Hornets tame Alumni squad, 110-101
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 01:54 p.m., November 12, 2007
Updated 01:54 p.m., November 12, 2007
Donta Watson’s trash talk never got backed up.
The former Hornet guard thought for sure that he, along with sharpshooter Robbie Ballard, would lead the Emporia State Alumni team to a victory over the Hornets. Before the game he predicted 70 combined points for the pair on an average night — and 80 on a good night.
Never happened. Watson was left with eight points — but still a big smile — after the Hornets’ 110-101 victory over the ESU Alumni team in an exhibition game Saturday night.
“About five minutes into the game, reality set in,” Watson said with a laugh. “These (other) guys actually condition and play everyday.”
Wes Book led the Hornets, scoring 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting. He also had six steals, five rebounds and five assists.
“Tonight, I was just attacking and being aggressive and trying to look for my shot a little more,” Book said. “It was there, so I was taking it.”
The Hornets led by as many as 19 before a 14-0 run in the second half gave the Alumni a brief second-half lead.
Watson claimed the team’s motivation came from Alumni coach and former ESU coach Ron Slaymaker.
“When you get a halftime speech from Slaymaker, you can only come out and play with an incredible performance like we did,” Watson said.
It still wouldn’t be enough.
DeAndre Townsend hit a 3-pointer to give the Hornets a 79-78 lead with 9:01 left in the game.
The Hornets never trailed again.
“Luckily, toward the end,” Book said, “I think we finally wore them out.”
Townsend finished with 29 points, while teammate Marvin Lee had 21 in ESU’s final exhibition.
The Alumni were led by Ballard, who finished with 24 points. He made 3 of 5 threes and also connected on all 11 of his free-throw attempts.
Last year’s sixth man, Ed Desir, ended with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting, while Shawn Herrman added 15.
Tyrell Sledge also hit double figures with 13.
Watson — though cold with his shooting touch, finishing 2-of-8 from beyond the arc — contributed a team-high eight assists.
Afterward, the first-team MIAA selection tried to convince everyone that distributing the ball was his plan all along.
“Everybody was expecting me to score — I kind of wanted to show them a different side to my game that I didn’t show last year,” Watson said with a smile. “I think I did that tonight.”
The game was the final tune-up for the ESU men before the regular season opener.
The Hornets take on Eastern New Mexico at 7 p.m. Thursday at White Auditorium.
2007 player updates
Both Watson and Desir had to take time away from their new professions to come back for the Alumni game.
Watson is now an enrollment counselor at the University of Phoenix in San Antonio. He also is attending graduate school to finish a master’s degree in business administration.
Desir, meanwhile, now works as a human service specialist for the SRS in Wichita. His work mostly deals with low-income families.
ESU Hornets 110, ESU Alumni 101
Saturday at White Auditorium
ESU Alumni 46 55 — 101
ESU Hornets 59 51 — 110
Emporia State Alumni
Robbie Ballard 5-8 11-11 24, Ed Desir 10-12 3-7 23, Shawn Herrman 4-7 7-8 15, Tyrell Sledge 5-11 1-2 13, Donta Watson 3-11 0-0 8, Ryan Blevins 2-2 1-2 6, Jay Miller 1-4 2-2 5, Thomas Vincent 2-5 0-0 5, J.B. Bauersfeld 1-4 0-0 2. TOTALS 33-64 25-32 101.
Emporia State Hornets (1-2 exhibition)
Wes Book 13-17 7-9 35, DeAndre Townsend 9-16 5-8 29, Marvin Lee 9-14 3-9 21, Caleb Tegtmeier 4-6 1-2 10, Jordan Fithian 3-5 0-0 6, Dustin Andrews 1-3 2-2 4, Matt Boswell 1-4 1-2 3, Spencer Allen 1-2 0-0 2, Doug Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Davison 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Pyle 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS 41-70 19-32 110.
playersfan (anonymous) says...
Way to go Wes!!!!!!!!!!
November 13, 2007 at 9:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )