Donta Watson knew that there would be days like this.
They just weren’t supposed to ruin his final home game.
Coming into the game 172nd in the nation with 5.96 3-pointers per game, Truman scorched the nets against No. 23 Emporia State Wednesday night, making 12 threes in an 88-78 upset over the Hornets.
“Tonight, we just lost to a team that was hitting a lot of shots. They really couldn’t miss,” Watson said. “You’re going to have games like that.
“Unfortunately for us, it was on Senior Night.”
The Bulldogs hit 12 of 25 long-range shots overall (48 percent) after entering the game ranked fourth in the conference with a 36-percent success rate from three-point range. Nick Certa drained 7 of his 9 shots from beyond the arc.
“The basket was like an ocean for them tonight,” Watson said.
The Hornets trailed in the two teams’ first matchup by 10 points before rallying for the victory, but there was no magic Wednesight, as ESU couldn’t pull any closer than four in the second half.
“I thought we tried to give it a fight back,” ESU guard DeAndre Townsend said. “We just couldn’t hit shots.”
In the first half, Townsend was nearly the only one hitting shots for the Hornets. He made 6 of 7 field-goal attempts and had 15 of his team’s 34 points at the break.
“I’m not one to point fingers,” Townsend said. “As a teammate, the fellas just weren’t on tonight, but there’s always another game.”
Truman’s combination of tough defense and slow-it-down offense proved to be more than ESU could overcome after the Bulldogs took a 41-34 halftime lead.
Not only did TSU take time off the clock with each possession, it also scored on a majority of those opportunities.
The Bulldogs made 14 of 27 (51 percent) shots in the second half and also went 5-for-9 (56 percent) from the three-point line.
“We played good defense for 30 seconds, and in the last 5 seconds they were hitting threes,” Watson said. “Whether there was a hand in their face or not, they hit shots tonight. I don’t think it was our defense tonight as much as it was their hot shooting.”
The Hornets’ frustrations seemed to be summed up in a 24-second span late in the second half.
After the Bulldogs broke the Hornets’ press with 4:04 remaining in the game, Certa launched a quick 3-pointer from the left side that fell through the net to push the TSU lead to 69-55.
ESU’s Andrew Davison responded at the other end, nailing a three from the top of the circle with 3:49 left to cut the deficit back to 11.
It wouldn’t take long for Truman to get those points back. The Bulldogs rushed up the court, finding Certa in the same spot as he hit a second consecutive 3-pointer to make it 72-58 with 3:40 remaining.
“They made big shots and played terrific on offense,” ESU coach David Moe said. “They came out and beat us.”
Davison hit another three with 42 seconds left to cut the lead to 82-75, but ESU would get no closer.
Townsend led ESU, tying his season-high with 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting. The junior also had six assists and just one turnover.
Watson added 12 points after getting hot late, as nine of his points came in the final 95 seconds of the game.
Though he came in leading the MIAA in scoring at 19.6 points per game, Watson was held scoreless in the first half after going 0-for-4 from the field.
“This is the toughest defense I’ve faced all year,” Watson said.
Scott Elliott contributed six points on his Senior Night, while Ed Desir did not even attempt a shot in 24 minutes of gametime.
Moe said the loss didn’t overshadow the contributions his seniors had made all season.
“Attitude, personality, who they are as people ... they’re the kind of guys you want to represent your program,” Moe said.
Certa paced Truman with 25 points.
ESU will travel to Southwest Baptist on Saturday. The game will have added significance for the Hornets, as they are ranked No. 6 in the latest South Central regional rankings.
Typically, after the automatic berths are given out to the conference tournament champions, the top six or seven teams from the regional rankings make it to the NCAA Tournament.
TRUMAN men 88, EMPORIA STATE 78
Truman 41 47 — 88
No. 23 Emporia State 34 44 — 78
TRUMAN (15-10, 9-8 MIAA)
Certa 9-13 0-0 25; Estridge 3-8 8-10 15; Agbo 3-7 7-8 13; Calmes 6-9 0-0 13; Kern 4-5 0-0 10; Kirby 2-11 5-6 10; Grimm 1-1 0-0 2; Landau 0-0 0-0 0; Fandja 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 20-24 88.
EMPORIA STATE (21-5, 12-5)
Townsend 11-15 6-8 30; Watson 4-12 0-0 12; Davison 3-5 0-0 8; Tegtmeier 3-7 2-2 8; Fithian 3-4 1-3 7; Book 3-9 1-1 7; Elliott 3-5 0-0 6; Andrews 0-2 0-0 0; Desir 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-59 10-14 78.
3-point goals — Truman 12-25 (Certa 7-9; Kern 2-3; Calmes 1-1; Kirby 1-8; Estridge 1-3; Fandja 0-1); Emporia State 8-22 (Watson 4-8; Davison 2-4; Townsend 2-3; Book 0-5; Andrews 0-2). Fouled out — Truman: None; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Truman 26 (Calmes 8); Emporia State 33 (Book 6; Desir 6). Assists — Truman 19 (Calmes 7); Emporia State 12 (Townsend 6). Total fouls — Truman 19, Emporia State 19. Att — 2369.