Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Youngstown State
Men's Basketball Defeats Youngstown State, 77-71
12/7/2005 11:15:19 PM | Men's Basketball
Carlos Medlock notches career high with 21 points and John Bowler also adds 21
YPSILANTI, Mich.—The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team broke a three-game losing streak with a 77-71 non-conference win over Youngstown State here Wednesday night in the Convocation Center.
The Eagles, now 2-3 on the year, were led by freshman Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright), who scored a career-best 21 points hitting 6-of-10 from the field and connecting on 9-of-10 free throws. Senior John Bowler (Chicago, Ill.-Notre Dame) matched Medlock with 21 points and added nine rebounds. Freshman forward Gino Smith (Milwaukee, Wisc.-Harmony Comm.) chipped in 11 for the Eagles.
Youngstown State, now 1-5 on the season, was led by Keston Roberts with a game-high 25 points, including 3-of-7 three-point field goals.
"They shot it well," EMU Head Coach Charles Ramsey said of the Penguins’ first-half shooting of 60 percent from the field (15-of-25). "I think more so we made a nice little run going into halftime down just four. At times we could have been 12 of 14 points down. We wanted to concentrate in the second half and see if they could still make those shots in the second half.
"I thought we showed a lot of composure," Ramsey added. "Our players are believing in themselves and believing in what we are trying to do. We really stuck with it tonight."
"It was a poor performance on our end in the second half," Youngstown State Head Coach Jerry Slocum said. "We did not play aggressive, and we did not play aggressive against their zone. When we had shots we didn’t make shots. Then all of a sudden we get panic stricken and we make shots and close it in. That was as bad a performance in the second half that we’ve had all year."
The game was a tale of two halves as Youngstown State shot a blistering 60% from the field connecting on 15-of-25 shots in the first half while EMU kept it close connecting on 12-for-25 shots for a 48% clip. However, the second half was a different story as EMU opened up by outscoring Youngstown State 20-5 over the first 12 minutes and finished the half hitting 14-of-23 shots for a 60% clip while connecting on two-of-four three pointers. The Penguins cooled off in the game’s final 20 minutes, shooting just 33% from the field.
EMU started to second half on a 9-3 run to regain the lead, 40-39, on a three-point bucket by Danny McElhinny (Heritage, Pa.-Kennedy Catholic). EMU never looked back as their run continued and the lead increased to, 53-42, after two technical free throws by Medlock and a James Matthews (Detroit, Mich.-Denby) layup at the 7:48 mark. The Eagles pushed the lead to, 68-54, with 2:20 remaining and closed out the game with a, 77-71, victory
In the first half, Youngstown State came out hot from three-point land, connecting on four-of-seven shots from downtown to take a 20-9 lead at the 12:49 mark. Despite the hot shooting by the Penguins, EMU hung tough and pulled within seven points, 28-21, on a Bowler three point play with 6:30 left in the first half.
The Eagles went on 10-2 run capped off by a Medlock layup pulling the Eagles to within two, 35-33, with 30 seconds remaining before YSU’s Quin Humphrey hit a shot at the buzzer giving the Penguins a 37-33 halftime lead. For the half, EMU was lead by Bowler who tallied 13 points while YSU was lead by Keston Roberts won hit 8-of-11 shots for 18 points.
Next action for EMU is a road contest at Wisconsin-Green Bay Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.
