The #20 Emporia State men’s basketball team opened the game on a 13-0 run and never looked back in an 86-76 victory over Arkansas Tech at the MIAA-GAC Challenge at White Auditorium Friday evening. The Wonder Boys started the game scoreless over the first five and a half minutes of action and didn’t score their first field goal until nearly seven minutes had elapsed as ESU led 18-2 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half. Atavian Butler scored 14 first-half points and led ESU to a 43-26 lead at the break. The Hornets built the lead to as many as 22 in the second half before ATU closed to within seven with under two minutes to go, but the Hornets held on for the win. Atavian Butler scored a career-high 23 points for the Hornets while Alijah Comithier finished with 20, Solomon Oraegbu scored 16 and Owen Long tallied 12 points. Darius Yohe had a career-high five blocks in the game. Butler said his teammates and coaches have told him to play with confidence.
The men improve to 2-1 on the year with the win.
The Emporia State women’s basketball team lost in a roller coaster of a game to Henderson State in their season opener Friday afternoon. The Lady Hornets started the game ice cold and missed 13 of 14 shots in the first quarter but held the Reddies to just nine points in the frame to trail 9-5 after one. ESU trailed 24-14 with just under five minutes to go in the first half when they responded with an 18-2 run to lead by six before an HSU 3-pointer cut the deficit to three at the break. The Reddie offense hummed in the second half shooting 7-for-13 from the 3-point line and 12-for-15 from the foul stripe to put away the Lady Hornets. E-State struggled shooting just 5-for-23 from the arc in the game and just 5-for-17 overall in the fourth quarter. Queen Ulabo led the Lady Hornets with 15 points and 9 rebounds in her debut while Tylieea Wallace added 11 and Katie Horyna scored 10 with five assists. Head coach Brian Ostermann said the Lady Hornets allowed too many open shots.
The Lady Hornets fell to 0-1 after the loss. Both the ESU men and women return to action Saturday in the second day of the MIAA-GAC Challenge as the women play Harding and the men face Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tip-off is set or 1:15 p.m. for the women with the men to follow. Coverage begins with the RV Doc Pregame Show around 12:45 p.m. on Country 101.7. Michael Dieker will have the call.
