The Emporia State basketball teams suffered a sweep at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kan. on Saturday afternoon.
In the women’s game, ESU jumped out to a 14-2 lead early but couldn’t hold on falling 72-63 to the #19 Tigers. Emporia State torched the nets for a season-high 13 3-pointers in the game and blitzed out to a 21-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Tigers outscored the Lady Hornets 20-6 in the second to lead 31-27 at halftime. Both teams scored well in the third quarter as FHSU build their lead to 53-47 after three. A Macy Smith three-pointer bounced off late that would have cut the deficit to two, and Fort Hays State never led by fewer than three possessions the rest of the way. Head coach Brian Ostermann loved the fight of his team.
Gracie Gilpin and Faith Paramore led ESU with 18 points. The 18 points was a career high for Gilpin with all of her points coming on 6-for-12 3-point shooting while Paramore grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double. ESU drops to 9-10 overall and 6-7 in the MIAA after the loss.
In the men’s game, the Hornet men lost 67-62 to the Tigers in a back and forth battle. ESU fell behind 11-2 to start the game but pushed back to take a one-point lead to the intermission. ESU used a 12-2 run that spanned halftime to take the lead, but FHSU answered back with a 6-1 run of their own. Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. A late shot was banked in by R. J. Crawford near the end of the shot clock to put the Tigers up five late that was called good on the floor and upheld after video review. The Hornets cut it to three after an Alijah Comithier free throw and then made a defensive stop but couldn’t get a shot off on their second-to-last possession of the game as FHSU forced a turnover. The Tigers’ Bjardni Jonsson made both free throws to ice the game with under six seconds to play. Head coach Craig Doty said late missed rebounds hurt the Hornets.
Comithier led ESU with 21 points while Owen Long and Atavian Butler each added 12. ESU falls to 13-8, 6-7 in the MIAA and returns to the road Thursday to face Northeastern State. Coverage begins at 5:00 p.m. with the RV Doc Pregame Show. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. on Mix 104.9. Listen online at KVOE.com/listen or via the Audacy app.
