Men’s Basketball Falls to Veteran Oakland Team

Box score.

ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team ran into a veteran Oakland University squad here Saturday evening at the O’Rena and dropped an 86-71 non-conference decision.

The Golden Grizzlies raced to a 43-26 halftime lead and seemed on the verge of cruising to an easy win when the Eagles fought back to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 13, 74-61, with 4:22 left on a Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) layup. The Eagles would get no closer, however, as Oakland held on for the 15-point win.

Eastern, 1-2 on the year, was led by Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA) with 19 while Medlock added eight.

Oakland, now 2-1 on the year, was paced by junior guard Derick Nelson with 21 while Johnathon Jones added 16.

For the game the Eagles shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) while Oakland made 44 percent of its field goals (33-of-75). The Golden Grizzlies had a large advantage on the boards, grabbing 56 to EMU’s 33.

The Eagles kept it close in the early going, taking a 6-5 lead on a layup by Wendale Farrow (Sacramento, Calif.-Mira Loma-American River J.C.) at the 15:46 mark.

The home team then broke out to a 25-12 advantage with 8:45 left in the first half, relying on a blistering fast break. Oakland went on to take a 43-26 halftime lead. Nelson led the Golden Grizzlies with 17 first-half points, and Oakland made 44.4 percent of its shots in the first half (16-of-36) while holding the Eagles to 32 percent (8-of-25). Oakland also held a commanding 26-17 advantage on the boards in the first half. Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet) led the Eagles with six points in the first 20 minutes.

EMU head coach Charles E. Ramsey decided on a small, scrappy lineup to start the second half and that unit brought the Eagles within 12-13 points several times during the second half but Oakland relied on a host of second-chance points to preserve the win.

Eastern will stay on the road next week for a pair of games in the state of New York. The Eagles play at Manhattan College Wednesday, Nov. 21, before heading to Olean, N.Y. for a Saturday, Nov. 24, game at St. Bonaventure.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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