EMPORIA, Kan. – The Southwest Baptist University men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker at Emporia State on Wednesday evening 73-71. After the loss, the Bearcats fall to 9-14 (4-13 MIAA).
The Bearcats came out of the locker room hitting three's, as Cartier Dean and Kai Woodfall both hit three's, as SBU took an early 11-4 lead with 15:46 left in the first half. After an ESU basket, Woodfall hit his third three of the game to put the Bearcats ahead 14-6. ESU responded with a 12-0 run, as the Hornets took an 18-14 lead with 11:30 left in the first. The Hornets slowly started to extend their lead, as SBU trailed 30-23 with 7:59 remaining in the half. With a pair of three's, coupled with a Cartier Dean layup, SBU pulled within two (32-30) before ESU pushed their lead back to eight (45-37) with 1:32 left in the half. The Bearcats responded with a Hovey three, followed by a Hovey jumper right before the end of the half as SBU trailed 45-42 at the half.
In the second half SBU opened up with a 6-2 run to re-take the lead at 48-47. ESU came right back with a jumper to re-take the lead, but another Woodfall three put the Bearcats up 51-49 with 16:59 remaining. The Bearcats held a small lead for the next 13 minutes of the contest before Emporia State tied the contest at 67-67 with 3:54 to go. After exchanging leads over the next two minutes, ESU used free throws to take the lead as SBU would eventually fall 73-71.
As a team SBU shot 63.0% from the field, 58.8% from beyond the arc, and 75.0% from the free throw line. Logan Hovey tied a career high with 29 points on 13 of 16 shooting from the field while also pulling down a game high 12 rebounds in the loss. Kai Woodfall hit four three's en route to a 16 points 5 assist performance, while Kalehl Brown added 8 points.
SBU will return home on Saturday, February 13 when they host Central Missouri. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. from the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar.
