Men’s Basketball Rallies to Down Illinois State, 72-63

Box score.

YPSILANTI, Mich. – After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team rallied for a 72-63 non-conference victory over Illinois State here Tuesday evening in the Convocation Center.

The win evened the Eagles’ record at 4-4 while the Redbirds fall to 5-3. Junior guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) led the Eagles with 18 points with sophomore center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) adding 14 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMA-Mott C.C.) chipped in 10 points with three assists.

The EMU defense was the difference in the game, holding the Redbirds to just 32 percent (18-of-55) from the field. The Eagles won the battle of the boards, 39-36, and also connected on 26-of-31 free throws for 83.9 percent for the game.

The Redbirds, who were playing their first road game of the season, used a strong defensive pressure to force five Eagle turnovers in the first six minutes to take a 14-4 lead.

The Eagles, however did not panic as Medlock hit a three pointer to jump start a 7-2 EMU run to cut the deficit to 16-14. Both teams would trade buckets until the Eagles hit four consecutive free throws to take their first lead of the contest, 21-19, with 4:58 remaining in the half. Eastern would cling to the lead as Kyle Dodd’s (Rockwood, Ontario, Canada-Ross Collegiate) tip-in at the buzzer sent the Green and White into the locker room up 30-26.

The Eagles began the second half the way they ended the first, with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to eight points, 36-28, with 17:23 showing.

As the pace picked up, so did the points. The Eagles and Redbirds traded baskets for the first 10 minutes. A Dobbins two-handed dunk at the 13:08 mark gave the Eagles a three-point lead, 40-37. His dunk was followed by a Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet) lay-up and a three pointer from Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) to keep the home team up by four.

The Redbirds kept it close, but Bunkley drilled a three pointer from the wing to give the Eagles a 58-50 lead with 5:48 remaining.

Dobbins sealed the victory as he took a charge on the defensive end and followed it with a lay-up to give the Eagles a seven point lead with two minutes left in the game.

The Redbirds’ leading scorer Osiris Eldrige (15.9 ppg) kept Illinois State close with a three at the eight-minute mark. He led the Redbirds with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-8 from behind the arc. Dom Johnson added 10 points for the Redbirds.

After tonight’s game against ISU, the Eagles will be idle until Dec. 22 when they travel to Temple for a 1 p.m. tip against the Owls. To follow the action, log on to EMUEagles.com and click on live statistics.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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