There was a time during Saturday’s victory against Central Missouri that Emporia State’s DeAndre Townsend was so mad at Marvin Lee that the two had to be separated during a timeout.
The reason?
Townsend was yelling at Lee to shoot the ball more.
“I’ve got all the confidence in Marvin,” Townsend said. “He shoots really, really well in practice, and I always tell him to just shoot it in the games.”
Eventually — and finally — the message got through.
Lee finished with 18 points against UCM, making 7 of 10 shots and going 3-for-4 from three-point range.
The assertiveness earned Lee a handshake from Townsend after the game — and also an “I told you so.”
“Tonight, it was his night to be shooting the ball,” Townsend said. “He stepped up big for us, and all he’s really got to do is shoot.”
ESU coach David Moe was just as impressed with Lee’s performance on the defensive end.
After picking up three first-half fouls, the senior transfer played smart defense the rest of the game and didn’t receive another whistle.
That allowed him to play 27 minutes, where he was able to help ESU on both ends late.
“He took the game as it came to him,” Moe said. “He was terrific.”
Lee will almost be forced to increase his aggressiveness starting on Wednesday, as ESU will be without its second-leading scorer, Wes Book.
The 6-foot-4 Book left the second half of Saturday’s game with a foot injury. Though his hobbling appeared to signal an ankle sprain, the senior didn’t return in the final 6 minutes or in overtime.
On Monday, ESU coach David Moe would only confirm that the injury was more severe than the team had first thought, and that Book would be “out indefinitely.”
Moe said he believed Book should be back at some point this season, though it might take a few weeks.
Book is averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and also is one of the Hornets’ best defenders.
ESU didn’t play well the last time it went without Book, dropping a 105-91 decision to No. 22 Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 8.
The Hornets still come in with some confidence after ending UCM’s 31-game home-court winning streak on Saturday. ESU has won two straight and is tied for third in the MIAA standings.
Southern sits at second in the conference, led by junior guard Tony Webb, who averages 16.1 points per game.
Starters Vincent Ateba (14.8 ppg), Octavious Hawkins (12.2 ppg) and T.J. Britton (10 ppg) also average in double figures for the Lions.
Lady Hornets face important 3-game stretch
At the beginning of the season, ESU women’s coach Brandon Schneider believed Missouri Southern and Northwest Missouri State would be two of the sure-fire contenders for the conference title.
His thoughts haven’t changed much since then. And now, his Lady Hornets will face both teams on the road over the course of the next three games.
The first test comes against Southern, which started the season 9-0 and moved to as high as No. 16 in the WBCA rankings earlier this year.
The Lions have gone 3-3 in MIAA play, but they did beat league-leading Southwest Baptist, 58-55, on Saturday.
ESU lost to SBU, 76-73, on Jan. 5.
Southern is led by Fatai Hala’Api’Api, who averages a team-high 12.7 points and 6.4 rebounds.
The Lions also have won with defense, allowing only one team to score more than 70 points against them at home this season.