The Emporia State men’s basketball team won, 80-70, against Central Oklahoma yesterday.

Kevin Allen, senior center, scored 27 points and made 14 rebounds throughout the night

“That’s the Kevin that we always knew was there,” said Shaun Vandiver, head coach. “Now he’s in some shape and a flow that we’re just going to ride the rest of the year. Tonight he was phenomenal.”

The Hornets started the game on an 8-0 run, and the Bronchos turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions. With 12:17 left in the first, ESU led, 12-9.

In the first eight minutes, the two teams had 11 turnovers, the Hornets with five and the Bronchos with six.

ESU led 27-20 with 5:01 remaining in the first half. The Bronchos shot 40 percent in the first 15 minutes, shooting nearly 50 percent from the three. ESU shot almost 65 percent in the first 15 minutes.

Over the next three minutes, the Hornets created a 19 point lead.

The Hornets led UCO at the half, the score being 46-30 and the Hornets outrebounded the Bronchos 19-11 in the first half. ESU shot 66 percent from the floor and UCO shot 40 percent in the first half. The Hornets pulled down 17 defensive rebounds.

Allen led all scorers in the first half with 13 points and Charles Mckinney, senior guard, was the only player in double figures, with 10 points during the first half.

The Hornets had a steady 16 point lead through the first five minutes of the second half.

“I felt good in the layup line,” Allen said. “I knew it was going to translate to the game.”

A layup for ESU pushed the ESU lead to 20 with 11:54 remaining in the game, forcing a Broncho timeout. ESU was plus-12 in rebounding at that point with a 27-15 advantage. ESU also had 34 points in front of the free throw line to the Bronchos, 22.

With 4:51 remaining in the game, ESU held a 72-58 advantage.

The Bronchos changed from man-to-man defense to a 3-2 zone. The Hornets outrebounded the Bronchos 35-20 and pulled down 29 defensive rebounds. UCO’s free throw shooting was 3-11 from the line at that time.

“He (Allen) is my college version of Perry Ellis,” said Terrence Moore, senior guard. “At the end of the day we got to keep working and put another one together.”

The Hornets improved their record to 12-12 and will take on Northeastern State at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at White Auditorium.