EMPORIA STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL RANKED #11 IN MIAA COACHES POLL

October 19, 2016-The Emporia State men's basketball team has been ranked 11th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
The Hornets return the most experienced senior class in school history to start the 2016-17 season. Five seniors that have combined to play in 411 games with 133 starts are joined by three other players that includes the leading returning scorer from last year.
 
Josh Pederson has started 32 games and played in 85 since arriving on campus four years ago.  He started the final nine games last season.  Jay Temaat had a team high 39 made three pointers last year and has hit 115 in his 82 career games at Emporia State.  Jevon Taylor made a team high 56 three pointers as a sophomore in 2014-15 before sliding back to 28 last season. He has made 121 threes in his 85 career games for the Hornets. Terrence Sardin has started 27 games while Tyler Jordan has 26 starts for the Hornets in their first three years. 
 
Sophomore Brandon Hall was the third leading scorer for the Hornets last year and is the top returning scorer this year.  He reached double figures in nine games as a freshman last year with a season high 23 points against Southwest Minnesota.  Junior Bradley Fisher wraps up the returning starters, having started ten of the 18 games he appeared in last year.
 
Several newcomers will be counted on to contribute for the Hornets.  Brian Morton from Lansing (Mich.) CC, Stephaun Limuel from JAcksonville College, Jawan Emery from Hutchinson CC and Garin Vandiver from Neosho CC along with Jaylen Lowe from Northeastern Okla. A&M are transfers for Emporia State.  Lowe will not join the basketball team until the end of the Hornet football team's season. Malik McLemore from Plano, Texas, Duncan Fort from Osage City, Kan., and Jack Dale from Tonganoxie, Kan. will join red-shirt Danny Hodge in the freshman class.
 
Emporia State will open the season with a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents. The Hornets will head to Fayetteville, Ark. on Friday, November 4 to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks and two days later will make the trip to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. to take on the Jayhawks of Kansas.  The regular season will begin on November 12 at the NSIC-MIAA Challenge in Sioux Falls, S.D. against the University of Sioux Falls.  The home opener will be November 19 against Kansas Christian College with the MIAA opener slated for December 8 at Neb.-Kearney.  The first MIAA home game will be December 17 against Lincoln on Slaymaker Court in White Auditorium.
 
2016 MIAA Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll
1. Northwest Missouri (13)......... 169
2. Washburn (1)......... 147
3. Fort Hays State......... 129
4. Lincoln......... 123
5. Missouri Southern......... 111
6. Nebraska-Kearney......... 104
7. Central Oklahoma......... 94
8. Pittsburg State......... 93
9. Central Missouri......... 92
10. Lindenwood......... 72
11. Emporia State......... 55
12. Missouri Western......... 45
13. Northeastern State......... 22
14. Southwest Baptist......... 18
 
 
###HORNETS###