Eastern Michigan Athletics
RedHawks Invade the Convocation Center Wednesday Evening
2/6/2007 10:04:15 AM | Men's Basketball
Game time set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center
Complete Game Notes (PDF).
Listen to the Game via WEMU.
Live Stats.
EAGLES HOST MIAMI IN CROSS-DIVISIONAL GAME: The men’s hoops team will host Miami in a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional tilt, Wednesday night, Feb 7, at the Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. The Eagles are 8-14 (3-6 MAC) on the year and enter tonight’s game after falling on the road to Kent State, 82-46, Feb. 7 at the M.A.C. Meanwhile, the RedHawks are 10-11 (6-3 MAC) following a 62-59 home victory over Western Michigan, Feb. 3.
THE SERIES: This is the 61st meeting between the two schools with Miami leading the series 41-19. The RedHawks have won the last 10 consecutive meetings and hold a 10-2 advantage over the last 12 games. Last season, the RedHawks defeated the Eagles, 74-64, at Millett Hall, Jan. 7, 2006. EMU has not defeated Miami since the 1997-98 season when the Eagles tallied a 92-77 victory in the MAC championship game at the SeaGate Centre, March 4, 1998.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami has three players averaging double figures paced by senior forward Tim Pollitz who leads the team in scoring averaging 14.1 points-per-game which ranks ninth in the MAC. Pollitz is shooing 51.6 percent (132-156) from the field which is 11th in the conference. Senior forward Nathan Peavy is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 ppg which also ranks 11th in the conference and leads the team in rebounds with 144 (seventh in the MAC at 6.9 per game) and blocks (fifth in MAC, 1.19 per game). Sophomore guard Michael Bramos is third on the team in scoring at 11.0 ppg and leads the team in steals with 35. As a team, Miami has established itself as one of the conference’s best teams on the defensive end. The RedHawks rank first in scoring defense, holding opponents to 57.3 ppg and first in three-point field goal percentage defense at 32.4 percent.
MEN’S HOOPS DRAWS MANHATTAN FOR BRACKETBUSTER SATURDAY, FEB. 17: The EMU men’s basketball team will square off against Manhattan College from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Convocation Center. The announcement was made Jan. 30 as part of the BracketBuster presented by ESPNU and O’Reilly Auto Parts’ pool release. The time for the contest is 4 p.m. and will be the second leg of a doubleheader with the EMU women’s basketball team taking on Toledo at 2 p.m. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Eagles have participated in a BracketBuster contest.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: The EMU men’s basketball team currently has a 6-4 home record. Earlier this season, from Dec. 21-Jan.9, the Eagles started with a 5-1 home record. It is the best home start since the 2004-05 campaign when the team went 5-1 against Marshall, Rochester College, Canisius, North Dakota State and Cleveland State. At home the Eagles average 66.0 ppg, shooting 39.9 percent from behind the arc, while their opponents average 65.3 ppg hitting 34.7 percent from three-point range. Conversely, the Eagles are 1-7 on the road, scoring 57.0 ppg while their opponents are averaging 74.8 ppg.
HALL OF FAME FEB. 10: The 31st Annual EMU Athletic Hall of Fame, sponsored by the E-Club Alumni Chapter, will be held Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007, in the atrium of the Convocation Center. The Class of 2006 includes: Greg Howe (baseball), Carole Huston (athletic administration), Dazel Jules (men’s track), Peter Linn (men’s-women’s swimming head coach), Bob Lints (football), Nikki (Stubbs) Douglas (volleyball), and Gary Tyson (men’s basketball). Tickets for the Hall of Fame are $35 and can be ordered by calling 487-2284.
FILLING THE VOID: When sophomore point guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) was lost for the rest of the season due to a broken right foot, Coach Ramsey has called upon junior Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson-Schoolcraft C.C.) and freshman Devon Dumes (Indianapolis, Ind.-Decatur Central) to help fill the point-guard void. Axon got the nod to start in the Eagles’ first game without Medlock, against MAC East Division leader Akron, (Jan. 31) at the Convocation Center. Despite the 70-60 setback to the Zips, both players were productive as Axon notched five points with two steals and four assists with Dumes coming off the bench moving from shooting guard to point guard and scoring a team-high 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range with three assists. This season, Axon is averaging 5.1 ppg with 47 assists and 11 steals while Dumes is scoring 7.5 ppg with 42 assists and 24 steals.
SUNDAY OUTING: EMU’s victory over Buffalo Sunday, Jan 28, was the first of three Sunday outings for the Eagles in the 2007 portion of the schedule. EMU is slated to host Ball State Sunday, Feb. 25, in a 2 p.m. game that is scheduled for Comcast Local television coverage. Eastern will close out the regular season with a Sunday, March 4, date at Northern Illinois.
