After missing a pair of crucial free throws with 30 seconds remaining, Andrew Davison somehow had the ball find his hands once again.
It was his second chance. And he wasn’t letting go.
“Donta (Watson) was yelling at me to pass the ball because he wanted to take time off the clock,” Davison said, “but I wanted to redeem myself.”
The junior guard did just that, making his next two foul-shot attempts with 27.3 seconds remaining to help seal No. 8 Emporia State’s 80-77 victory over Washburn Wednesday night.
The Hornets’ 12th win to begin the season matched the best start in team history. ESU also went 12-0 in the 1920-21 season.
“It is the best start in school history, and we don’t want to look past that. This is a great deal for our program,” ESU guard DeAndre Townsend said. “At the same time, this is the beginning. We’ve got to stay humble, and we’ve got to keep working.”
Davison remained focused even after he missed his two free throws with his team leading, 75-72, with 30.5 seconds remaining.
After his second shot came up short, teammate Ed Desir leapt high for the offensive rebound and fired it back to Davison, who was quickly fouled.
“I just wanted to come back and hit those two,” Davison said. “I always have confidence in my shot. It’s something my Dad taught me. Keep confidence in your shot and it’s going to fall.”
Davison’s shots did fall, and after a Michael Williams three, he added two more free throws to push the Hornet advantage to 79-75 with 10.2 seconds remaining.
Washburn still set the stage for a crazy finish.
Andrew Meile put in a layup for the Ichabods with 2.6 seconds remaining to cut the Hornet lead to two. Watson was fouled before the inbounds pass, and he missed his first free throw before making the second.
With a chance to tie, Reed Hein’s 28-footer at the buzzer glanced off the front rim, securing ESU’s three-point win.
A crucial stretch for the Hornets came at the start of the second half.
After taking a 34-24 lead in the first half on a jump-hook by Jordan Fithian, ESU watched it slip away as Washburn ended the frame with a 12-0 spurt to take a 36-34 advantage into the break.
The Hornets failed to score in the final five minutes of the half.
“We all went off on our own,” ESU coach David Moe said. “We know we’re not very good when we play as individuals. We’re good when we’re playing as a team.”
The coach’s halftime words once again worked wonders on his players.
ESU started the second half on a 12-2 run to regain a 10-point lead, with Caleb Tegtmeier and Wes Book both contributing five points during the stretch.
Washburn — led by its hot three-point shooting — wouldn’t go away. Williams and Hein both hit stepback threes behind screens, and Snyder added a layup to complete an 8-0 run that cut the ESU lead to 68-66 with 4:06 remaining.
Book stepped up defensively with 53 seconds left.
With his team leading 73-70, Book poked the ball away from Williams, and after sliding for it, he scooped it in one motion ahead to Watson, who laid it in for an easy two.
Davison and Watson iced it with free throws after that.
Townsend led ESU, scoring 23 points and making 3 of his 7 three-point attempts. Watson added 18, going 3-for-8 from behind the arc.
Williams paced Washburn with 19 points.
emporia123 (anonymous) says...
Coach Moe has done a great job of turning the men's program around! He deserves a huge pat on the back.
Forget Hillary in 08 we want Coach Moe for president.
January 4, 2007 at 3:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )