The Emporia State mens basketball team fell to Lindenwood Monday 71-56. The Hornets shots just 33 percent from the floor.
“Tonight was just flat out we couldn’t hit shots,” said Shaun Vandiver, head coach.
With 14:45 left in the first half, the Lions led 12-11. Both teams got off to hot shooting starts, the Hornets at 66 percent with the Lions at 71 percent. Terrance Moore, senior guard, led the Hornets in scoring with four.
At the 8:05 mark, ESU led 21-20 with nine of the 10 points in that sequence coming off of three three-pointers. The Lions changed to a 2-3 zone for a six minute stretch and ESU knocked down shots. They shot 3-6 from the three point line over the first 12 minutes and hit three in a row.
A 9-2 run forced an ESU timeout with 4:47 remaining in the first half. Over a four minute stretch, ESU only put up three shots due to turnovers. Lindenwood had 13 points off the bench in the opening 15 minutes.
The Lions finished the half on a 21-8 run and led 41-29 at the break. Lindenwood shot 16-27 from the floor (59.3 percent), including 4-5 from three (80 percent.) ESU was just 11-28 from the floor and 3-9 from three point line. Eight Hornets scored in the first half and Terrence Moore led ESU with eight points. ESU was minus 5 in rebounding with 11 to Lindenwood’s 16. The Lions also benefitted from eight points off turnovers.
The slow offensive start continued for ESU in the opening six minutes of the second half as they scored just five points. With 13:51 left in the game, Lindenwood’s lead expanded to 48-34. ESU shot just 3-10 in that stretch.
With 9:59 remaining, Lindenwood led 54-37. They were 3-14 through the first 10 minutes of the second half. From the 8:05 mark in the first half to the 9:59 mark in the second, ESU shot 10-36 (28 percent) from the floor.
“I think our struggles are on defense mostly,” said Jay Temaat, junior guard. “If we keep taking the ball out of the net, we can’t get out and run and that’s what we do best.”
The Hornets’ pressure defense brought them to within 12 at the 2:53 mark in the second half. ESU ended the night shooting 20-60 and 7-21 from the three point line. Moore finished with 12 points, leading ESU in scoring. The Hornets will continue their season on Thursday as they travel to Central Oklahoma.
“We didn’t execute on the defensive end,” Moore said. “We didn’t execute, they did and tonight they exposed us.”