They exited the locker room with suitcoats and blazers, button-ups and ties.
“Look good, play good,” Emporia State guard Andrew Davison said with a grin.
If that’s the case, the ESU Hornets’ Sunday clothes might just stay reserved for Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Though it wasn’t always as pretty as the Hornets’ fashion tastes, ESU’s 92-87 victory over Washburn was enough to bring plenty of smiles.
Especially for an ESU squad that had lost six of its last seven games and hadn’t played at home in 36 days.
“I think we needed this. We needed this game,” Davison said. “It’s Washburn. It’s our rival. I think we needed this game to maybe wake us up a little bit and get us back on track.”
The win didn’t come without some drama.
ESU, after surrendering a 14-point second-half lead, trailed 84-83 with 2:43 left in the game after a 3-pointer from Andrew Meile.
“I look up, and we’re down one, and I’m like, ‘There’s no way this is happening again,’” ESU forward Jordan Fithian said.
Though the Hornets had struggled down the stretch in previous losses, the same didn’t happen Wednesday.
DeAndre Townsend drove for a layup to give ESU a 1-point lead with 1:19 left, and on the next possession, Fithian came through with the biggest play of the game.
With the shot clock winding down, Wes Book drove inside, drawing two defenders before missing a bank shot.
The double-team left Fithian all to himself on the other side of the lane.
When the ball bounced toward him, Fithian made every effort to put it back up toward the basket.
After bouncing a couple times on the rim, the stickback fell through to push the ESU lead to 87-84 with 30 seconds left.
“I was able to volleyball it in — kind of two-handed,” Fithian said. “I was just like, ‘Go in. Please, just go in.’”
Fithian came through at the other end as well.
WU’s Andre Santiago had a three to tie, but it hit off the iron, and Fithian came down with rebound.
“It seems like that’s the first shot that anybody’s missed on us down the stretch,” ESU coach David Moe said.
Townsend hit a pair of free throws with 20.2 seconds left, and Davison later hit one with 2.7 seconds left to seal it.
“As a team, it’s great to come and get a close win,” Davison said. “We’ve been losing all the close ones.”
Early on, it looked as if it wouldn’t be close.
Four players scored for ESU in its 11-0 run to start the game. WU, meanwhile, missed its first five shots.
The Hornets maintained the momentum for the rest of the half, taking a 53-39 lead into halftime.
At least part of the credit had to go to Davison.
The senior had 19 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, also making 4 of his 6 shots from three-point range.
Davison’s previous career-high for points in a game was 18.
“I’ve been up and down, up and down all season,” Davison said. “I just finally got in a little groove where I knew everything I was putting up had a chance of going in.”
WU made up ground quickly in the second half, using an 18-2 run to take a 67-64 lead with 12:21 left.
The two teams went back-and-forth down the stretch, combining for seven ties and eight lead changes in the final 14 1/2 minutes.
The Hornets were led by Townsend and Davison, who finished with 21 points each. Caleb Tegtmeier (14), Fithian (11), Marvin Lee (11) and Book (10) also hit double figures.
ESU made 33 of its 59 shots (56 percent) and won despite attempting 14 fewer shots that WU.
The Hornets (6-6, 1-2 MIAA) will face No. 16 Pittsburg State at home on Saturday.
“I think we’re much better than a .500 team, but we haven’t shown it in our record,” Davison said. “We’ve just got to start proving we’re a better team than that.”
Emporia State men 92, Washburn 87
Wednesday at White Auditorium
Washburn 39 48 — 87
ESU 53 39 — 92
WASHBURN (9-3, 1-2 MIAA)
Angel Santiago 6-16 1-2 18, Paul Byers 6-10 0-0 16, James Williams 4-14 5-5 14, Grant Hargett 3-8 2-2 10, Brady Sisk 4-8 1-5 9, Andrew Meile 2-4 2-2 8, Mario Scott 2-7 2-2 7, Kyle Snyder 2-3 1-2 5, Darnell Kimble 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-73 14-20 87.
EMPORIA STATE (6-6, 1-2 MIAA)
Andrew Davison 6-9 5-8 21, DeAndre Townsend 9-15 2-3 21, Caleb Tegtmeier 4-5 3-5 14, Jordan Fithian 5-6 1-1 11, Marvin Lee 4-9 3-6 11, Wes Book 3-10 3-4 10, Matt Boswell 1-3 0-0 2, Spencer Allen 1-2 0-0 2, Dustin Andrews 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 33-59 17-29 92.
3-point goals — Washburn 15-36 (Santiago 5-12, Byers 4-5, Hargett 2-6, Meile 2-4, Williams 1-4, Scott 1-4, Kimble 0-1), Emporia State 9-22 (Davison 4-7, Tegtmeier 3-4, Townsend 1-4, Book 1-4, Allen 0-1, Boswell 0-1, Lee 0-1). Fouled out — Washburn: None; Emporia State: Tegtmeier. Rebounds — Washburn 39 (Snyder 10), Emporia State 36 (Fithian 7). Assists — Washburn 23 (Williams 7), Emporia State 18 (Lee, Book 4). Total fouls — Washburn 22, Emporia State 19. Att — 3995.