ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Even if last Thursday’s controversial loss against Northwest Missouri State gets overturned by the MIAA, Emporia State coach David Moe believes it might be too late.
In his mind, the game will have contributed to a loss either way, as a lethargic Hornets’ squad dropped a 68-64 decision to Missouri Western on Saturday.
“Tonight, we basically had no chance. No matter how many times you tell yourself to let it go, you can’t,” Moe said. “That’s not taking away from Western, because they played well, but we didn’t have that mental edge.”
On Thursday, ESU’s Andrew Davison had a 50-foot shot to win the game waved off by officials, who used a cell phone stopwatch to determine the time in the game. ESU later lost 91-83 in double-overtime.
Instead of riding an emotional victory — and a four-game winning streak — into MWSU Fieldhouse, the Hornets took the court after a tough loss while still wondering about the result of their previous game, which is still being reviewed after an official appeal was sent to the league office Friday by ESU.
“It was a distraction, but it isn’t an excuse,” ESU forward Caleb Tegtmeier said. “We had to come out to play tonight. This was a big game to show everybody we could bounce back from that, and we didn’t do it.”
The Hornets looked just fine to start off, as four players scored in a game-opening 15-0 run.
Meanwhile, Western didn’t get its first basket until 6 minutes, 34 seconds in on a jumper by Reggie Bunch.
“Everybody could tell we were down with energy. We were just making shots,” Tegtmeier said. “It felt good. Maybe you’ve got to think, ‘Maybe we are all right,’ but then we kind of unraveled.”
It didn’t take long for the Griffons to get back into it.
Ten minutes later, MWSU had the score tied at 24. Five minutes into the second half, the Griffons built their biggest lead at 45-34.
“They weren’t a part of the Thursday deal,” ESU guard DeAndre Townsend said. “They were trying to get after us, and we should have been focused on trying to get after them.”
Added Tegtmeier: “That’s a team — you’ve got to get up in them, and when you get a lead like that, you can’t let them back in the game. Once they get confidence, they’re so talented, those guys go one-on-one, and you’re done.
“We sat back and kind of watched each other play defense instead of playing team defense.”
With the help of three consecutive 3-pointers, ESU posted a quick 11-0 run to tie it at 52 with 7:44 left.
The Hornets, though, were haunted by free throws down the stretch.
With 52.7 seconds left, Doug Moore missed a pair of free throws that could have cut into MWSU’s 65-61 lead.
Still down by four with 24 seconds remaining, Marvin Lee missed two more free throws that could have pulled ESU closer.
“You can’t leave empty-handed like we did those two times,” Tegtmeier said. “Just to get one of those every time would have been big.”
Tegtmeier hit a three to make it 66-64 with 15 seconds left, but Western’s Ken Goodwin made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal it.
The victory snapped Western’s six-game losing streak — the longest skid in Tom Smith’s 19 years coaching at the school.
In the previous six games, the Griffons had lost by an average of 14.8 points. The only game they kept within single digits during that stretch was a 76-72 overtime loss to the Hornets on Jan. 27.
“It’s just not that easy,” Moe said. “When you care as much as I do and as much as the players do and as much as the families do, then to have your heart ripped out and your teeth kicked in, it’s too hard.
“If we were to win this game, it would have been phenomenal. If any group of kids could have responded, these kids could have.”
The difference was at the free-throw line, where ESU made just 12 of 23 attempts (52 percent).
Meanwhile, Western went 23-for-29 from the line (79 percent) and 12-of-13 in the second half (92 percent).
Townsend led ESU with a team-high 26 points and seven assists. Tegtmeier, who went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, finished with 14.
The Hornets, barring a change in the result of the Northwest game, dropped to 6-6 in the conference.
“Even if they reverse it, we don’t get this game back,” Moe said. “Who knows now what it cost us?
“We all make sacrifices. We all give our time, effort and hearts to a game. The reason for our success is that we care. If we didn’t care, we’d bounce back right away. We care as much as any team I’ve been around.
“For some of us, it’s the last swing. It’s the last hurrah. It’s not as easy as someone sitting around a table saying to let it go.”
Missouri Western men 68, Emporia State 64
Saturday at St. Joseph, Mo.
Emporia State 28 36 — 64
Missouri Western 28 40 — 68
EMPORIA STATE (11-10, 6-6 MIAA)
DeAndre Townsend 8-15 7-9 26, Caleb Tegtmeier 5-7 0-0 14, Marvin Lee 2-6 3-6 8, Jordan Fithian 3-5 0-0 6, Andrew Davison 2-8 0-0 6, Doug Moore 0-0 2-7 2, Dustin Andrews 1-2 0-0 2, Matt Boswell 0-1 0-1 0, Spencer Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Pyle 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Stout 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 12-23 64.
MISSOURI WESTERN (9-12, 3-9 MIAA)
Lonnel Johnson 4-11 8-9 16, Jay McFarland 5-7 5-5 15, Gus Moss 3-6 4-4 13, Reggie Bunch 3-8 3-3 9, Ken Goodwin 2-6 3-4 8, Ray Brown 2-4 0-0 4, Keion Kindred 1-2 0-0 3, Brandon Beck 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Sylvara 0-1 0-4 0, Luke Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 23-29 68.
3-point goals — Emporia State 10-22 (Tegtmeier 4-5, Townsend 3-7, Davison 2-8, Lee 1-2), Missouri Western 5-13 (Moss 3-4, Goodwin 1-3, Kindred 1-2, Brown 0-2, Johnson 0-2). Fouled out — Emporia State: Lee, Fithian; Missouri Western: None. Rebounds — Emporia State 26 (Moore 5), Missouri Western 32 (McFarland 6). Assists — Emporia State 12 (Townsend 7), Missouri Western 11 (Brown 4). Total fouls — Emporia State 23, Missouri Western 26. Att — 2,181.