Box score | Season stats

EMPORIA, Kan. -- The SBU Bearcats fell 100-83 on the road Wednesday night at Emporia State. The Hornets shot 52% from the field, including 76% in the second half. Tomas Brock had a career high 24 points to lead SBU, while Kurt Koenig had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

"Emporia played well and we didn't match their effort," said head coach Jeff Guiot. "Our effort was poor and we didn't come ready to play. We turned it over too much. Our freshmen played like freshmen, but that's no excuse." Guiot added that his team has to learn from this and get better and keep plugging away. "We can't wait until Matt (Rogers) comes back. The light has to come on at some point for our younger players. They have to figure it out. Hopefully this is a good learning experience for everyone."

Ryan Dougherty and Tristan Steele each had 10 points for the Bearcats. Jacob French had nine points and six rebounds for the 'Cats.

Emporia State (10-13, 6-10 MIAA) was led by Lamar Wilbern with 23 points and six rebounds. Matt Boswell also had 19 points as ESU had five players in double figures. The Hornets forced 15 SBU turnovers, including 11 steals. Emporia was six of eight from outside and also hit 22 of 31 free throws in the second half.

Emporia jumped out to an early nine-point edge, before the Bearcats took the lead at 15-13. A layup by Stephen Cotten gave SBU their largest first half lead at 20-17. Later a three-pointer from ESU's Tim Niles gave the Hornets a 38-28 lead with two minutes left in the first half. The Hornets led 40-32 at halftime.

A strong start to the second half pushed the Hornet margin to as much as 25 points (66-41) before SBU cut down the deficit. The Bearcats closed the margin to 84-72 with 4:15 left, but the Hornets would hold off SBU down the stretch.

SBU (19-6, 10-5 MIAA) travels to Topeka, Kansas, on Saturday to take on the Washburn Ichabods. The contest begins at 7:30 p.m. from Lee Arena.

NOTES: SBU dropped to #5 in the latest NCAA South Central Region rankings, released Wednesday. Midwestern State is first, followed by Central Missouri, Fort Hays State, and Central Oklahoma. Tarleton State follows SBU in sixth, then MIAA members Nebraska-Omaha and Missouri Western. Northeastern State and Texas A&M-Commerce round out the top ten.   LINK