Box Score

MARYVILLE, Mo.-Emporia State battled back from 17 points down in the second half to beat Northwest Missouri State 86-81 Wednesday night at Bearcat Arena in the MIAA opener for both teams.

Matt Boswell hit three second-half 3-pointers and was one of three Emporia State players with 15 points. Tim Niles and Taylor Euler were the others. The Hornets (4-2, 1-0) had six players score in double figures.

Elijah Allen scored 14 of his game-high 20 points to lead the Bearcats (4-1, 0-1). DeShaun Cooper came off the bench to score 17. Arunas Simanavicius chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.

Northwest opened the second half on a 22-5 run and took a 63-46 lead on a three-pointer by Cooper less than eight minutes into the frame. Emporia State scored the game''s next 15 points while the Bearcats went nearly six minutes without field goal.

A 3 by Euler completed the comeback and gave the Hornets their first lead of the second half, 68-67, with less six minutes to play.

The team''s battled back-and-forth down the stretch, but the key bucket came on a step-back three-pointer by Niles with 1:15 to play that gave the Hornets an 80-76 lead. Emporia State made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Emporia State shot 57 percent from the field, made 9-of-18 from 3-point range and committed 10 turnovers. Adam Holthaus was 8-of-10 from the field and led the Hornets with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Northwest point guard Girod Adams picked up his fourth foul at the 10-minute mark of the second half and drew number five with six minutes left. Adams entered play averaging 17 points per game and finished with nine Wednesday.