Lamar Wilbern stood on the court at White Auditorium about 10 minutes after Emporia State’s 86-80 comeback win over Nebraska-Omaha on Wednesday night, and out of nowhere, unprovoked, Wilbern let out a big belly laugh.
A lot had changed in the previous hour.
At halftime, Wilbern was furious with himself because UNO’s Mitch Albers, his man on defense, had scored 15 points and the Hornets trailed 44-34 at half.
“I took that personal,” Wilbern said. “I was too soft first half. I’ve always played against good guys and that guy was a good player. I was too soft and too easy on him, letting him do what he wanted to do, and he killed us.”
The Hornets were lucky to be down only 10, ESU coach David Moe said, and Moe let his team know of his... how to put this nicely? Displeasure.
“We got chewed out and I think we needed that,” Wilbern said. “We were playing soft, lazy, and he challenged us. Let’s guard.”
As they sat on the bench right before the start of the second half, Moe yelled out one final plea to his team: “Play some defense. Get some rebounds.”
The Hornets outrebounded UNO 24-16 and held the Mavs to 34 points in the second half. They responded to Moe’s challenge by playing inspired basketball. Shang Ping took a charge, Jeremiah Box dove over the scorer’s table for a loose ball, and Wilbern did not let Albers score another point.
“Second half, we showed how we need to come out every game and play, plain and simple,” Wilbern said. “The first half we didn’t compete, and I don’t know what it was. They made shots and kind of had us on our heels. The second half we competed our butts off and got the win.”
Wilbern played a huge role in the comeback, scoring eight points during a 2:30 run in which the Hornets tied the game — 52-52 — for the first time in the second half.
Wilbern finished with a game-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, but he had plenty of help in bringing the Hornets back.
Tim Niles came off the bench to help keep the Hornets in the game the first half. Nebraska-Omaha had its biggest lead of 14 before Niles found Wilbern for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 11. Niles made four 3-pointers, including three in the first half when he scored 10 of his 16 points.
“It kind of pissed me off,” Niles said of his team’s poor start. “I just wanted to get in there and rip somebody’s head off.”
Niles also gave the Hornets their first lead, 58-57, when he scored on a putback off one of his career-high eight rebounds.
Box and Adam Holthaus also played key roles in the ESU comeback. Box scored 14, but his defense was his biggest contribution. He had all four of the Hornets’ steals and he also had eight rebounds.
“We just had to come out and pick up our defense,” Holthaus said. “That was main thing. We came out and got the defense going and the offense came right with it.”
Holthaus was Emporia State’s offense down the stretch. The sophomore big man scored 16 points, including 14 of Emporia State’s final 22. He scored all of his points around the basket, the ESU guards rewarding him for setting ball screens all night that helped free them up.
“They started switching on us and I started getting the slip and somehow they were getting it to me,” Hothaus said. “I just had to do my job and finish the deal.”
With the win, Emporia State moved to 4-1 in the MIAA and into a tie with Washburn for second place in the conference. The Hornets have a chance on Saturday to move into first place against undefeated Southwest Baptist.
“As the conference goes on, it’s going to get tougher and tougher and we’re going to get scouted more and more,” Wilbern said, “and we have to come out like we did in the second half.”
Wednesday at White Auditorium
NEBRASKA-OMAHA (8-3, 2-2 MIAA)
Jenkins 3-8 10-12 17, Albers 7-15 0-0 15, Bridger 1-5 7-7 10, Terry 3-6 3-6 9, Petersen 3-6 2-2 9, Albers 3-6 0-0 7, Curry 1-4 5-6 7, Akins 3-5 0-0 6, Owen 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 24-57 27-35 80.
EMPORIA STATE (10-2, 4-1 MIAA)
Wilbern 7-15 7-8 22, Niles 5-9 2-5 16, Box 5-12 2-2 14, Holthaus 6-9 2-6 14, Moores 4-11 3-9 12, Ping 4-5 0-1 8, Pyle 0-1 0-0 0, Andrews 0-2 0-1 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 16-32 86.
3-point goals — Nebraska-Omaha 5-14 (Bridger 1-3, Albers 1-3, Petersen 1-2, Albers 1-2, Jenkins 1-3, Terry 0-1), Emporia State 8-26 (Niles 4-6, Box 2-9, Wilbern 1-6, Moores 1-4, Pyle 0-1). Fouled out — Nebraska-Omaha: Albers, Petersen, Curry; Emporia State: Andrews. Rebounds — Nebraska-Omaha 37 (Terry, Akins, Curry 6), Emporia State 40 (Wilbern 10). Assists — Nebraska-Omaha 11 (Jenkins 4), Emporia State 14 (Niles 5). Total fouls — Nebraska-Omaha 25, Emporia State 22. Att. — 1,863.