The Emporia State men’s basketball team defeated Northeast State Saturday afternoon at White Auditorium, 85-65. The Hornets evened their overall record to 13-13 and 10-10 in the MidAmerican Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

The first half had 10 ties and nine lead changes. There were very little margins between the team’s scores in the first half, until Emporia made seven points in a row.

The score was 48-42 with 15 seconds left. The Riverhawks’ KD Moore scored in the last few seconds to close the lead, 48-44.

Northeastern made two points, immediately after the second half began, tying with ESU, 50-50. Emporia, in turn, made 10 straight points. They sustained their 10-point lead, until they went on a 17-2 run. The score was 84-59. with 3:38 remaining.

The Riverhawks’ KD Moore dunked the final points of the game making the final score 85-65.

“I think our defense is what changed during the second half,” said Charles Mckinney, senior guard. “Coach said we had to slow down Dakota Caudill and make him make some tough shots and shoot over defenders and make other players make plays.”

ESU had four players that made 10 or more points. McKinney made 20 points and Terrence Moore, senior guard, made 17 points. Tyler Jordan, junior guard, had a season high of 13 points and Jevon Taylor, junior guard, 10. The Hornets out-rebounded the RiverHawks 43-32 with Kevin Allen, senior center, leading with 11 rebounds.

“The next man up mentality is the model with this team,” Jordan said. “We have a lot of talent and anyone at any time can go out there and go off.”

The Hornets are currently tied for seventh in the MIAA Tournament, and have a possibility to host a first round game on Tuesday, March 1.

The Hornets finished with 43 rebounds, outrebounding the Riverhawks by 11. 28 of the 43 rebounds were defensive.

“This is the strongest game we’ve had all year long, period,” said Shaun Vandiver, head coach. “I told the guys this is the first game we’ve gone up by 20 and kept the lead. I’m happy for the guys and happy everyone got to play. We just have to keep playing out basketball and it has to be the next man up.”

The Hornets finished the game with a 48.6 shooting percentage from the floor. They shot 27.3 percent from the three point line. They also shot 9-14 from the free throw line, close to their team average.

Emporia State hosts Washburn State at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the MIAA Tournament. This is ESU’s season finale. The MIAA Tournament will begin March 1.