Eagles Take Over Second Place After Knocking Off Chips, 67-64

Box score.

YPSILANTI, Mich. — With four players reaching double figures, the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team came up with a 67-64 win over a visiting Central Michigan University team here Saturday afternoon in the annual Athletics Hall of Fame Day in the Convocation Center. The game was a match-up of two Mid-American Conference West Division teams fighting for second place in the division.

With the win the Eagles, now 10-14 overall and 6-6 in MAC action, kept possession of second place in the West Division, tied with Toledo. If the Rockets drop a match-up at Ball State Sunday, the Eagles will have sole possession of second.

The Eagles, who picked up their second straight win and third in the last four games, were led by sophomore Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville), with a game-high 15 points. Senior Jarred Axon (Jackson, Mich.-Jackson (Schoolcraft C.C.) chipped in 14, including 10 in the first half. Travis Lewis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Loy Norrix) came up with 13, followed by junior guard Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) with 10.

Central Michigan was led by Jeremy Allen with 14 points, followed by Chris Kellermann with 12 and Giordan Watson with 11.

The Eagles shot a blistering 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from the field for the game and connected on 7-of-13 3-point attempts for 53.8 percent. EMU’s defense rose to the occasion, holding the visitors to 34.4 percent (21-of-61) from the field and just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from beyond the 3-point arc.

Eastern appeared to have control of the game with 3:31 left in the game when Wendale Farrow (Sacramento, Calif.-Mira Loma-American River J.C.) scored on a jumper to give the Eagles a nine-point lead, 60-51.

The Chippewas refused to fold, however, fighting back to pull within one, 65-64, on a layup by Jeremy Allen with just 31 seconds left.

Eastern then ran the advantage to three, 67-64, on two foul shots by Medlock with 24 seconds left. After a time out, the Eagles’ Farrow then forced a turnover with a huge steal and passed the ball to Lewis. CMU was forced to foul Lewis with 11 ticks left. Lewis missed the charity toss and Central rebounded, but the Chips final 3-point shot was short, giving the Eagles the three-point win.

Central Michigan opened the game with an 11-1 run behind two layups and a free throw from Nate Minnoy. CMU’s 10-point lead turned into a one point deficit by the 12:20 mark, however, with a 3-pointer from Medlock. The Eagles and Chippewas traded the lead back and forth over the next five minutes before EMU would reach its largest lead of the first half, a 24-19 margin, after Axon made good from downtown with 5:50 remaining in the half.

CMU answered with an 8-0 run, re-capturing the lead at 27-24 after a Minnoy layup with 2:57 left. A Lewis 3-pointer followed by an Axon jumper the following possession put EMU out front once again, 29-27, with under two minutes remaining in the half.

With 36 seconds left, Robbie Harman knotted the score once again, 29-29, with a mid-range jumper. A Lewis free-throw eight seconds later changed the lead for the eighth time in the half, putting EMU up 30-29. Will Cooper’s (Detroit, Mich.-Pershing-Bridgton (Maine) Academy) running 3-pointer from just past half-court as the first half expired extended the Eagles lead to four, 33-29.

The Green and White shot 57.1 percent (12-of-21) in the first half, including a blistering 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from behind the arc. The Eagles held the Chippewas to just 30.0 percent (9-of-30) from the field during the first frame. EMU also held a slight advantage on the boards, 16-15. Leading the way for EMU in the first half was senior Axon with 10 points off the bench.

EMU opened the second half extending their lead to seven, 41-34, on a Lewis 3-pointer at the 15:35 mark.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eagles Take Over Second Place After Knocking Off Chips, 67-64

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