The only thing keeping DeAndre Townsend from a triple-double Tuesday night wasn’t his 5-foot-8 stature.
Instead, it was his teammate.
Knowing he needed just two rebounds for the elusive triple-double, the Emporia State point guard skied for a carom with four minutes to go in a 113-87 victory over Baker.
After touching the ball high in the air, the junior had it wrestled away from him — by ESU forward Doug Moore.
“Our big man, it was a freshman,” Townsend said with a smile. “He just got in the game and didn’t want the coach to yell at him, so he had to take it.”
It was one of the only things that went wrong for ESU against Baker Tuesday night.
The run-and-gun Hornets couldn’t be stopped on offense, rolling up 62 points in the first half on their way to the 26-point victory.
“It’s the kind of game we like,” ESU guard Wes Book said. “Coach (David) Moe — that’s his style. We don’t get teams that want to run with us a whole lot. If they want to run with us, we’re going to welcome it in.”
ESU embraced the frenzied pace early, scoring nearly at will in the first half.
The Hornets made 8 of 14 threes, 18 of 21 free throws and 18 of 35 shots from the field on their way to a 62-47 halftime lead.
Jordan Fithian added to the offensive display with some magic of his own. After grabbing a steal with 2:55 remaining in the half, he ran to the other end and got fouled hard by Marc Roberts on the way up for a shot.
While drawing the contact, Fithian threw up an off-balanced heave with his left hand, simply trying to get the ball onto the glass. The prayer bounced high off the backboard, landing on the rim twice before falling through.
The play brought on a fist pump along with three chest bumps, as ESU took its largest lead of the game at 57-37.
“It was pretty nice — maybe Top 10,” Book said. “It may be Top 10 on ESPN tonight.”
The teams didn’t let up on their fast-paced style in the second half, with the Hornets hitting the 100-point mark on a Adam Holthaus jumper with 6:45 remaining in the game.
With ESU holding a comfortable 29-point advantage, the focus turned to Townsend, who stood at 13 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds with five minutes remaining.
Though he nearly outjumped his 6-foot-7 teammate one minute later, the 5-8 Townsend failed to pull down that rebound or any others, getting replaced before he could complete the feat.
The junior still ended his night with 13 points, 11 assists and a game-high eight rebounds.
“I love contact. I always have. I always will,” Townsend said. “I can’t change my height. Running in there among the giants is always just a blessing for me.”
“He doesn’t really play 5-8 if you watch him,” Moe said. “He’s a little guy that plays a lot bigger than that.”
Donta Watson finished with a team-high 25 points, making 7 of his 11 attempts from three-point range. Book added 22, with 14 of those coming in his 13 first-half minutes.
Andrew Davison contributed 15 points, ending his night a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Ed Desir and Caleb Tegtmeier chipped in with 13 apiece.
Along with the Lady Hornets’ 105-61 victory over Missouri Valley, the Hornets helped make some history with their century-topping performance.
It was the first time since Nov. 23, 1999, that both ESU teams have scored more than 100 points on the same night in White Auditorium. Then, the Lady Hornets defeated Saint Mary (Kan.) 103-33 and the Hornets defeated Central Christian 116-63.
ESU (3-0) will have a rematch with Northeastern State at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Greg Rahe Voice of the Hornets Classic at White Auditorium. The Hornets defeated Northeastern, 75-70, in Tahlequah, Okla., on Saturday.