KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The #15 SBU Bearcats were upset in the first round of the MIAA Tournament, suffering a 79-83 loss at the hands of Emporia State.

The Bearcats shot well from the field, hitting 30 of their 54 attempts, but couldn’t overcome Emporia’s three-point accuracy. The Hornets hit 16 from long range, which included a three from Caleb Tegtmeier, and one from Andrew Davison, after SBU had taken late leads.

“This was a typical MIAA, late-season game,” said SBU’s head coach Jeff Guiot. “We have a lot of respect for Emporia State. They hit some big shots late in the game, that gave them confidence, when we felt like we had regained the momentum.”

“It’s never fun to lose, but we plan to learn from this as we head into the regional tournament. We’re going to be a more disciplined team, especially on the defensive end.”

Emporia built a 9-point lead with 2:45 left in the first half, but SBU cut the lead to 3 heading into the halftime locker room. Matt Rogers gave SBU a short-lived lead with 7:45 left in the game with a thunderous dunk, after which he made a free throw after he was fouled.

Rogers led SBU’s scoring attack with 21. Jim Grabowski added 18.

SBU out-rebounded the Hornets 29-22.

For the game, SBU shot 55.6% from the field, 45.8% from the three-point line, and 61.5% from the free throw line. Emporia shot 52.1% from the field, 50.0% (on 16 of 32) from long range, and 68% from the stripe.

The loss moves SBU’s record to 21-7 overall, as they learn their next opponent, location, date, and time in the Division II Selection show on Sunday night.

Final Stats

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