run with a three following a Dallas Bear offensive rebound to give Emporia State a 50-45 lead with 11:39 left. Arhman Lewis hit a driving layup and Malik Edwards hit two free throws around the under ten media timeout to give Emporia State their biggest lead at 57-50 with 9:09 left.
 
The Wildcats used a 12-4 run to back in front at 62-61 on a layup by Cody McCullough with 4:20 remaining. Brayson Laube tied the game with a free throw at the 4:09 mark and Edwards hit two with 2:32 left to give the Hornets a 64-62 lead. After two from the charity stripe by JJ Ferrin pulled Wayne State back into a tie, Edwards scored on a jumper from just outside the paint to put the Hornets up 66-64 with 1:44 left.
 
McCullough hit one of two free throws with 1:29 left to make it 66-65. After a missed layup on the offensive end, Emporia State got two blocks on defense, from Parker Day and Donald Coats III.  Coats pulled the rebound after his block and was fouled but could not convert the free throws with 22.5 seconds left.  Stokes scored with 4.1 seconds left to put the Wildcats up 67-66.  Emporia State got a last second shot from Edwards that was just off as Wayne State survived.
 
Brayson Laube led Emporia State with 13 points and was joined in double figures by Malik Edwards with 12 points as 11 Hornets scored in the game.  Donald Coats III led all rebounders with ten boards and added two blocks for the Hornets. Arhman Lewis added nine points and five assists.
 
Emporia State will be back in action on Sunday, November 10 when they take on Northern State. Tip-off from the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph, Mo. is set for 12:00 p.m.