Here’s some advice for MIAA coaches this season when they play Emporia State:
It would be wise to not play zone against the Hornets. Benedictine tried in the first half on Saturday at White Auditorium, and the Hornets made them pay by making nine 3-pointers in the first half on their way to a 95-52 win.
“We have a lot of unselfish players and one may pass up a shot to get a better shot, and that’s what we did tonight,” said Robert Moores, who scored a game-high 20 points.
The Hornets’ unselfish offense led to a balanced attack and made them nearly impossible to guard in the first half when they built a 61-30 lead. The Benedictine zone benefited the ESU shooters and big man Shang Ping.
Ping had seven offensive rebounds and scored a season-high 19 points in 19 minutes, making 8-of-10 shots that all came close to the basket.
“They don’t box out most of the time in the zone and I was able to go get offensive rebounds and my teammates were looking for me tonight,” Ping said.
Ping also starred on the defensive end. The ESU coaches challenged Ping before the game because he had the assignment of guarding Benedictine leading scorer Chris Bonham, who came into the game averaging 19 points per game. Bonham was held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
“Shang was great. It was great for him to be so aggressive on the boards,” coach David Moe said. “He just did a great job, stayed in the moment and did the things that he could really do and focused on rebounding. ... He’s got to be a factor and I thought tonight he played like he was coming in as a presence, and I thought he did a great job of just competing.”
If Ping provides any sort of an inside presence this year, the Hornets are going to be hard to guard. The backcourt trio of Moores, Jeremiah Box and Lamar Wilbern have taken turns so far this year leading the Hornets in scoring.
Box got things started against Benedictine, following his 22-point performance in Tuesday’s home opener by scoring the Hornets’ first six points. He had three 3-pointers during the Hornets’ opening 18-4 run.
Moores has been instant offense off the bench. He scored 16 points in the first half and is the team’s second-leading scorer through five games at 14.2 points per game.
Neither Box nor Moores forced shots in the first half. They waited for open shots and then made them.
“We’re not an easy team to zone because we do have so many shooters, and we’re pretty good ball-movers,” Moe said.
The Hornets’ patience has helped them shoot 51.8 percent from the field and make 25-of-49 3-pointers in their first two home games. They’ve improved their shot selection and taken better care of the ball, turning it over only nine times against Ottawa and committing a season-low six turnovers against Benedictine.
“That was a big emphasis because we were averaging an ungodly amount going into this week, and we got better,” Moe said.
Benedictine did eventually learn its lesson against Emporia State and came out in the second half playing man-to-man and completely abandoned the zone.
After the game, Moores was asked if he thinks the Hornets will see much more zone this year.
“The way we’re shooting,” he said with a smile, “I don’t think so.”
Saturday at White Auditorium
Benedictine 30 22 — 52
Emporia State 61 34 — 95
BENEDICTINE (2-2)
Henton 4-7 3-3 11, Bonham 2-9 0-0 4, Huppe 5-10 0-0 10, Hamilton 0-4 1-2 1, Goettelman 2-6 0-0 5, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 3-9 0-1 6, McFaul 5-10 0-0 11, Bolling 1-2 1-2 3, Daniels 0-1 1-2 1, Brennan 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 6-10 52.
EMPORIA STATE (4-1)
Ping 8-10 3-6 19, Box 5-12 0-0 13, Andrews 2-3 2-2 7, Boswell 1-4 1-3 3, Wilbern 3-9 2-5 9, Stout 1-1 0-1 2, Burdolski 1-2 0-0 2, Allen 3-4 1-2 8, Moores 8-13 1-1 20, Niles 2-5 0-0 6, Moore 0-3 2-2 2, Holthaus 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 36-69 12-22 95.
3-point goals — Benedictine 2-17 (Goettelman 1-3, McFaul 1-4, Huppe 0-1, Williams 0-1, Brennan 0-1, Johnson 0-3, Hamilton 0-4), Emporia State (Box 3-7, Moores 3-7, Niles 2-4, Allen 1-1, Andrews 1-2, Wilbern 1-3, Burdolski 0-1). Fouled out — Benedictine: None; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Benedictine 31 (Henton 7), Emporia State 47 (Moore, Ping 9). Assists — Benedictine 8 (Goettelman, Johnson 2), Emporia State 24 (Andrews 7). Total fouls — Benedictine 24, Emporia State 15. Att. — 776.