February 1, 2024 – The Emporia State men defeated Northeastern State 73-65 on Thursday night from Tahlequah, Okla. while four Hornets scored in double figures.
Emporia State opened the game with baskets from
Darius Yohe and
Alijah Comithier which forced a timeout from the Riverhawks just 90 seconds into the game. Northeastern State was able to tie the score 5-5 at the 17:44 mark before the Hornets put together a 10-0 scoring run over the next three minutes to take a 15-5 lead.
The Riverhawks responded with a 15-3 scoring run as the hosts took a 20-18 lead over the Hornets with 7:23 remaining in the first half. Over the final seven minutes, Northeastern State outscored the Hornets by two as Emporia State trailed 36-32 entering the halftime break.
In the first half, Emporia State shot 12-30 while the Riverhawks shot 56.5%. The Hornets were also outrebounded 18-11 but were able to force 10 Northeastern State turnovers.
Following the halftime break, the Riverhawks scored the opening basket before an 11-0 scoring run from Emporia State put the Hornets ahead 43-37 with 15:48 remaining in the game. The largest lead of the game for Emporia State came following an
Alijah Comithier free throw with 12:12 remaining as the Hornets led 51-41.
Northeastern State made one final push with a 10-2 scoring as the Riverhawks trimmed the Hornet lead to 53-51.
With the Hornets holding on to a 59-57 lead at the final media timeout with 4:16 remaining, Emporia State put together an 11-4 scoring run capped off by two Comithier free throws with 48 seconds remaining.
The Hornets closed out the Riverhawks in the final minute as they clinched a 73-65 road win on Thursday night.
Alijah Comithier led all scorers with 23 points while adding eight rebounds.
Atavian Butler scored 16 points on 7-12 shooting while
Kaden Evans and
Owen Long scored 15 and 13 points respectively.
Emporia State will wrap up their road trip on Saturday, February 3 against Rogers State. Game time is scheduled for 4
:00 p.m. from Claremore, Okla.
