Men's Basketball | 2/4/2026 3:30:00 PM

GAME 22
Emporia State (7-14, 3-9 MIAA) vs Pittsburg State (12-8, 6-4 MIAA)
Thursday, February 5 • 7:30 p.m. • Emporia, Kan. • White Auditorium
Series Record: ESU leads 105-98 • Last Meeting: PSU 85, at ESU 79 (Feb. 6, 2026)
Radio: KFFX 104.9FM | Internet Audio: kvoe.com
Television: None | Internet Video: The MIAA Network
Live Stats | Ticket Info | Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: vs. Missouri Southern • 3:30 p.m. • February 7 • Emporia, Kan. • White Auditorium

HOME SWEET HOME 
Emporia State returns to the friendly confines of White Auditorium to take on Pittsburg State after a four game road trip.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 7-14, 3-9 in the MIAA and have played the third toughest schedule in the country. Chris Harris leads the Hornets at 13.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Four of their losses have been by five points or less. 

ABOUT THE GORILLAS
Pitt State is 12-8, 6-4 in the MIAA. Mason English leads the MIAA and is tenth in the nation in assists per game. Connor Rogers is third in the MIAA in scoring at 20.0 points per game.

ABOUT THE COACHES
Tom Billeter is 508-306 in his 28th season as a head coach and is 18-32 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.  He is 1-1 against Pitt State overall after going 1-0 at Augie.
Jeff Boschee is 59-51 in his fourth season at Pittsburg State and 220-137 in his 12th year overall. He is 3-2 against Emporia State at Pitt State and 11-4 in his career.

SERIES HISTORY WITH THE GORILLAS
This will be the 204th meeting between the two teams with Emporia State holding a 105-98 overall advantage. 

LAST TIME VS PITTSBURG STATE
It was a tale of two halves as Emporia State led early before Pittsburg State mounted a second half comeback in an 85-79 Gorilla win in Pittsburg, Kan.
The Hornets scored the first nine points of the game and a Parker Day three-pointer at the 9:01 mark gave Emporia State their biggest lead of the night at 30-14.  The Gorillas then went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 30-24. Pitt State scored the final five points including a near buzzer beating three from Jordan Frison to make it 34-29 at the break. The Hornets held the Gorillas, who entered the game leading the league in made three pointers to just one of ten from beyond the arc in the first half and just 38.2% shooting from the field overall.  
R.J. Forney tied the game at 36 with a three-pointer at the 18:21 mark.  There would be four ties and 11 lead changes over the next eight and a half minutes.  Day hit two free throws with 10:07 left to give the Hornets a 54-53 lead.  The Gorillas answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good.  Emporia State went on a 9-1 run to make it a two-possession game at 77-71 with 2:29 left. Devin Conley scored off a Gorilla turnover wth 27.0 seconds left to make it 82-77 but Pitt State hit three of four free throws in the final 22.1 to seal the win. The Gorillas shot 69% from the field and 50% from the three-point arc in the second half.
Karyiek Dixon led Emporia State with a career high 29 points on ten of 17 shooting with five rebounds and three steals.  Chris Harris was the only other Hornet in double figures with 14 points and a team high seven rebounds but all eight players that were available scored at least three points. 

LAST TIME OUT
Emporia State cut a 13 point lead down to two but could not get over the hump in a 70-64 loss at Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla.
The Hornets trailed 7-6 with 15:32 left in the opening half when the Bronchos went on an 11-2 run to take an 18-8 lead with 12:56 remaining in the period.  Andrew Pengel hit two free throws with 4:40 left to get Emporia State within 25-20.  UCO closed the half on a 12-4 run to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room.
A 10-0 run that saw five different Hornets score got ESU within 49-46 with 9:58 left. A Matthew Willenborg three-pointer gave the Bronchos a 53-48 lead but Justin Mack answered with a three of his own to make it 53-51 with 6:50 remaining. The Hornets got a defensive stop but could convert on the offensive end. Josh Nwankwo then went on a personal 6-0 run to push the lead back to 59-51 with 4:38 remaining. Dallas Bear hit a three with 3:53 left to pull the Hornets within 61-57. The Bronchos hit five of eight free throws in the final 1:18 to hold on for the 70-64 victory.
 Chris Harris had17 points and ten rebounds for his second double-double of the year. He was joined in double figures by Andrew Pengel with ten points, all in the first 16 minutes of the game. Dallas Bear and Elijah Wilhelm each had nine points and five rebounds.
Emporia State was seven of 14 from the free throw line in the second half after going six of seven from the line in the first half. 

UP NEXT
The Hornets play host to Missouri Southern on Saturday. Tip-off from White Auditorium is at 3:30 p.m.

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