MAC East Leaders Hand Eagles a 77-67 Setback

Box score.

YPSILANTI, Mich. — The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team ran into a streaking Kent State University Golden Flash squad here tonight at the Convocation Center, dropping a 77-67 contest to the leaders of the Mid-American Conference East Division. Kent State closed the month of January with a 7-2 mark, while Eastern drops its second straight game.

For the year, KSU improves to 17-4 (6-1 MAC) while EMU falls to 7-12 (3-4 MAC).

Leading the Green and White on the night was junior guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) with 17 points followed by fellow junior Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville) and senior guard Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson (Schoolcraft C.C.)) who both pitched in 10.

Kent State had four players reach the double-digit scoring mark, led by Mike McKee who put up a game-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-8 from long range. Al Fisher posted 13, followed by Chris Singletary with 12 and Mike Scott with 10

The two teams traded baskets through the first eight minutes of the opening frame. Eastern took a brief one-point lead off a Travis Lewis (Kalamzoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) layup at the 14:02 mark. The Golden Flashes answered with a 21-8 run over the ensuing seven minutes, going up 29-17 with 7:10 remaining in the first half. EMU came within seven after five straight Jesse Bunkley (Detroit, Mich.-CMU-Mott C.C.) points at the seven-minute mark. On the following possession, EMU again looked to Bunkley, this time from behind the arc, connecting on his only 3-pointer of the half.

The score swayed back and forth for the rest of the first half, with KSU taking a 13-point lead into the locker room, 39-26. Leading the way for the Golden Flashes was Mike McKee with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 from downtown. As a unit, KSU shot 56 percent from the field (14-of-25), and a blistering 66.7 percent from the three-point line (6-of-9).

The Eagles were paced by Bunkley, who finished the first half with seven points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field. EMU held the advantage in the rebound department in the first half, 13-10, but the Eagles committed 14 turnovers which led to 17 KSU points.

Kent State opened the second half with an 11-5 run, highlighted by five points from McKee. Both teams swapped baskets over the next five minutes, running the score to 55-41 in favor of KSU with 10:27 remaining in the contest. The Eagles refused to quit, however, roaring back to pull within five, 57-52, on two free-throws by Medlock at the 7:10 mark capping an 11-2 run.

KSU answered with an 8-2 run, building their lead up to 11, 67-56, from a Singletary layup with just under four minutes remaining. That was all they needed, holding off a late comeback attempt from the Green and White.

The Golden Flashes shot 52.9 percent (27-of-51) from the field and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from behind the arc. Eastern kept close, shooting 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field.

The Eagles will be in action again, Saturday, Feb. 2, when they travel to Akron, Ohio, to take on the University of Akron Zips. Tip-off for the cross-division rivals is set for 7 p.m.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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