Photo by Carly Pearson
Emporia State’s Andrew Davison covers his head with his jersey after the Hornets’ 57-51 loss to Northwest Missouri State in the MIAA Tournament championship game Sunday night. The loss ended Emporia State’s hopes of reaching the NCAA Division II Tournament.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — DeAndre Townsend was asked about Northwest Missouri State’s defense. Five sentences later, he broke down and cried at the press table.
After playing the part of Superman for Emporia State in the first two rounds of the MIAA Tournament, Townsend couldn’t help but feel helpless after the Hornets’ 57-51 loss in the championship game against Northwest.
“Tonight, I just couldn’t make no plays,” a crying Townsend said, his voice slowing, trembling.
“I made some, but I guess I couldn’t make enough for us to get over the top and win us a championship.”
Townsend wasn’t alone in his sorrow. Next to him, ESU coach David Moe sat red-eyed with a choked-up voice. Just a few minutes before, the coach was seen wiping his eyes as the final seconds on his six seniors’ careers ticked away.
Two seats down was Andrew Davison, who openly wept on the floor with 1.6 seconds left and ESU down five.
When the final buzzer sounded, he pulled his jersey up over his head and crouched in the corner of the court, left with the realization that his college playing days were over.
The eighth-seeded Hornets, who had shot their way to upsets over both Southwest Baptist and Fort Hays State, simply couldn’t hit the shots when they mattered most on Sunday.
ESU opened by hitting eight of its first 12 3-pointers (67 percent). The team finished by making just three of its last 21 (14 percent).
Photo by Carly Pearson
Emporia State’s DeAndre Townsend is guarded by Northwest Missouri’s Matt Withers (42) and Lance Sullivan Sunday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Townsend had 16 points in the Hornets’ 57-51 loss to Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Tournament championship game.
“It’s one of those we’ll go home and watch the tape a while and figure out how we did it,” Northwest coach Steve Tappmeyer said. “We’re just happy we made enough plays.”
A lot of it had to do with Northwest’s defense.
After watching Townsend pick apart Fort Hays the night before, the Bearcats double- and sometimes triple-teamed Townsend off of ball screens.
The traps kept the speedy guard bothered and also kept him out of the lane for most of the night.
As a result, ESU tied a season low in points (51) and also had just four two-point goals.
Townsend finished with 16 points, but he had just 11 shot attempts. He also had eight turnovers.
There were other circumstances for ESU that didn’t help.
Jordan Fithian, who had six rebounds in the second half, fouled out on a fluke play with 2:21 remaining.
Moe had told Marvin Lee to foul one of Northwest’s players so that the Hornets could rest during the upcoming media timeout.
When Lee did commit the foul, the scorer’s table forgot to tell officials that a stoppage was needed.
Northwest inbounded the ball against a disorganized ESU defense, and Fithian committed his fifth foul.
Another game-changer came at the end of the first half.
Spencer Allen hit a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds left before the intermission, bringing the ESU fans to their feet as the Hornets grabbed a 27-25 lead, their biggest advantage of the night.
The momentum changed seconds later.
After taking the inbounds pass, Northwest’s Mike Larsen launched a three-quarters-court shot just before the buzzer.
“I saw it was on line and thought it had a chance,” Larsen said. “Once it got a little closer, I was like, ‘That’s going in.’”
Larsen raised his arms before the ball even got to the rim, somehow knowing his 65-foot heave was about to bank off the glass and go through the net.
The Bearcats sprinted to the locker room with an extra boost after regaining the 28-27 advantage.
Photo by Carly Pearson
Emporia State’s Marvin Lee, right has his shot blocked by Northwest Missouri State’s Andy Peterson Sunday night at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Lee had nine points and seven rebounds in the Hornets’ 57-51 loss.
ESU had a chance to tie late, but Caleb Tegtmeier’s potential game-tying three fell off the side of the rim with 39 seconds left.
Besides Townsend, Davison was the only other Hornet in double figures with 12 points. He was held scoreless in the second half, going 0-for-8 from three-point range.
Both Davison and Townsend were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Hornets (14-16) set a tournament record by making 35 3-pointers. The previous best was 30 set back in 1993.
Still, ESU came up one victory short of gaining an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
“It probably hurts worse, just because we were so close,” Davison said, “but I’ll take that over not winning.”
The Hornets were the first eight seed ever to advance to the MIAA Tournament finals — a dream run that finally had its ending on Sunday.
Moe still said it was an accomplishment worth celebrating.
“I had six very special seniors,” Moe said, “that at least showed Kansas City and the rest of the league how much heart and pride that we have.”
Northwest Mo. State men 57, Emporia State 51
Sunday at Kansas City, Mo.
Emporia State 27 24 — 51
Northwest Mo. State 28 29 — 57
Emporia State (14-16) — DeAndre Townsend 5-11 3-5 16, Andrew Davison 4-15 0-0 12, Marvin Lee 2-8 5-9 9, Dustin Andrews 2-5 0-0 6, Caleb Tegtmeier 2-5 0-0 6, Spencer Allen 0-0 2-2 2, Jordan Fithian 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Pyle 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 10-16 51.
Northwest Missouri State (23-7) — Hunter Henry 6-9 0-0 12, Matt Withers 4-6 3-5 11, Mike Larsen 3-7 0-0 9, Andy Peterson 4-7 1-1 9, Lance Sullivan 3-6 0-0 8, Mose Howard 0-6 6-8 6, Elijah Allen 0-1 2-2 2, Kelvin Cayruth 0-1 0-0 0, Andrais Thornton 0-1 0-0 0, John Hawkins 0-3 0-0 0, Eddie Gray 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 12-16 57.
3-point goals — Emporia State 11-33 (Davison 4-14, Townsend 3-8, Andrews 2-4, Tegtmeier 2-5, Lee 0-2), Northwest Mo. State 5-15 (Larsen 3-5, Sullivan 2-4, Peterson 0-1,Howard 0-2, Hawkins 0-3). Fouled out — Emporia State: Fithian; Northwest Mo. State: None. Rebounds — Emporia State 32 (Fithian 9), Northwest Mo. State 30 (Henry 9). Assists — Emporia State 10 (Townsend 3), Northwest Mo. State 14 (Withers 4). Total fouls — Emporia State 18, Northwest Mo. State 20. Att — 1,769.
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