KANSAS CITY, MO. — As Emporia State and Washburn warmed up on Thursday night, someone on press row asked, “How did Emporia State sweep these guys this year?”
The undersized Hornets don’t pass the eye test, but during the first half — when the Hornets made 7-of-10 3-pointers — they showed why they were the surprise of the MIAA. Eventually, though, Washburn found Emporia State’s holes and most likely ended ESU’s season with an 88-82 win in the first round of the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
The Hornets will wait until Sunday’s NCAA tournament selection announcement to find out whether their season is over, but a three-minute, 51-second scoreless drought probably sealed their fate.
“At the point we had to face adversity, I don’t think we handled that, and it just came down to getting defensive stops,” ESU guard Robert Moores said. “In the first half, we had them taking tough shots and they were doing the same thing in the second half that they were doing in the first half. We just didn’t rebound as well and get defensive stops.”
Offensive lulls led to several Emporia State losses this season; blowing a 23-point lead at Missouri Southern immediately comes to mind. But during their recent three-game winning streak and when they played Washburn, the Hornets were able to overcome their scoring droughts every time.
In their first meeting, with the game tied at halftime, Washburn opened the second half on a 14-0 run, and Emporia State fought back to win. Last week at Washburn, the Hornets built a big lead, let Washburn back in the game and then finished on an 18-6 run.
But Washburn’s 12-0 run Thursday night that Lamar Wilbern finally ended with two free throws with 4:47 left gave the Ichabods their first lead, and it came too late for the Hornets to respond.
“Washburn’s age and experience probably allowed them to play with a little bit more sense of urgency,” ESU coach David Moe said, “and the environment might have shook us up a little bit.”
During the run, both Adam Holthaus and Moores got to the line and could have ended the drought, but they missed all three free throws. Washburn made 35-of-41 free throws, preventing an ESU comeback in the final minutes.
Moores’ 2-for-6 performance at the line was about his only flaw. He scored a career-high 31 points. Unlike most of his big scoring games, Moores did most of his scoring by driving to the basket. He had the top 3-point percentage in the league this season, and Washburn tried to take away the 3-pointer — he still made three — so he drove hard to the basket instead.
“To be honest, Rob pretty much carried us from start to finish,” Wilbern said.
Wilbern is usually the ESU guard who drives hard to the basket, but he picked up his third foul 20 seconds into the second half on an offensive charge and was hesitant to drive for most of the second half.
When Wilbern got in foul trouble, he went to Moores and told him he needed to take over the scoring load, which he did. But without anyone else for the Hornets to lean on, they struggled offensively.
“I wish I personally could have played a better game,” Wilbern said, “and the rest of the team could have played a better game to help him out.”
Tim Niles also had three fouls to start the second half. Wilbern and Niles, a first-team All-MIAA defender, could not play as aggressively as they usually do defensively.
“I think our whole surge at the end of the season was because we were aggressive defensively and we were really active and aggressive,” Moe said. “Everybody’s in foul trouble in the first half and we’re trying to survive the foul troubles. ... We can’t put any pressure on the ball, and they were able to throw it inside.”
The Ichabods, who clearly outsized the Hornets, settled for 3-pointers until they made their run by attacking in the post.
“You get tentative on defense and now you’re pressing on offense, and it was an environment that we just didn’t respond well, and things get a little bit tighter and tighter and then finally it’s gone,” Moe said. “That’s the tentative nature.”
Without a surprise NCAA tournament bid, Emporia State would end its season 18-10. The Hornets were ranked 10th in the most recent South Central Regional rankings, and only eight teams from each region make the NCAA tournament.
For the Hornets to even be in consideration was impressive considering only they had only one player in their top six who played for last year’s team that lost in the MIAA tournament championship.
With all six returning next season — five of whom will be seniors — the Hornets will have the experience and should be able to contend again at the top of the conference.
“It’s disappointing to end your season that way, but I thought we had a great year and made huge progress,” Moe said. “I can’t be any prouder of a team overall for the progress that we made throughout the season, and it’s disappointing that it came down like this, but it’s one of my more enjoyable years from the first day of practice.
“When you look back and you really don’t have any regrets, and I think we’ve learned through experience throughout the year. This was a great experience for us for next year.”
Thursday at Municipal Auditorium
Washburn 35 53 — 88
Emporia State 43 39 — 82
WASHBURN (16-12)
Eggins 4-9 12-12 20, Malone 5-13 8-9 20, Williams 1-4 12-14 14, Byers 5-10 0-0 13, McNeill 5-10 2-4 12, Daniels 3-5 0-0 8, Carter 0-0 1-2 1, Stutz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 35-41 88.
EMPORIA STATE (18-10)
Moores 13-20 2-6 31, Wilbern 5-13 4-4 16, Box 5-7 1-2 13, Holthaus 3-6 4-5 10, Stout 2-2 0-0 6, Niles, 1-4 4-6 6, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Pyle 0-0 0-0 0, Andrews 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-54 15-23 82.
3-point goals — Washburn 7-18 (Byers 3-6, Daniels 2-2, Malone 2-5, McNeill 0-1, Williams 0-2, Eggins 0-2), Emporia State 9-20 (Moores 3-6, Wilbern 2-7, Box 2-3, Stout 2-2, Niles 0-2). Fouled out — Washburn: Eggins; Emporia State: Niles, Andrews. Rebounds — Washburn 36 (Eggins 9), Emporia State 27 (Holthaus 6). Assists — Washburn 14 (Eggins, 7), Emporia State 10 (Allen 2, Andrews 2). Total fouls — Washburn 24, Emporia State 29. Att. — 1,677.