Nebraska Kearney spoiled Sunday afternoon for the Emporia State basketball teams. Nebraska Kearney defeated the Lady Hornets 64-62 and out scored the Hornets 59-53.
Emporia State women had a horrible start trailing 22-7 after the first quarter. The Lady Hornets trailed 34-15 at halftime. Emporia State chipped away at the deficit in the 3rd quarter and trailed 50-35 going to the 4th quarter. Emporia State went on a 14-0 run to cut the deficit to 1. They would take their only lead with 2:42 to play on two free throws by Tyra Jones. Kearney would answer with a 7-0 run to take 6 point lead and Emporia State would never retake the lead. Coach Toby Wynn after the game could not explain the first half.
Tyra Jones finished with her 6th double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Emily Miller added 15 points and Tiana Moala scored 10 points. The Lady Hornets fall to 12-5 for the season and 3-4 in the MIAA.
The Emporia State men held the lead for over 31 minutes of the game. They took a 46-35 lead with 7:11 to play. The Hornets would go scoreless for the next 6 plus minutes of play. Kearney would go on a 16-0 run to take a 5 point lead. In the final 38 seconds Emporia State could get no closer than 3 points. Coach Craig Doty said the whole game was a struggle.
Malik Hluchoweckyj led Emporia State in scoring with 16 points. Justin Washington added 11 points. The Emporia State men fall to 7-9 for the season and 2-5 in the MIAA.
Both the women and men play at Pittsburg State Wednesday.
