After 10 years at Emporia State, David Moe the ESU men’s basketball head coach stepped down effective March 21. The coach who holds the third most wins in ESU history made the announcement early last week that he would be stepping down as the Hornets’ head coach in order to spend time with his family.

“It has been difficult for me and for my family to be separated for long periods of time throughout the year,” Moe said. “Trying to balance the responsibilities of being the head basketball coach at Emporia State and my responsibilities as a husband and a father has become more difficult as I see my sons and daughter grow up.”

Moe, who holds a 162-126 record during his tenure at ESU, will remain in the coaching profession but decided to relocate closer to his wife, two sons and daughter who have lived in Delaware for the past three years.

During his 10 year stretch at ESU, Moe was responsible for leading the Hornets to their first ever Division II national tournament in the 2003-2004 season. He is also one of just three coaches to take his team to every MIAA tournament held in Kansas City, and he was able to lead his team to the semifinals in four of the last six years.

Director of Athletics Kent Weiser recognized the improvement that Moe brought to the program.

“He was here for 10 seasons and just did an outstanding job for us. I think to really appreciate what he’s done you have to look back at where the program was in 2001,” Weiser said in reference to the year before Moe arrived in which the Hornets went 9-17.

With Moe being separated from his family for a good part of each basketball season, Weiser noted that Moe’s stepping down was not a surprise.

“It was not a surprise,” Weiser said. “I know this was weighing heavily on his mind really the last couple of years. It was tough because it seemed to me like when he was here, he felt he should’ve been with his family, and when he was with his family, he felt like he should’ve been here.”

The search for a new head coach began immediately after Moe stepped down. Weiser noted that despite high interest in the position (130 applicants), the process is about halfway through with hopes to name a new successor by the week of April 11.

Weiser plans on traveling to Houston this weekend to attend the National Coaches Convention to set up times with potential candidates, a process that will spill over into next week before they name the next coach.

Assistant Head Coach Wes Book has currently taken over the day to day operations of the team and will remain on staff with the team. The Hornets had two early signees that Weiser said will remain signed with the team. Book will remain in touch with the other recruits until the new coach is named.

Brandon Schneeberger

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After 10 years at Emporia State, David Moe the ESU men’s basketball head coach stepped down effective March 21. The

Moe

coach who holds the third most wins in ESU history made the announcement early last week that he would be stepping down as the Hornets’ head coach in order to spend time with his family.

“It has been difficult for me and for my family to be separated for long periods of time throughout the year,” Moe said. “Trying to balance the responsibilities of being the head basketball coach at Emporia State and my responsibilities as a husband and a father has become more difficult as I see my sons and daughter grow up.”

Moe, who holds a 162-126 record during his tenure at ESU, will remain in the coaching profession but decided to relocate closer to his wife, two sons and daughter who have lived in Delaware for the past three years.

During his 10 year stretch at ESU, Moe was responsible for leading the Hornets to their first ever Division II national tournament in the 2003-2004 season. He is also one of just three coaches to take his team to every MIAA tournament held in Kansas City, and he was able to lead his team to the semifinals in four of the last six years.

Director of Athletics Kent Weiser recognized the improvement that Moe brought to the program.

“He was here for 10 seasons and just did an outstanding job for us. I think to really appreciate what he’s done you have to look back at where the program was in 2001,” Weiser said in reference to the year before Moe arrived in which the Hornets went 9-17.

With Moe being separated from his family for a good part of each basketball season, Weiser noted that Moe’s stepping down was not a surprise.

“It was not a surprise,” Weiser said. “I know this was weighing heavily on his mind really the last couple of years. It was tough because it seemed to me like when he was here, he felt he should’ve been with his family, and when he was with his family, he felt like he should’ve been here.”

The search for a new head coach began immediately after Moe stepped down. Weiser noted that despite high interest in the position (130 applicants), the process is about halfway through with hopes to name a new successor by the week of April 11.

Weiser plans on traveling to Houston this weekend to attend the National Coaches Convention to set up times with potential candidates, a process that will spill over into next week before they name the next coach.

Assistant Head Coach Wes Book has currently taken over the day to day operations of the team and will remain on staff with the team. The Hornets had two early signees that Weiser said will remain signed with the team. Book will remain in touch with the other recruits until the new coach is named.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Emporia State’s David Moe has stepped down as head basketball coach for the ESU men’s basketball team effective on Monday, March 21. Coach Moe was the head coach for the Hornets for the past 10 years earning a record of 162-126. Moe is the the third winningest coach at ESU behind Gus Fish and Ron Slaymaker.

Moe plans to stay in the coaching profession and stated that he decided to step down in order to spend more time with his family who currently lives in Delaware. Assistant Coach Wes Brook will handle the day to day operations until a new head coach is found. The search for a new successor began immediately last week.

For the entire story see next week’s issue of The Bulletin.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Senior Robert Moores looks to take a shot against Fort Hays State University Saturday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets won 81-77. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Despite 31 points from Fort Hays State Guard Dominique Jones, the Emporia State Hornets were able to control much of Saturday evening’s game and eventually pull away for an 81-77 victory on senior night.

            “Everybody wanted to win,” said Senior Michael Tyler. “We didn’t want to end our season bad. Everybody was talking about the MIAA tournament. We had to come back and play hard. Everybody knew that, so we did that tonight.”

Much like the last time the two teams met, the Hornets were able to stick with the Tigers. The first half saw ESU jump out to an impressive 16-6 led behind seniors Matt Boswell (nine points, four rebounds) and Tyler (18 points, eight rebounds).

            The Hornets would take an eight point lead into the half after Jones made a shot for FHSU as time expired. Tyler scored 13 of his 18 in the first 20 minutes of play, and the Hornets’ defense held strong holding the Tigers to just 35.5 percent shooting to their own 48.4 percent.

            ESU opened up a 13 point second half lead in the first three minutes of the half. However, Fort Hays would take their first lead with 6:28 left after scoring seven unanswered points.

            The teams would continue to battle back and forth. After a three pointer by Jones to tie the game with 3:48 left, the Hornets would hold Fort Hays to just two points in the next two minutes. Sophomore guard Taylor Euler (18 points, five rebounds) hit a big three with 1:01 remaining and added six free throws in the final minute to put Fort Hays away for good.

            “Last week really helped me with my confidence,” Euler said. “You look back on that experience, and say ‘I hit them then, I can hit them now.’ And this time you have the home crowd, the good vibes good luck. I was just able to step up and knock them down.”

            ESU honored their seniors before the game. They were both happy with the last two wins and looking forward to the weekend’s upcoming action.

            “It’s going to be pretty nice if we can go down to Kansas City, win a couple of games and be playing for a championship,” said Senior Adam Holthaus. “Definitely those last two games… (are) definitely a big confidence boost.”

            The Hornets (15-13, 12-10) are the sixth seed in the MIAA tournament. They will face Washburn in a rematch from last week’s game at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at Municipal Coliseum in Kansas City, Mo.

Brandon Schneeberger

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It was neck and neck until the final minutes in what was the second meeting between Emporia State and Washburn. With 3:30 left in the game, sophomore guard Taylor Euler hit a three-pointer to break a 60-60 tie and spark a 7-0 run. Washburn would not recover as ESU won the game 73-68.

“The most important thing to me was that we competed as well as we have all year,” said Head Coach David Moe. “We got a little discouraged at times in the first half, but I think getting into the tournament after that last game relieved a lot pressure.”

Neither team took control in the early minutes with neither taking a lead larger than six points. With 3:49 left in the half, however, the Ichabods began what was an 8-0 run to end the half to give themselves a six point edge entering halftime.

Matt Boswell led the way for ESU in the first half scoring seven of his 15 in the half. Turnovers plagued the Hornets as they committed eight.

ESU fought back in the second and eventually tied the Ichabods with 14:03 remaining after a three by senior guard Robert Moores (eight points, seven assists).

Once again, neither team was able to pull away from the other until Euler’s three with 3:30 remaining. The second half saw five ties and 11 lead changes all within a 10:30 stretch of play.

“It was definitely a grind out game back and forth,” Burnette said. “We just knew that we had to match their intensity and keep fighting.”

With 3:30 left however, Euler made a deep three to break what would be the final tie of the evening. After two missed Washburn free throws, a free throw by senior guard Xavier Burnette (19 points, seven rebounds) and another three by Burnette, the Hornets were up by seven and would not look back.

Washburn would cut the lead to two points with 14 seconds remaining, but Euler would strike again as he made all four of his free throws in the final seconds to clinch the victory for the Hornets.

Despite hearing chants of “air-ball” throughout the night for a first half air ball as the shot clock wound down, Euler was able to make three of his four attempted threes as well as all four of his free throws late in the game in route to his 13 points.

“You get that (chants) all through high school,” Euler said. “You just have to have fun with it because if you don’t have fun with it, than it’s just going to get to you, and you’re going to get out of your game.”

The Hornets look to keep the success going as they prepare for the MIAA tournament. Their next game is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at White Auditorium in what is the final home game.

Brandon Schneeberger

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It didn’t happen right away, but the ESU men’s basketball team finally pulled away from Lincoln University Saturday evening. Poor shooting from beyond the arc in the first half helped keep Lincoln in the game until the Hornets outscored Lincoln by eight points in the second half to win the game 84-60.

“In the first half we’d go out and do what we wanted how we wanted and struggled,” said Head Coach David Moe. “Luckily we were still in the game at halftime, came out in the second half and came out and played the way we needed to play.”

The first half for the Hornets may not have been pretty, but ESU was still able to maintain the lead. Although the Hornets kept Lincoln from shooting well on the defensive end, they struggled themselves as they settled for ten three pointers and made only one. Emporia State was led in the half by senior guard Robert Moores who had 10 of his 12 in the first half.

The Hornets came out sluggish again in the early goings of the second half as Lincoln went on a 10-4 run to open things up and tie the game at 40. However, ESU would counter with a 19-4 run of their own to lead 59-44 with 11:59 remaining.

“Definitely, in the second half, our defense kind of sparked our offense there,” said Senior Guard Matt Boswell who had 11 points and five rebounds. “Once we started getting some stops, we got easier buckets on the offensive end.”

Despite the hot shooting from the Blue Tigers in the second half (65.2 percent), the Hornets were able to force 12 second half turnovers and get easy buckets in transition. After the big run, the Hornets would lead by as many as 20 points with 3:15 left and didn’t allow Lincoln anywhere closer than 14.

Xavier Burnette led the way with 14 points and four rebounds. ESU saw strong contributions from the bench especially from Michael Tyler who scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds.

“Mike does come off the bench,” Boswell said. “But he’s one of our better players, better scorers. When we get it to him inside, he really uses his body well (and) makes stuff happen for us on the offensive end.”

Barring Wednesday night’s action, the win puts the Hornets at 10-10 in the MIAA and alone in sixth place. The Hornets are a game ahead of Missouri Western and Pittsburg State and two games ahead of Southwest Baptist.

The Hornets played Washburn on Wednesday night in the second round of the Turnpike Tussle. They return to White Auditorium for their final home game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Fort Hays State.

Brandon Schneeberger

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It was a tale of two halves at White Auditorium on Wednesday evening as the Emporia State men’s basketball team took

Senior Adam Holthaus gets a layup against Pittsburg State Wednesday night at White Auditorium. The Hornets beat the Gorillas 82-81.

 on the Gorillas of Pittsburg State. The Hornets were down by 12 at halftime but fought back for an 82-81 victory.

            “We’ve been in similar situations where we get down early,” said senior guard Xavier Burnette. “Tonight our main focus was not to pout, not to get down on ourselves but to just keep fighting and match their intensity.”

            The game started in Pittsburg State’s favor before it ever began as senior Michael Tyler was whistled for a technical foul before regulation began for dunking during the warm-ups, allowing the Gorillas to start the game up 1-0.

            Despite the early deficit, ESU was able to open up the game leading by three shortly after the start. However, the three-point shooting from the Gorillas overwhelmed Emporia as they scored 47 points in the first half to Emporia State’s 35. The Gorillas made nine of their 14 attempted three pointers in the half.

            “We were going zone and trying to take away the inside game and the penetration game, which we did, and they ended up kicking it out and everybody was knocking shots down,” said Head Coach David Moe.

            After switching to a man-to-man defense in the second half, the Hornets slowly began to cut into the lead. Senior guard Robert Moores helped spark the Hornets lead with eight points in the first ten minutes. Moores would finish with 12 points for the evening.

            It wasn’t until the 8:23 mark when the Hornets finally tied the Gorillas after a lay-up by senior Adam Holthaus. ESU would take their first lead after a steal and breakaway dunk by Burnette who ended the game with 19 total points, 13 of them coming in the second half.

            The Hornets’ free-throw shooting kept them in the game and eventually secured the win as Tyler sealed the deal with his two point shot at the 13 second mark. Despite a desperate three at the end, the Gorillas were unable to catch up.

“This is a huge win,” Moores said. “This gets us still in the race to get into the tournament. We have a lot of seniors on the team and we didn’t want Fort Hays being our last game.”

The win keeps the Hornets alive for post season play as they improve to 12-13 on the season and 9-10 in the MIAA. ESU will take the court again at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at White Auditorium.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Emporia State men’s basketball team lined up against The University of Central Missouri on Thursday after being postponed by weather conditions. Looking to improve upon their loss earlier in the season against UCM, the Hornets kept themselves in the game for the first half, but their efforts were marginalized early in the second half as they lost 68-51.

“Central came out (and) got physical with us,” said Head Coach David Moe. “We didn’t respond as has happened to us before… We’ve got to learn from it at some point.”

Starting the game disoriented, the Hornets put themselves in an early bind by making two fouls in the first minute and then found themselves down 5-0. ESU regained their composure and stormed back with an 11-0 run to tie the game and eventually took the lead. The half ended with UCM holding a tenuous lead over the Hornets, 27-25.

“I can’t put a finger on it. We play better when we make shots early… It makes the game easier for us, and today we didn’t make shots early,” said senior forward Michael Tyler. “We had open shots. We just couldn’t make them.”

The Hornets struggled to make anything happen down low due to the physical nature of Central Missouri. In the second half, ESU was only able to register four points in the paint.

“They are a physical team, and I thought (in the) second half we struggled,” said senior guard Matt Boswell. “We couldn’t knock down shots. When we can’t go inside, it really hurts us (offensively).”

The Hornets quickly fell further behind after a 9-3 run by UCM to start the second half. Tyler broke the Hornets dry spell by making their first field goal of the half almost nine minutes in.

“I think we struggle against bigger physical teams,” Boswell said. “I think if we get mentally and physically tougher we have a chance to compete with anyone.”

The Hornets only made six more field goals – two of them coming from beyond the arc – the rest of the game. Shooting 31.6 percent for the game and 26.9 percent for the second half, the Hornets failed to rise up to UCM’s physical challenges.

“We have to respond. You can’t just beat the soft teams. You’ve got to beat the teams that challenge you physically,” Moe said. “You have to be able to be tough to still make plays when the other team is physical.”

The Hornets now stand at 11-10 on the season and 8-7 in the MIAA. Preparing to go on a three game road stretch, the Hornets are looking for more conference wins.

“Every game is a must win now. We’ve got to take it one game at a time,” Tyler said. “We didn’t get this one. We’ve got to move on and get the next one.”

Chris Dvorak

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They asserted themselves early and didn’t let up Sunday afternoon as the

Senior Jarvis Nichols puts in a layup against Truman Sunday afternoon at White Auditorium. The Hornets won 65-61. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

Emporia State men’s basketball team won a hard fought game against Truman 65-61. Matt Boswell and Xavier Burnette led the Hornets combining for 34 points and 10 rebounds.

“Coming out in the second half, coach had faith in me that if I’d get that ball in the low block that I would make something happen with it,” Boswell said. “I got a couple of shots going and hopefully sparked us the second half there at the beginning.”

Boswell and Burnette helped spark the Hornets early on as they jumped out to a fast 13-6 lead. The two combined for 11 of the first 13 points before Truman pulled back to within two points.

Neither team took control of the first half as the Hornets entered the break up 29-26.

“The first half we weren’t shooting well from the field, and guys were just kind of standing around watching, not attacking, settling for jumpers,” Burnette said. “We just knew that we had to come out even more aggressive. The more aggressive you are, I think the better you play.”

The second half saw much of the same script as Boswell scored six unanswered points after Truman quickly tied the game at 29. Much like the first half, neither team ran out to a lead larger than six points.

The Hornets, however, controlled the momentum as Burnette contributed on two different and-one plays. The first came at the 13:39 mark to break a tie, and the second happened with 6:07 left giving ESU a five point lead. A lead they wouldn’t give up for the remained of the afternoon.

“We got one possession where we had three or four offensive rebounds, ended up pulling it out and running some clock, and we ended up turning it over, but… we never veered from what’s made us successful in the last 10 days or so,” said Head Coach David Moe.

Clutch free throws down the stretch by Robert Moores who had 17 points on the afternoon would eventually put the Bulldogs away for good.

“We didn’t play as well as we’ve been playing. A little carry over from the end of the (Missouri) Western game as far as finishing shots and making plays,” Moe said. “But you get a win under your belt again and bounce back, and then hopefully you can start making shots and making plays again.”

The Hornets improve now to 11-9 overall and 8-6 in the MIAA. Their next game was Wednesday night against Central Missouri. They then travel to Nebraska-Omaha in what is the first of three straight road games for the Hornets.

“I was glad we could finish this game off,” Boswell said. “We really needed this win. We gotta build from it.”

Brandon Schneeberger

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Senior Michael Tyler is blocked by a Washburn opponent Saturday afternoon at White Auditorium. The Hornets lost to the Ichabods 69-56. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

The Emporia State men’s basketball team faced off against conference rivals Washburn University for the first time this season on Saturday. Falling behind early in the game, the Hornets struggled throughout to make up ground but couldn’t claim the lead losing 69-56.

“It was a big hole, but at some point you have to play well,” said Head Coach David Moe. “We played poorly… We weren’t mentally ready to play and compete in this game, and that ultimately falls back on me. It’s unfortunate, but that falls back on all of us… We have to realize we need each other to have success… You can’t do it by yourself.”

Washburn opened up the game with a three-pointer and soon had a 12-point lead as the Hornets trailed by over 10 for much of the first half. The Hornets’ offense continued to be stalled through the first five minutes of the half.

“We have to come out and fight with the same intensity that we have when we’re down,” said Senior Guard Xavier Burnette. “When teams go on runs, we tend to hang our heads. We need to put together strings of stops and just keep fighting knowing that we have each others’ backs.”

In the first half, the Hornets had a 10 minute scoring drought until two Burnett free throws. The half ended with the Hornets’ offense being held in check 25-31.

“It’s tough when you give up a lead that big right at the start of the game. I thought we could turn the corner on the steal and the pass,” said Senior Guard Matt Boswell. “We couldn’t get enough stops. We tried hard but couldn’t get it done.”

Boswell helped keep the Hornets in the game hitting three of four from beyond the arc. He ended the game with 13 points off of just eight shots.

The second half resembled the first with the Hornets trailing by double digits, making occasional rallies and bringing the score to within five or six points. Unfortunately, the Hornets were never able to capitalize on their runs.

“It was a hump we couldn’t get past,” Burnette said. “We kept fighting… It was frustrating. We just have to take this, learn from it and keep fighting.”

The Hornets record fell to 9-7 for the season and 6-4 in MIAA play. Their next game home game is at 3 p.m. Jan. 30 at White Auditorium against MIAA opponent Truman State University. The Hornets traveled to Fort Hays last night and play at NW Missouri on Saturday.

Chris Dvorak

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File Photo/The Bulletin

Although transfer student and senior guard Xavier Burnette is new to the Emporia Men’s basketball team this year, he has already become a leader to the team and is the team’s highest point scorer.

“He certainly leads by example… in the workouts,” said the Men’s Head Basketball Coach David Moe. “He isn’t one of those guys who talks. He (leads) more by example, not talking about it and not doing it.”

One among several transfer students new to the men’s team this year, the group has been able to mesh together well and be successful. Burnette is a big reason for that.

“We had a lot of new guys this year, and we didn’t know how we were all going to mesh together,” said Matt Boswell, senior guard. “We all came together and started playing real well. (Xavier) is a big part of that.”

Originally from Topeka, Burnette first went to Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., where he was averaging seven points a game. He then transferred to Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, where he was averaging 13 points and six assists per game. Now at Emporia State Burnette is the leading point scorer averaging 14 points per game.

“I’m just happy to be back in school. A lot of the guys have the same situation I was on the team. We’re all new,” Burnette said. “It’s been a good experience getting to know people and make friendships. It turned out to be the best decision for me.”

Unfortunately, not everything has been going well. Burnette has been plagued by a groin injury since just before break, and it has kept him from being a bigger part of some games.

“He has brought in a lot of energy. He is one of our most active energetic guys,” Moe said. “It’s unfortunate that he has that groin injury that has dragged on since Christmas.”

Burnette seems to be on the path to recovery though and willing to push through the pain.

“It’s been bothering me, I had a chance to rest over Christmas break,” Burnette said. “I know I won’t have the time to sit out for it to completely heal. I’m just doing what I can.”

Despite the injury, Burnette is still doing all he can for his team and keeping the up energy he is known for.

“He has been hurt for a while, but he brings it every day,” Boswell said. “He is our leading scorer and opens up a lot of things. He raises the level of the guys around him because he is a good competitor and a great player.”

Chris Dvorak

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