November 13, 2026 - The Emporia State men came away with a 78-69 win over (RV) Minnesota Duluth in the Hillyard Tipoff Classic from the MWSU Fieldhouse on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both offenses started slow over the first eight minutes, as both sides made just four field goals in the early going. Despite the slow start, the lead changed hands on four occasions with the Bulldogs leading 10-9 at the 12:08 mark. Over the next six minutes, the Hornets outscored UMD 18-10 which included eight points by Jack Weigus and six from Chris Harris to build a 27-20 lead.
The two sides went back-and-forth over the next five-plus minutes of the first half, as Emporia State took a 36-28 advantage into the halftime break.Â
Emporia State shot 46.9 percent in the first 20 minutes, while holding the Bulldogs to just 9-23 shooting. 21 of the 36 first-half points for the Hornets came off of 12 UMD turnovers.
Following the break, Minnesota Duluth cut the Emporia State lead to four points on three occasions, with the latest coming at the 13:03 mark to cut the Hornet advantage to 48-44. The Hornets withstood multiple pushes by the Bulldogs, and minutes later with ESU leading 52-47 at the media timeout with 9:50 left, Emporia State finally put together a pivotal scoring run.Â
After the timeout, the Hornets scored ten straight points on their way to a 15-point lead as UMD was forced to take a timeout. Emporia State's lead dropped down to 11 points with just under five minutes to play, before a quick 8-2 run gave the Hornets a 75-48 lead, their largest of the night with just 2:53 remaining.Â
The Bulldogs quickly scored eight straight points to close the gap back to double digits, but Emporia State was able to stop the momentum there, eventually closing out the win 78-69.Â
A LOOK AT THE STATS
Emporia State shot 52.6 percent from the floor, 41.2 percent (7-17) from three on the night. The Hornets forced 14 Bulldog turnovers and outscored UMD 21-13 in points off turnovers.
Chris Harris led all scorers with 26 points and led the Hornets while adding a team-high seven rebounds. Jack Weighs also added 22 points on 7-9 shooting, including 4-5 from three. Karlis Vavers was the third Hornet in double figures with 12 points.
UP NEXT
Emporia State will take on Bemidji State in day two of the Hillyard Tipoff Classic on Saturday, November 14. Tipoff between the Hornets and Beavers is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. from the MWSU Fieldhouse.
