In an away game against Nebraska Kearney, the Hornet Men gave up a 10-point lead early in the first quarter to fall to the Lopers in a 70-57 loss.  

The Hornets began the game with a three pointer by Brandon Hall, junior guard, just a minute and sixteen seconds into the match.  

On a three-pointer by junior forward Hassan Thomas, the Hornets took the largest lead of the night early in the game.  They widened the gap to a 10 point lead, raising the score to 31-21 over the Lopers.  

As the first quarter progressed, the Hornets continued their strong offense and the points continued to fall as the score was 35-25 with just 3:15 left in the half.  However, Nebraska Kearney followed up with a 7-2 run going into the locker room.

As a continuation of the previous half, the Lopers widened their run to 16-2 at the start of the second half.  With 12:53 left in the third quarter, the Hornets were short of the Lopers by just three points as the score was 44-41.  

The Lopers took a 10-1 run soon after, creating a substantial lead, 54-42.  A three pointer by sophomore guard Grant Shell allowed for the Hornets to close the gap, now only trailing by eight points.  

This was the final time that the score gap would not be in the double digits.  The score closed at 70-57, a 13 point loss for the Hornets.

Emporia State will play again at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at White Auditorium.  They will take on Missouri Western.