What Wes Book couldn’t see still didn’t hurt him.
After receiving a bounce pass from teammate DeAndre Townsend with 37 seconds remaining and his team’s lead slipping away, Book said his worst fears were realized.
He was standing in the dreaded corner.
“The funny thing is, in shoot-around all day, we were talking about that corner,” Book said. “You’re looking into white rafters, and it’s hard to see right there.
“The whole time I was playing I was like, ‘Oh man, if it comes to me, I’m going to have to shoot in this corner.’”
Turns out there was nothing to be worried about. Book’s three-point attempt hit nothing but net, helping to propel No. 8 ESU to an 86-77 victory over Pittsburg State on Saturday.
The win improved the Hornets to 13-0, giving them their best start in school history and breaking the record of the 1920-21 basketball team. The winning streak is the fourth-best beginning by an MIAA team in the last 10 years.
“As of right now,” Book said, “we don’t know how to lose.”
That remained to be the case Saturday, as ESU fought through foul problems and a disadvantage on the boards to still come away with the victory.
In fact, the Hornets not only survived with foul trouble in the first half — they thrived with it.
With Caleb Tegtmeier picking up three early fouls and Scott Elliott earning his third foul minutes later, ESU found itself in a bind with few post players left to guard PSU’s taller forwards.
It didn’t matter. ESU held its own in the final minutes of the half, with Jordan Fithian’s tip-in at the buzzer pushing the Hornets’ lead to 41-30 at halftime.
“We’ve been working our tails off to get leads,” ESU coach David Moe said, “but these teams in conference can play and shoot.”
ESU made it through the second half not by stopping PSU, but instead by refusing to be stopped.
In the final 10 minutes, the Hornets scored points on all but four possessions — twice turning it over and twice missing shots.
“They say the best defense is a good offense,” ESU guard Donta Watson said. “They were hitting, but luckily we were hitting our shots, too.”
The Hornets were especially impressive at the free-throw line. ESU made its final 17 free-throw attempts, finishing 21-for-24 (88 percent).
“That shows how into the game we were,” Moe said. “We were zoned into the game tonight, and really got into a rhythm. We had to make all of them.”
ESU only had one field goal in the final seven minutes of the game, though it was that shot that proved to be the game-clincher.
Following a guarded three from Keith Windom, PSU trailed just 81-77 with 1:07 remaining.
With the crowd cheering the loudest it had been all game, ESU executed its offense effectively on the next possession, running down the shot clock before Townsend penetrated and pitched it out to a wide-open, squinty-eyed Book.
“I could see a little bit,” Book said, “but I’m telling you, that’s a tough corner.”
PSU never closed the gap under seven points after that.
Watson led ESU with 24 points, hitting 5 of his 9 three-point attempts. Townsend added 19 points and five assists, while Book had 16 points.
Ed Morris’ 23-point, 12-rebound performance paced PSU.
The Hornets will travel to Truman on Wednesday, going for a sweep on their current three-game road trip.
Watson said ESU had more to prove before it could be considered a favorite in the league and region.
“We’ve got half the season to go,” Watson said. “I’ve seen teams start 14-0 and mess around and not even make the NCAA tournament.
“I can only say that we’re a team worth watching for because we play hard.”