Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Michigan
Men’s Basketball Falls at Michigan
12/13/2008 5:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wolverines sink a school-record 16 three-point field goals in the victory
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team dropped a 90-61 non-conference decision to the University of Michigan Saturday afternoon, Dec. 13, in the Battle of Washtenaw County. The Eagles, who dominated the glass, led by as many as seven points in the opening stanza, but the Wolverines used stellar outside shooting to overcome the deficit en route to the victory.
Eastern out-rebounded Michigan, 44-28, but the couldn’t counter the lights-out three-point shooting from the Wolverines. U-M was 16-of-33 from long distance, which is the most treys made in program history.
With the loss the Eagles fall to 2-7 on the season, while the Wolverines improve to 7-2. The matchup was the 28th all-time between the schools separated by just seven miles, with U-M holding a 26-2 record.
Redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) paced the EMU offense with 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds. Junior Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) chipped in 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.
After a quiet first half with just a single field goal, Michigan’s Manny Harris came alive for 20 points in the second 20 minutes of action to finish with 22. DeShawn Sims and Jevohn Shepherd followed with 18 points and 13 points, respectively.
Eastern shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) for the contest while Michigan boasted a 52.2 percentage (35-of-67), including the school-record 16 three-point field goals. EMU also turned the ball over 17 times, compared to just five for U-M
Eastern jumped out to an early 6-0 edge, however, Michigan promptly answered with a 7-0 run of its own to take the lead with 15:41 showing on the clock. The early streak of runs continued as Eastern used a 5-0 spurt on the strength of back-to-back buckets by Bowdry.
The Wolverines, who were playing without head coach John Beilein due to an illness, struggled to find their offensive stroke early on in the contest. It didn’t help either when sophomore guard Manny Harris picked up his second foul on a charging violation at the 11:49 mark with EMU still clinging to a 15-11 lead. Sharp-shooting by Gay and inside action by Bowdry upped the margin to seven, 26-19, the Eagles’ largest lead of the half
The momentum would quickly evaporate though, as Michigan would control the final 7:48 of the stanza, going on a 25-8 run. Consecutive treys by U-M pulled it back to a single-possession, 26-25, with 6:09 to play in the first half. Bowdry again answered the bell for the Eagles with a put-back and Will Cooper (Detroit, Mich.-Pershing-Bridgton (Maine) Academy) added a runner in the lane to keep EMU in front 30-27.
But moments later a three-pointer by C.J. Lee knotted the score at 30, and a pair of free throw tosses from DeShawn Sims with 3:07 gave Michigan its first lead. U-M continued to light up the nets from long-range as the Wolverines connected on eight three-pointers, as the Wolverines took a 44-34 advantage into the lockerroom at the half.
The second half belonged entirely to the Wolverines, who out-scored EMU 47-26 in the frame.
Head coach Charles E. Ramsey and the rest of the Eagles return to action Saturday, Dec. 20, hosting St. Bonaventure University at 4 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Former EMU All-American basketball player George Gervin will receive an honorary baccalaureate degree from Eastern Michigan University in a special presentation at halftime. EMU will be giving away autographed Gervin posters to the first 1,500 people to enter the Convocation Center.
The game is part of a doubleheader with the EMU women’s team, who host the University of Detroit Mercy at 2 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 734.487.2282 or by visiting EMUEagles.com
