Men's Basketball | 11/12/2026 9:00:00 AM

GAME 1
Emporia State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) vs. Minn.-Duluth (1-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Friday, November 13 • 5:00 p.m. • St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse
Series Record: UMD leads 2-1 • Last Meeting: UMD 84, ESU 79 (3/12/2023 - NCAA Maryville, Mo.)
GAME 2
Emporia State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) vs. Bemidji State (0-0, 0-0 NSIC)
Saturday, November 14 • 2:00 p.m. • St. Joseph, Mo. • MWSU Fieldhouse
Series Record: Series tied 1-1 • Last Meeting: ESU 79, BSU 64 (12/29/1995 - Springfield, Mo.)
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM (Friday) & KVOE 1400AM/96.9FM (Saturday)
Internet Audio: kvoe.com | Television: None | Internet Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats | Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Kansas Christian • 2:00 p.m. • November 17 • Emporia, Kan. • WL White Auditorium

TIME TO GO 
Emporia State opens up their 123rd season of men's basketball at the Hillyard Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. The season opener will be against Minn.-Duluth on Friday followed by a contest with Bemidji State on Saturday. It is the third straight year the Hornets have opened the season in St. Joseph.  

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 9-19, 5-14 in the MIAA and played the ninth toughest schedule in the country. The Hornets brought in seven freshmen to go with eight returners. They return for of their top five scorers from last year in Chris Harris, Treyvon Taylor, Dallas Bear and Jack Weigus. They were slated for 12th in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll and 13th in the Coaches Poll. 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Minn.-Duluth went 23-12, 13-9 in the NSIC and advanced to the Central Regional Championship game before falling to Oklahoma Baptist in Topeka. Caleb Siwek was the NSIC North Division Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 15.6 points per game last season. The Bulldogs were picked to win the North Division and finish third overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Bemidji State is 9-18, 6-16 in the NSIC last season. John Pecarich averaged 20.7 points per game last season. The Beavers were projected to finish fourth in the NSIC North Division and ninth overall in the NSIC Preseason Coaches Poll

ABOUT THE COACHES
Tom Billeter is 510-311 in his 28th season as a head coach and is 20-37 in his second season at Emporia State after going 394-224 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 Tourney Championships, and 18 consecutive winning seasons. This is his first meeting with UMD at ESU  and he went 17-13 against the Bulldogs while at Augie. This is his first meeting with Bemidji State at ESU and he was 17-7 against the Beavers while at Augie and 3-0 while coaching at North Dakota State.
Justin Wieck is 166-70 in his ninth year at Minn.-Duluth and 198-101 in his 11th year overall. He is 1-0 against Emporia State.
Mike Boschee is 176-230 in his 15th year at Bemidji State and 291-345 in his 24th year overall. He is 1-0 against Emporia State.

SERIES HISTORIES
This is the fourth meeting between Emporia State and Minn.-Duluth with the Bulldogs leading 2-1. This is the first meeting since the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Maryville, Mo.
This is the third meeting between Emporia State and Bemidji State, with each team having one win. It is the first meeting between the two since  1995

LAST TIME VS MINN.-DULUTH
Emporia State scored 22 points in the final four minutes but Minnesota – Duluth did just enough to hang on as the Hornets saw their season come to an end with an 84-79 loss in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Maryville, Mo.  Owen Long hit a three-pointer with 5:20 left in the first half to give the Hornets a 26-16 lead. The Bulldogs scored 13 of the next 16 points to tie the game at 29 with 2:29 left in the period.  The two teams traded scores the remainder of the half and Charlie Katona got a tip in at the buzzer to send the teams to the lockerrooms tied at 36.
Minn.-Duluth used a 13-3 run to go up 64-53 with 7:30 left in the game.  The deficit reached 15 with 4:13 left when Emporia State began their final push.  Kaden Evans scored inside and Alijah Comithier hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to ten. Long connected on a step back followed by a driving layup followed by a three-pointer to get the Hornets within seven at 76-69 with 1:10 left. Peyton Rogers-Schmidt grabbed and offensive rebound, dunked and got fouled with 29.6 seconds left to pull the Hornets within 80-76.  The Bulldogs hit four of six free throws in the final 27.1 seconds to secure the win and advance to the Central Regional Championship game. 
Emporia State was led by Owen Long with 25 points including five three-pointers.  Peyton Rogers-Schmidt had 12 points and a career high 13 rebounds while Alijah Comithier added 17 points and Atavian Butler had 12 points.

LAST TIME VS BEMIDJI STATE
Emporia State got 20 points, seven assists and four steals from Lamont Bunton while Chris Henry had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds in a 79-64 win over Bemidji State at the Drury Invitational on December 29, 1995. Mitch Sharon added ten points and five assists while Scott Harkess had 12 points on five of seven shooting with eight rebounds. Rob Layton gave Emporia State five players in double figures, finishing with ten points.

UP NEXT
The Hornets open a four game home stand on Tuesday, November 17 against Kansas Christian College. Tip-off for the Education Day game at White Auditorium is set for 2:00 p.m.

Complete Notes available here

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