Emporia State’s routine was ruined on Tuesday against Ottawa at White Auditorium.
“We were talking before the game, it almost felt a little weird,” Jeremiah Box said, “because we’re used to traveling for so long, going to a hotel and waiting.”
After five games, the Hornets finally got to play at home, and it was pretty obvious from the start that they didn’t mind the new routine. In fact, the Hornets looked like a completely different team in their 92-64 win over Ottawa.
Last week in two games the Hornets averaged 22 turnovers, made only 17.6 percent of their 3-pointers and struggled in transition. On Tuesday, the Hornets had a season-low nine turnovers, they made 14-of-24 threes and excelled in transition.
No one benefited more from being home than Box, who scored 22, made 7-of-11 field goals, 3-of-4 threes and 5-of-5 free throws. When Box has been at his best this season, so have the Hornets. He scored 28 points in Emporia State’s 87-55 win at Eastern New Mexico, the only other performance by the Hornets that rivaled Tuesday night’s.
Box scored 15 points in the first half to help ESU to a 18-point lead at halftime. During a 10-0 run that extended the lead from 11 to 21 in the first half, Box scored on a baseline drive and 3-pointer.
After Ottawa trimmed the lead down to 13 with 13:08 left in second half, Box helped spark a 19-4 run that put the game away. He had his own mini 5-0 run that received the loudest ovation from the crowd of 1,901 all night. Box scored on a pass from Wilbern and then stole a pass near midcourt, tipping the ball to himself. He followed his steal with a layup and was fouled.
“I had to come back from that last game,” said Box, who made only 2-of-9 shots on Saturday at Newman. “I don’t know what was wrong with me. I was going through some stuff, and my mind wasn’t in the game. I got it together.”
As for the Hornets’ other problems, coaching and homecourt advantage helped them put everything back together. Wilbern and Tim Niles had their best shooting games of the season. Wilbern made 3-of-4 threes, scoring a season-high 22 points, and Niles made 3-of-5 threes to score a season-high 13 points.
“You get used to the rim,” Wilbern said of playing at home. “You know how it’s going to come off, and the floor is nice and bouncy, and it’s just a great feel.”
Niles added, “This is the first home game so we got kind of hyped for it. Playing in front of a crowd, especially people that you know, makes you perform better.”
As for the turnovers, Moe has been preaching patience and the Hornets did so — for the most part.
“We didn’t waste as many offensive possessions as we have, but we still wasted too many,” Moe said. “We didn’t turn the ball over. We cut back on our turnovers. We probably took a few more bad shots, but I felt like there’s a lot of awareness going on, which makes you a better team and gives you a chance to be more successful.”
Emporia State forced 17 turnovers and outscored Ottawa 28-12 off turnovers. That efficiency came from the Hornets’ improvement in transition. Moe spent a majority of Monday’s practice working on fast breaks, because he felt his team had performed poorly in transition at Newman.
“Our transition offense was better,” Moe said. “We didn’t make as many poor decisions. We took better care of the ball. We made easy plays for the most part, and we played together and worked together.”
With their next four games at home, the Hornets will be able to get plenty used to this new routine.
“Finally having homecourt advantage and having a crowd really helps us a lot,” Box said.
Tuesday at White Auditorium
Ottawa 38 26 — 64
Emporia State 56 36 — 92
OTTAWA (3-4)
McClintock 3-8 2-2 9, Anderson 3-5 4-4 10, Green 2-4 0-0 5, Birch 3-11 0-0 6, Smith 2-4 0-0 5, Stegeman 2-5 2-2 7, Sloan 1-3 0-0 2, Janzen 0-3 0-0 0, Johnston 1-2 0-1 2, Brightman 2-7 2-3 6, Carter 5-11 2-2 12, Doucette 0-0 0-0 0, Riedel 0-0 0-0 0, Schreiner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 12-14 64.
EMPORIA STATE (3-1)
Ping 3-7 0-0 6, Box 7-11 5-5 22, Andrews 2-3 0-0 6, Boswell 3-7 0-0 7, Wilbern 9-15 1-2 22, Stout 0-2 0-0 0, Burdolski 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 2-4 0-0 4, Moores 3-9 0-1 8, Niles 5-9 0-0 13, Moore 1-2 0-0 2, Holthaus 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 36-70 6-8 92.
3-point goals — Ottawa 4-15 (McClintock 1-2, Green 1-2, Smith 1-2, Stegeman 1-4, Sloan 0-1, Brightman 0-1, Birch 0-3), Emporia State 14-24 (Box 3-4, Wilbern 3-4, Niles 3-5, Andrews 2-3, Moores 2-4, Boswell 1-2, Stout 0-2). Fouled out — Ottawa: None; Emporia State: None. Rebounds — Ottawa 40 (Brightman 7), Emporia State 35 (Wilbern 6). Assists — Ottawa 12 (Green 3), Emporia State 18 (Moores 4). Total fouls — Ottawa 12, Emporia State 18. Att. — 1,901.