ESU men battle but fall to Lions, 80-69
Hornets crawl to within 3 points of Southern 5 times, but can’t get over the hump
By Jesse Newell
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Jordan Fithian admitted it was frustrating, those quick glances to the scoreboard in between plays in the second half.
No matter what the Emporia State Hornets did or how hard they played, they never could seem to take the lead or even get the game tied.
The inability to get over that barrier haunted ESU in the end, as Southern used a late run to secure an 80-69 victory Wednesday to sweep the season series.
“We couldn’t get over the hump. We just couldn’t quite climb that ladder,” Fithian said. “It’s deflating, but at the same time, we had a chance to win and we just didn’t get it done.”
On five separate occasions, ESU cut Southern’s lead to three points in the second half. Three times, the Hornets got the deficit all the way down to one.
Each time, the Lions answered with a spurt of their own, keeping ESU at arm’s length.
“We were just needing a stop,” ESU guard Marvin Lee said. “We just couldn’t find the stop we needed to tie the game or get us up one.”
The Hornets looked as if they would have a chance late, as Fithian’s baseline jumper made it 70-67 with 3:21 left.
Southern, though, responded immediately.
The Lions’ Octavius Hawkins scored on an offensive putback, then Skyler Bowlin picked off an errant ESU pass and took it all the way for an easy layup.
Southern (15-7, 10-3 MIAA) scored 10 of the game’s final 12 points, putting a run on an ESU team known for its ability to come back on teams late.
“We had a few turnovers, and they had guys who made plays,” Fithian said. “Hats off to them.”
The Hornets’ best chance to make a run actually came a few minutes earlier.
Trailing 60-55, Lee made a momentum-changing play after receiving the ball on the right baseline.
After giving a head fake, Lee drove around his defender and skied toward the basket.
The senior followed with a vicious, one-handed dunk over a Southern defender — his first dunk of the year — as the Hornets closed the gap to three on a play that brought some life back into White Auditorium.
“I just went to the rack hard,” Lee said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen until it happened.”
DeAndre Townsend’s drive and layup on the next possession cut the lead to 60-59 and further ignited the crowd, forcing a Southern timeout with 7:31 left.
“I thought the dunk was going to be the boost we needed to go and win the game,” Lee said, “but we came up short.”
Southern’s Tony Webb scored six of the game’s next eight points, as again the Lions executed in the clutch.
The Hornets, after working on the press everyday in practice in preparation for Southern, still had their share of problems against it in the first 20 minutes.
ESU had 12 first-half turnovers, as Southern jumped out to a 30-15 lead.
“That was disappointing because of how much we’d worked on it,” Fithian said, “but we didn’t let it affect us as much as it could have.”
The Hornets followed with a 16-2 run and went on to trail just 39-34 at the break — a deficit the Hornets never could get tied.
Lee led ESU with 17 points to go with nine rebounds, while Fithian had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Caleb Tegtmeier (13) and Townsend (12) also hit double figures.
ESU was hurt by the absence of Tegtmeier late, as he fouled out with 9:03 left.
“We wore down once we came down the stretch,” ESU coach David Moe said. “I probably didn’t use my bench like I should have. We ran out of gas.”
The Hornets also struggled from long range, making just 3 of 29 three-point attempts (10 percent).
ESU (11-11, 6-7 MIAA) has lost three straight games, a slide that started with Thursday’s double-overtime loss to Northwest Missouri State.
“We just don’t have what we used to have,” Moe said. “We were walking on air, and now we’re stuck in the mud. We’re trying to get out, but we’re not going anywhere.
“Eventually, we’ll get out of the mud and start driving again.”
Missouri Southern men 80, Emporia State 69
Wednesday at White Auditorium
Mo. Southern 39 41 — 80
Emporia State 34 35 — 69
MISSOURI SOUTHERN (15-7, 10-3 MIAA)
Tony Webb 10-16 2-2 25, Vincent Ateba 9-15 0-5 18, Octavius Hawkins 6-8 2-2 15, Tyler Ryerson 2-2 2-2 7, T.J. Britton 2-7 2-4 6, Skyler Bowlin 2-7 0-0 4, Matt Monroe 1-5 1-1 3, Chris Scruggs 1-3 0-0 2, Kyle Schrage 0-1 0-0 0, T.J. Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 9-16 80.
EMPORIA STATE (11-11, 6-7 MIAA)
Marvin Lee 7-13 3-4 17, Caleb Tegtmeier 3-6 6-6 13, DeAndre Townsend 5-13 1-2 12, Jordan Fithian 4-10 4-7 12, Andrew Davison 3-13 0-1 7, Spencer Allen 2-3 0-0 4, Dustin Andrews 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 26-62 14-20 69.
3-point goals — Missouri Southern 5-12 (Webb 3-4, Hawkins 1-1, Ryerson 1-1, Bowlin 0-4, Scruggs 0-1, Britton 0-1), Emporia State 3-29 (Davison 1-10, Townsend 1-7, Tegtmeier 1-4, Andrews 0-1, Allen 0-1, Fithian 0-2, Lee 0-4). Fouled out — Missouri Southern: None; Emporia State: Tegtmeier. Rebounds — Missouri Southern 33 (Britton 10), Emporia State 38 (Fithian 13). Assists — Missouri Southern 18 (Britton 5), Emporia State 15 (Townsend 6). Total fouls — Missouri Southern 21, Emporia State 17. Att — 1,697.
cars (anonymous) says...
Could it be time for Coach Moe to step down ? He seems to be more interested in arguing with the refs instead of coaching his team. Why call a time if not to talk to the team or is that the assistances job? Delaware is calling you Coach
February 14, 2008 at 4:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )