It was a sweep for Emporia State basketball over Northeastern State on Saturday night at White Auditorium.
The #21 Emporia State men’s basketball team had three Hornets score at least 20 points in an 89-77 victory over the RiverHawks. The Hornets led for the duration of the first half and took a 42-37 lead into the break. NSU briefly led by one point in the second when ESU answered with a 9-1 run to take the lead for good. The run was keyed by Alijah Comithier as he led ESU with a season high 28 points. Solomon Oraegbu added 25 while Owen Long scored 21 with six rebounds and six assists. It was the first time three Hornets had scored at least 20 points since 1014. Associate head coach Evan Lavery said after the game that the Hornets are resilient.
Senior guard Drew Tennial left the game with a groin injury and did not play in the second half. Comithier said the team continues to come together to fight through adversity.
Emporia State moves to 9-1 on the year and 3-0 in conference play. The Hornets are 8-0 at home and won the program’s 1500th game while staying in first place in the MIAA.
In the women’s game, the Lady Hornets had to dig out of a 21-point hole, but ESU ended the game on a 24-3 run that spanned the last 11 minutes to stun the RiverHawks 63-57. The Lady Hornets trailed 40-32 at the break but won the fourth quarter 20-4. The comeback started with a 9-0 run out of halftime thanks to two 3-pointers by Faith Paramore and another by Gracie Gilpin. Paramore ended the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds. She talked about the team’s ability to believe it can come back from any deficit.
Not even head coach Brian Ostermann can explain the team’s comeback ability.
ESU improves to 5-3 with the win and moves to 3-0 in MIAA play. E-State is the only program through the second weekend that has no losses in conference play for either of its basketball teams. The Hornets return to action on Thursday traveling to take on Missouri Western in St. Joseph. The games will be played at the Civic Arena instead of the Griffons’ normal home at MWSU Fieldhouse. The women tip at 5:30 p.m. with the men to follow. Coverage begins with the RV Doc Pregame Show at 5:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9. Listen online at kvoe.com/listen or via the Audacy app.
