No Slowing Down
Hornets open season with blowout win over Ottawa, 105-69
By Jesse Newell
Thursday, November 16, 2006
After yelling, “One shot” twice with 15 seconds left in the first half, Emporia State coach David Moe stood frozen as Donta Watson rifled it to Scott Elliott, who dished it to Caleb Tegtmeier for a layup. Tegtmeier was fouled on the play, which took a whole 3.2 seconds off the clock.
Moe finally moved from his stance, unable to keep a smile from his face.
“That’s all right,” he said, shaking his head.
Not even the coach could slow down the Hornets’ offense on Wednesday night.
Aided by 57 percent shooting, ESU ran away from Ottawa University, taking a 105-69 victory in the season opener at White Auditorium.
“The offense is definitely in good shape,” ESU guard Donta Watson said. “We’re playing together, and we’re playing well.”
The biggest boost early came from a confident Jordan Fithian.
The 6-foot-6 junior — playing in his first regular-season game as a Hornet after transferring from Division-I Binghamton — hit a turnaround for the first two points, then followed Wes Book’s jumper with a layup and putback to give ESU an 8-2 lead.
“I went out and got a couple to fall,” Fithian said, “and they kept falling.”
In fact, they never stopped falling.
The junior started a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor, tying a school record for consecutive shots made to start the game.
His ninth attempt was the most dramatic. Though he didn’t know it was for the record, Fithian watched as his 18-foot shot bounced upwards after hitting the rim.
“I shot it and it felt good. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s in,”’ Fithian said. “It bounced around and bounced around, and I was like ‘Just fall for me. Fall for me.’”
The ball eventually did, hopping off the iron five times before going through to give Fithian the record.
The forward still wouldn’t take any credit for his strong shooting afterwards.
“I’ll call it luck until we do it over and over again,” Fithian said with a smile. “We’ll just leave it at that.”
Watson helped ESU to a comfortable lead in the second half.
After scoring 14 points in the first 20 minutes, the guard added a drive for two and then a three from the corner to cap an 11-0 run for the Hornets to start the second half. The consecutive baskets pushed the ESU advantage to 63-39.
Elliott added a key stretch later, scoring eight points in a four-minute span on his way to a career-high 10 points.
The most impressive two was his first, as he dodged defenders with a behind-the-back dribble in traffic, finishing with a lay-in off the glass.
His final points came with help from his teammate, as Wes Book dropped a pass on a backdoor cut for an easy layup.
“We played unselfish basketball. We’re a family out there on the floor,” Elliott said. “We always look to make the extra pass, and that really opens up guys.”
Watson led ESU with 21 points and nine assists. Fithian added 18 points, while DeAndre Townsend contributed 12.
All 13 Hornets scored in the victory.
“Everything went well tonight,” Fithian said, “except for the defense.”
That part of the game will be of extra concern over the next few days, as ESU prepares a trip to Tahlequah, Okla., to face Northeastern State on Saturday.
Moe remained confident that his bunch would make the necessary improvements.
“Everything we’ve struggled in — and we’ve gone back to work at — we’ve gotten better in,” Moe said. “That’s the best quality of this team.”