The distraction for the Emporia State men wasn’t talented Central Missouri, nor was it the excitement or pressure of playing for first place in the conference.
Instead, the biggest obstacle on Saturday became the officials — and the Hornet players themselves — in ESU’s 88-79 loss to No. 5 Central Missouri in the UCM Multipurpose Building.
“In the first half, we got caught up in complaining about every call,” ESU coach David Moe said. “That shouldn’t matter. Things were not going our way, but we’re used to that.”
ESU never adjusted to the closely called game, as starting forwards Caleb Tegtmeier and Jordan Fithian sat most of the first half after gaining three fouls each in the opening 8:42.
Fithian picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in the first 35 seconds of the second half, fouling out with 19:25 left.
“We didn’t handle the adversity of the whistle,” Moe said.
With Tegtmeier and Fithian combining for just 24 minutes, ESU was forced to use a smaller lineup against UCM.
And though conference-player-of-the-year candidate Zack Wright’s 27 points stole the show, it was post players Charles Stoker, Alonzo Brooks and Darryl Sommerset combining for 41 points and 21 free-throw attempts that made the difference.
“With Caleb and Fithian out, it makes it pretty tough because I’m the only bigger man in there,” said ESU forward Ed Desir, who logged 27 minutes. “It’s me against three other big men. It’s not that easy.”
Meanwhile, ESU — normally a strong second half team — had difficulties jump-starting the offense late against Central’s zone.
Though the Hornets trailed just 44-42 at half, they never gained a lead in the final 20 minutes after having problems adjusting their motion offense to the defensive set.
“We got in a habit of standing around. That zone kind of drained us out of our enthusiasm and energy,” ESU guard Donta Watson said. “As players, we’ve got to keep that energy pumping. That’s when we’ve got to be more active and have more energy.”
With the help of six consecutive points from DeAndre Townsend, ESU cut the UCM lead to 68-65 with 7:43 left.
It would be as close as the Hornets would come.
A turning point came with 5:15 remaining, when an apparent charge on Brooks was ruled a blocking foul on Wes Book.
“That kind of put them on a run,” Moe said, “and us in a hole.”
The forward hit both free throws, starting a 6-0 spurt that pushed the advantage back to 78-67 with 4:17 left.
A Townsend three made it 80-76 with 1:25 remaining, but Wright responded on the other end with a 6-foot fadeaway that pushed the lead back to six.
The Mules made all six of their free throws after that point.
Watson led ESU with 21 points, making 5 of his 8 three-point attempts. He was limited to seven points in the second half.
Townsend added 20 points and six assists, while Desir contributed eight points and 10 rebounds as the only ESU inside presence for most of the game.
“It’s my back against the wall. With adrenaline buildup, you do whatever you have to do to win,” Desir said. “When you’re scared, you can sometimes do the impossible. I tried to get every rebound I could to help the team win.”
ESU actually overcame a slow start, trailing 9-0 before even getting a shot up. The Hornets turned the ball over on their first five possessions.
A 12-2 run gave the Hornets a 12-11 lead just 2 minutes, 45 seconds later.
Central took advantage of its opportunities at the free-throw line, making 28 of its 38 attempts (74 percent).
Meanwhile, ESU had just 23 shots from the charity stripe.
So far this season, the Hornets are 19-0 when shooting more free throws than their opponents and 0-3 when shooting fewer free throws.
ESU had 27 total fouls compared to Central’s 19.
Saturday at Warrensburg, Mo.
UCM Multipurpose Building
No. 15 Emporia State 42 37 — 79
No. 5 Central Missouri 44 44 — 88
EMPORIA STATE (19-3, 10-3 MIAA)
Watson 5-14 6-7 21; Townsend 7-15 4-6 20; Tegtmeier 4-5 5-5 13; Desir 4-6 0-1 8; Book 3-12 2-4 8; Andrews 2-4 0-0 5; Fithian 1-3 0-0 2; Elliott 1-5 0-0 2; Davison 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-65 17-23 79.
CENTRAL MISSOURI (20-2, 11-2 MIAA)
Wright 9-18 9-11 27; Brooks 4-10 7-8 15; Sommerset 4-7 5-9 14; Stoker, 4-5 4-4 12; Williams 3-8 2-2 9; Jones 3-5 1-2 9; Dudley 1-5 0-2 2; Taylor 0-1 0-0 0; Wollbrinck 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 28-38 88.
3-point goals — Emporia State 8-23 (Watson 5-8; Townsend 2-7; Andrews 1-3; Book 0-4; Tegtmeier 0-1), Central Missouri 4-16 (Jones 2-4; Williams 1-5; Sommerset 1-2; Dudley 0-3; Wright 0-2). Fouled out — Emporia State: Fithian; Watson. Central Missouri: Jones. Rebounds — Emporia State 41 (Desir 10), Central Missouri 35 (Wright 8). Assists — Emporia State 16 (Townsend 6), Central Missouri 15 (Wright 6). Total fouls — Emporia State 27, Central Missouri 19. Att — 6147.