Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
2-2
Missouri State
4-0
Eagles Fall, 75-61, in HCF Challenge Finale
11/22/2009 11:08:33 PM | Men's Basketball
Bowdry named to the All-Tournament team after notching his second double-double of the year
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (EMUEagles.com) – Despite a double-double from redshirt junior forward Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman), the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its final game of the Hispanic College Fund Challenge Sunday night, Nov. 22, at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo., as the host Bears from Missouri State University handed the Eagles a 75-61 loss.
Bowdry notched his second double-double performance of the season and his fourth consecutive double digit scoring effort, going for 15 points on 4-for-8 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds. For his efforts, Bowdry was named to the HCF Challenge All-Tournament Team.
The Eagles (2-2) won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Missouri State Bears (4-0), 37-34, in the loss.
Junior Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, N.C.-IMG Academy-Hillsborough C.C.) and senior Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) were the only other Eagles to score in double figures, as the two EMU starters finished with 12 and 10, respectively.
The Eagles never managed to put the clamps on MSU's offense, as the Bears shot 55.1 percent (27-for-49) from the field in the contest, including 7-for-16 from beyond the arc. MSU put five players in double figures in the contest, as Caleb Patterson and Nafis Ricks paced the Bears with 13 points each.
The Bears got out to a 10-point lead early in the opening frame, as a Patterson jumper put the Eagles down, 14-4, with 14:28 remaining in the first half. The Bears would go up by as many as 20 in the first 20 minutes of the game, taking a 40-21 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
Eastern Michigan had no answer for Missouri State's smoldering offensive attack in the first half, as the Bears shot 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the field, including 6-for-12 from three-point land. While the two teams were even on the glass in the opening frame, 18-18, MSU forced EMU into 10 turnovers while committing just six. Bowdry went 4-for-5 from the field in the first 20 minutes to tie Patterson with a game-high nine points, while also grabbing a first half best six boards.
The Eagles clawed their way back in the second half to make it a 14-point game, as a jumper in the paint by true freshman Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) made it a 57-43 game about midway through the second half.
But the Bears managed to keep the Eagles at arm's length for the duration of the contest to win the HCF Challenge, going a perfect 3-0 over the weekend.
EMU concludes its four-game road trip to the Show Me State Tuesday night, Nov. 24, when the Eagles head to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to take on the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 1-0, over the Redhawks as their only other meeting was Feb. 23, 2008 at the Convocation Center. The Eagles captured an 88-82 victory in the contest, which was an ESPN BracketBuster game. EMU returns to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov. 28, for its home opener against Davenport University at 2 p.m.
