OMAHA — Nebraska-Omaha might as well have put the Emporia State scouting report through a shredder before Saturday’s game.
Inserted into Emporia State’s starting lineup was seldom-used sophomore Jordan Stout, who came into the game with 12 DNPs next to his name. And infused into the Hornets was a sense of urgency, energy and a physical brand of basketball that hadn’t shown up in weeks — if not all year.
“Stout, he’s just a badass,” Lamar Wilbern said. “He doesn’t back down, regardless of who it is.”
The Hornets, too, never backed down on Saturday, regardless of the situation. They rallied from an 11-point deficit with 8:58 left to give Nebraska-Omaha only its second loss at home this season, 91-85.
As far as desperation games go, this was it for the Hornets, who had lost four of five and could see their NCAA tournament bubble about to burst.
Central Missouri embarrassed Emporia State at home on Wednesday, 82-58, and coach David Moe gave his players the day off on Thursday.
When they returned to practice on Friday, Moe demanded that they turn up their intensity on defense.
“I think we learned a lot the three past road games, and losing to Central Missouri showed the level we had to compete at,” Moe said.
To emphasize his point, Moe started Stout, a rugged player who always plays aggressive defense. Moe also subbed five players at a time through most of the first half, telling the two rotations not to worry about getting tired and keep up the defensive pressure.
Both moves worked to perfection at the start. Stout made two early 3-pointers, and the Hornets’ pressure helped them jump out to a 25-13 lead.
“Playing hard and aggressively, it always frustrates people, and I think that’s what we brought to the table,” ESU guard Robert Moores said. “People did it to us, and we got frustrated, so it was our turn to do that.”
The Hornets’ physical, pressure defense also led to a lot of whistles. They committed 15 fouls in the first half, and UNO made 18-of-20 free throws and led 41-37 at half.
The Hornets cut back on the fouling in the second half, and the Mavericks heated up from the field. After Adam Holthaus gave ESU a 44-43 lead, the Mavs made nine of their next 10 shots and four straight free throws to take a 67-56 lead with 8:58 left.
If the Hornets would have endured a shooting spree like that in the previous weeks, they would have hung their heads and taken the beating. But Moe still had a good feeling with his team down 11.
“We were competing,” Moe said. “There’s a big difference when you’re competing and you’re down 11 because you’re not making shots and every call is not going your way. It’s a totally different feeling.”
The Hornets kept the faith and went on a 14-2 run that showed their maturation in just three days. After Moores started the run with a step-back 3-pointer, the Hornets started driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line. They made seven free throws during the run and the only other field goals during the run — other than Moores’ three — were a Holthaus layup and a runner off the glass by Wilbern.
“We attacked rather than stood around and shot jumpers, which is what we’ve been doing recently,” Moe said.
Emporia State’s attacking style got them to the free throw line, where they made 16 of their final 18 attempts. It also helped free up their 3-point shooters for open looks. They made 5-of-6 3-pointers in the second half and 12-of-19 for the game.
Moores made the final go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:47 left, which put ESU up 83-80 and broke the third tie in the final five minutes. After the Hornets took the lead with their 14-2 run, the two teams traded the lead six times in the final 5:22.
Moores and Wilbern carried the Hornets down the stretch. Moores scored 19 points, with 15 coming in the second half. Wilbern scored 12 of ESU’s final 24 points, made 13-of-14 free throws and finished with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds.
“I just wanted it, because a couple of those losses, I kind of took personally because I didn’t bring to the team what they expect out of me,” Wilbern said. “Today, I had the energy. I prepared myself well, and I wanted to do everything I could to help us get this win.”
Wilbern said it’s important that the Hornets (15-7, 9-6) don’t get satisfied with Saturday’s win, which helped them trade places in the standings with Nebraska-Omaha (14-7, 8-6). Emporia State has fallen into that trap before, and Wilbern and Moe plan to not let it happen again.
“You go back to our early success, we were able to get away with mistakes and things like that,” Moe said. “And then off of that success, we felt we were better than we were and we started probably playing a little bit under cruise control, and then we got beat playing that way and then we lost our confidence.
“Tonight, we competed and kind of let everything go after that Central game and came back and turned the corner.”
Saturday at Sapp Fieldhouse
Emporia State 37 54 — 91
Neb.-Omaha 41 44 — 85
EMPORIA STATE (15-7, 9-6 MIAA)
Wilbern 4-12 11-12 20, Moores 5-7 7-8 19, Niles 3-6 5-7 13, Holthaus 6-8 1-5 13, Andrews 3-5 1-2 10, Stout 2-3 2-2 8, Box 3-7 0-0 8, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Ping 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 27-36 91.
NEBRASKA-OMAHA (14-7, 8-6)
Jenkins 5-10 13-15 24, Albers 8-16 3-4 23, Curry 4-10 2-2 10, Akins 4-4 0-0 8, Albers 1-4 4-4 7, Bridger 1-7 4-4 7, Petersen 2-3 1-2 6, Terry 0-0 0-0 0, Newman 0-0 0-0 0, Owen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 27-31 85.
3-point goals — Emporia State 12-19 (Andrews 3-5, Stout 2-2, Niles 2-2, Moores 2-2, Box 2-3, Wilbern 1-4, Holthaus 0-1), Nebraska-Omaha 8-24 (Albers 4-7, Bridger 1-7, Albers 1-3, Jenkins 1-5, Petersen 1-2). Fouled out — Emporia State: None; Nebraska-Omaha: Curry. Rebounds — Emporia State 29 (Wilbern 14), Nebraska-Omaha 32 (Petersen 9). Assists — Emporia State 13 (Andrews 5), Nebraska-Omaha 15 (Bridger 6). Total fouls — Emporia State 25, Nebraska-Omaha 26. Att. — 621.