February 3, 2024 – The Emporia State men came up short against Rogers State on Saturday, falling 83-76 on the road against the Hillcats.
In the opening minutes, the Hornets and Hillcats traded baskets with Emporia State holding an 11-9 lead heading into the first media timeout at the 13:28 mark of the first half.
Following the media timeout, an
Owen Long three gave Emporia State a 14-9 lead, the largest lead for either team in the first half. Rogers State closed the gap to tie the game 16-16 and after five lead changes the Hillcats took a 22-21 lead into the under ten timeout.
Both teams traded points after the timeout with Rogers State leading 26-24 with 7:35 remaining in the first half. The Hornets responded with a 7-2 scoring run, highlighted by seven straight points from
Cael McGee as Emporia State led 31-28 with 4:48 left in the first half.
The Hillcats outscored the Hornets 9-3 in the final 4:48 to take a 37-34 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half, Emporia State shot 12-30 from the floor and just 4-15 from three while Rogers State shot 16-30.
The Hornets scored six of the first eight points to open the second half, regaining a 40-39 lead before Rogers State put together a 10-2 scoring run, forcing an Emporia State timeout with 15:08 remaining.
Rogers State kept Emporia State at a distance over the next five minutes, holding a 58-49 lead with 10:32 left in the game. The Hornets responded with a 10-2 scoring run of their own, capped off by a
Kaden Evans pullup three to close the gap to 60-59.
Following his three pointer, Evans was assessed a technical which ended the scoring run and prompted a 9-2 scoring run by the Hillcats which pushed the Rogers State lead back to eight points.
The Hornets inched back as an alley-oop to
Darius Yohe and a three from
Cael McGee made the score 69-66 with 4:14 remaining. After a free throw from the Hillcats,
Owen Long made a pair of free throws and trimmed the deficit to 70-68 with 3:43 left in the game.
Emporia State was unable to close the gap any further, as Rogers State made all eight of their free throws in the final minutes as the Hornets fell on the road 83-76 against the Hillcats.
Owen Long scored a team-high 20 points on 5-9 from three and 3-4 from the free throw line.
Atavian Butler led three more Hornets in double figures with 17 points.
The Hornets return home for a matchup against Northwest Missouri on Wednesday, February 7. Game time from White Auditorium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
