Men's Basketball | 12/6/2024 1:35:00 PM
GAME 9
Emporia State (2-6, 0-1 MIAA) at Missouri Western (8-1, 1-0 MIAA)
Saturday, Dec. 5 • 7:30 p.m. • St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse
Series Record: MWSU leads 49-36 •
Last Meeting: at ESU 70, MWSU 56 (2/10/2024)
Radio: Hornet Sports Network KFFX-FM (104.9)/1490AM Topeka/103.7FM Kansas City
Internet Audio:
kvoe.com |
Television: None |
Internet Video:
The MIAA Network
Live Stats |
Ticket Info |
Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Sterling • Tuesday, Dec. 17 • 7:30 p.m. Emporia, Kan. • Slaymaker Court/White Auditorium
RETURN TO ST. JOE
Emporia State makes a return trip to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on Missouri Western in MIAA play.
LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State was held to just 17.6% shooting from the three-point line in a 65-54 loss to Northwest Missouri. The Hornets jumped out to a 9-3 lead 4:26 into the game. The Bearcats then went on a 14-2 run to take a 17-11 lead with 10:25 left in the half. NWMSU led 60-46 when
Arhman Lewis went on a personal 8-0 run to get the Hornets within 60-54 with 3:21 left. ESU had three chances to cut the lead before Northwest closed the game going five of six from the free throw line in the final 1:03 to make the final score 65-54.
Brayson Laube scored 17 points and four steals and was joined in double figures by
Arhman Lewis with 16 points while
Karyiek Dixon scored 15 with a team high nine rebounds.
ABOUT THE COACHES
Tom Billeter is 492-281 in his 27th season as a head coach and is 2-6 in his first season at Emporia State after going 393-224 in 21 years at Augustana. With the Vikings he won the 2016 National Championship, went to nine NCAA Tournaments, won three regular season NSIC Championships, two NSIC Tournament Championships, and 18 consecutive winnings seasons since 2007. He went 0-2 against Missouri Western while at Augustana.
Will Martin is 67-58 in his fifth year at Missouri Western. He is 5-3 against Emporia State.
UP NEXT
The Hornets play host to Sterling on December 17. Tip-off from White Auditorium is set for 7:30 p.m.
ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 2-6, 0-1 in the MIAA. All six of their losses are to teams that were ranked or received votes in the first two NABC National Polls. Six players are averaging over 6.0 points per game led by Malik Edwards at 14.4 and
Brayson Laube at 13.6 points per game.
Arhman Lewis is averaging 3.7 assists per game. Don Coats is averaging a team best 7.2 rebounds per game. As a team the Hornets are fourth in the MIAA in offensive rebounding.
ABOUT THE GRIFFONS
Missouri Western is 8-1, 1-0 in the MIAA and receiving votes in this week's NABC National Poll. They have won their last four games by a total of 11 points. Four Griffons are averaging in double figures led by Zane Nelson at 16.8 points pet game to rank fourth in the MIAA. They are fifth in the Association in scoring defense at 67.6 points per game.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 86th meeting with Missouri Western holding a 49-36 overall advantage.
LAST TIME VS MISSOURI WESTERN
Emporia State had just two turnovers and blocked eight shots in a 70-56 win over Missouri Western in White Auditorium.
Drew Tennial, who was playing in just his second game since returning from a groin injury, scored the first eight points of the game for Emporia State as they took an 8-6 lead with 15:30 left in the half. Emporia State had three different people score The Griffons scored with 2:40 left to get within 27-22. It would be the last bucket of the half for Western as ESU scored the final eight points of the half to go to the locker room up 35-22. The Hornets scored the first four points of the second half to take control of the contest with a 39-22 lead at the 19:09 mark. The Griffons would not get closer than ten points the rest of the game.
Atavian Butler scored 23 points to lead three Hornets in double figures.
Drew Tennial had an ESU career high 15 points and
Alijah Comithier added 12 points.
Darius Yohe blocked six shot and pulled eight rebounds.
1500 AND COUNTING
The Hornets have won 1,512 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. Overall in non-conference action the NSIC is 61-39, the MIAA is 56-42 and the GAC is 39-30. This year the MIAA is 16-24 against the region with a 10-12 record against the NSIC and a 6-12 mark against the GAC.
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 53-36 in MIAA play with a 74-46 overall record.
FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Hornets have won 20 of their last 24 (.833) games in White Auditorium. The 14 wins last year are the most home wins by the Hornets since they went 14-3 in 2006-07. They are 436-202 (.683) since 1979 in White Auditorium. Emporia State has won 37 of their last 47 (.787) games since the start of the 2021-22 season and 220 of their last 317 games (.694) 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
There is one MIAA team in the Top 25 and two more receiving votes in the this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Poll. Emporia State has received votes in seven NABC National Polls last season and were in the Top 25 the first five weeks of the season. 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 40 of their last 43 games when leading at the 5:00 minute mark of the second half. They are 2-1 under Coach Billeter.
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.
The MIAA has entered into an agreement with Scripps Media and their independent television station KMCI, serving the Kansas City metropolitan area on 38 The Spot, to continue its MIAA TV Game of the Week broadcasts throughout the 2025 NCAA Division II basketball season. Beginning with Turnpike Tussle January 4 in White Auditorium, 38 The Spot will broadcast NCAA Division II men's and women's basketball games from nine different MIAA campuses in January and February. The broadcast schedule will wrap up with the live broadcast of the MIAA men's and women's championship games from the 2025 basketball tournament at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City on March 9.
