About a week ago, the Emporia State men knew they were being left for dead in the MIAA.
Sitting at 3-4 in the conference, the Hornets had just lost 85-66 to Missouri Southern. ESU also was coping with the fact that it might be without its second-leading scorer Wes Book for a long time.
It’s no wonder that many fans might have started wondering when — or if — the Hornets would get their next victory.
“We’ve just got to come out and prove everybody wrong,” ESU senior Marvin Lee said. “Coach (David Moe) tells us what people think we can do and what we can do. We’re just trying to prove everybody wrong.”
The last two games, ESU has.
After hanging on for a 76-72 overtime victory against Missouri Western, the Hornets produced a real shocker on Wednesday.
Though no current player had ever beaten Northwest Missouri State — at home, on the road, anywhere — ESU willed its way to a 65-62 triumph over 13-4 NWMSU at Bearcat Arena.
It was the first win for the Hornets in Maryville, Mo., since 1997.
ESU isn’t winning the normal “Moe” way, either.
The Hornets, known year in and year out for their fast-paced, high-scoring offense, aren’t simply outscoring teams any more.
After averaging 86.2 points per game in its first 12 games, ESU is averaging just 70.2 ppg over its last six contests.
The change hasn’t hurt the Hornets as much as one would expect, as the Hornets are 4-2 in their last six games.
“All we can do is compete,” Moe said, “and we’ve competed well.”
ESU also has gotten contributions from unexpected places.
At Central Missouri, reserve Doug Moore sparked ESU with four rebounds and four blocks.
In the Hornets’ last two wins, Spencer Allen and DeAndre Townsend — two of the shortest players on the team — have led ESU in rebounds.
“A lot of it had to do with making the decision to stick with guys and let them play through their mistakes,” Moe said.
ESU will have another chance for an upset Saturday, taking on second-place Fort Hays State.
In the teams’ first matchup, Terry Jeffries hit the game-winning layup with 20 seconds left to give FHSU a 79-77 triumph.
The Tigers have won five consecutive games, including an 85-78 triple-overtime thriller over Pittsburg State on Wednesday in Hays.
Tyrone Evans leads FHSU with 11.1 points per game, while 6-foot-5 Jake Sims also averages double figures with 10.2 ppg.
Lady Hornets to face physical Tigers
The last time the ESU women lost, they faced a team in Missouri Southern that wasn’t afraid to do some pushing and shoving.
The Lady Hornets will go against that same kind of team on Saturday, taking on Fort Hays State at White Auditorium.
In the team’s first matchup, ESU hung on, 68-62, despite oftentimes getting beat up inside by the Tigers.
“They were just playing more aggressive than we were,” ESU senior Michelle Stueve said after the game. “We weren’t being patient. We weren’t really running our offense the way we run it in practice.
“I think it was just a matter of them coming out and playing a lot tougher and more physical than we were ready for.”
FHSU has shown later that it won’t back down from bigger teams, either.
Last Saturday, FHSU out-rebounded Missouri Southern 44-32 in its 70-59 victory over the Lions.
To put that in perspective, ESU was out-rebounded 46-24 by Southern in the Lady Hornets’ 90-71 loss two weeks ago.
The Tigers are led by guard Naomi Bancroft and forwards Brianna Willhite and Sheena Kuntzsch, who all average between 13.1 and 13.5 points per game.