BOLIVAR, Mo. – The SBU men's basketball team put up a tough fight against the Emporia State Hornets but fell 68-64. The loss drops the Bearcats to 8-11 (3-10 MIAA) on the season.
The Bearcats were the first to score with a layup by Brian Patterson, but the Hornets quickly scored to tie the game in the first couple minutes of play. Emporia jumped to a 2-point lead, but a 3-pointer by Logan Hovey with 17:10 left in the half put the Bearcats back in the lead at 5-4. The Bearcats extended their lead when Kalund Brown threw it downcourt fo Kalehl Brown to score an easy layup (7-4). A steal by Brown gave SBU the ball back before he dished off to Marley Biyendolo to score a layup bringing the score to 9-4 with 14:50 left in the half. The scoring went back-and-forth with Emporia slowly catching up and gaining a 1-point lead (14-13) with 10:09 on the clock. The lead switched twice before shots from Cartier Dean and Theo Oghide gave SBU a 5-point lead (23-18) with 5:42 left in the half. Emporia caught up again, but a jumper by Hovey kept the Bearcat lead with the score at 25-23. Emporia went on an 8-0 run to gain the lead before Patterson capped it off with a layup and pulled the Bearcats within 4 (27-31). The scoring went both ways with Emporia holding a slim lead as the half would end with the Bearcats down 39-32.
Emporia opened the second half with a short 4-0 run before SBU was able to score with free throws from Brown. A three pointer from Brown and a layup by Hovey pulled the Bearcats within 2 points (41-39) with 16:06 left in the game. Strong defense by the Bearcats gave SBU the ball back and a Brown 3 pointer from Dean put them back on top 42-41. The game was scoreless for the next few minutes until a free-throw by Hovey with 10:38 on the clock. Emporia tied it up but another free-throw by Hovey put the Bearcats back on top 44-43. Both teams played a tight game with shots from Oghide, Hovey, and Woodfall from SBU. The Hornets gained the lead but free throws from Hovey would bring the score to 53-51 with 4:53 left in the game. Emporia went on another short 5-0 run but free throws from Dean would cut them off and pull SBU within a single point (56-55). After free throws from the Hornets put SBU down, Patterson dished off to Brown who scored on a layup keeping SBU within 1 (58-57). Emporia went on a 6-0 run before SBU scored on a layup by Brown bringing the score to 64-59. A foul by Emporia sent Hovey to the line where he made 1 of 2 with 0:25 left in the game. An Emporia turnover gave SBU the ball back, which Dean used to score a layup pulling SBU within 2 (64-62). Emporia hit free throws down the stretch as SBU fell 68-64.
The Bearcats were led in scoring by Logan Hovey who had 16 points with Brown close behind with 14 points. As a team, SBU shot 51.1% from the field, 40.0% from behind the three-point line, and 71.4% from the free-throw line. The Bearcats will be back at home on Saturday, January 30th as they face-off against the Washburn Ichabods. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center.
