Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
3-2
Southeast Missouri State
1-3
Eagles Escape the Cape With 86-76 Win Over SEMO
11/24/2009 10:38:19 PM | Men's Basketball
Key free throws down the stretch pave the way for the EMU victory
Box score.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (EMUEagles.com) – Down by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team rallied down the stretch to close its four-game road trip to the Show Me State Tuesday night, Nov. 24, with an 86-76 victory over Southeast Missouri State University at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Redshirt junior forward Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) tallied a game-high 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 9-for-12 shooting from the charity stripe to lead the Eagles (3-2) to the victory. Senior Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) and sophomore Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Robichaud) were the only other Eagles to score in double figures, as they each tallied 15 in the win.
Despite losing the battle in the paint, 48-28, key free throws paved the way for the EMU victory down the stretch, as the Eagles shot 76 percent (19-for-25) from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes, while the Redhawks went just 3-for-4 from the free throw line in both the first and second half.
Down by 11 with 17:43 remaining in the game, the Eagles managed to draw the Redhawks into foul trouble to key their comeback. Junior guard Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, N.C.-IMG Academy-Hillsborough C.C.) gave the Eagles back the lead for the first time since the first half, splitting a pair of free throws with 8:25 remaining in the game to give EMU a 67-66 advantage.
After several more lead changes, the Eagles would again need Higgins to catch fire, as his three from the corner again gave EMU the lead, 73-70, with under six minutes to go. The Eagles would extend their lead to five with less than five minutes to play as a pair of Bowdry makes from the charity stripe made it a 75-70 game.
From there it was all EMU, as the Eagles held SEMO to just six points in the final 7:37 of the game to hold on to the win.
The Eagles held on to a five-point advantage with about two minutes remaining in the opening frame, but a pair of free throws by the Redhawks' Anthony Allison and a floater in the lane by Sam Pearson put EMU down, 41-40, going into the locker room.
Both squads shot significantly well in the first 20 minutes of the contest, as the Eagles shot 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field, while the Redhawks were not far behind at 60.7 percent (17-for-28). EMU and SEMO both made 4-of-7 triggers from long distance in the opening frame, and while the Eagles held a slight advantage on the boards (12-11) the Redhawks turned the ball over less (9-8) in the first 20 minutes. SEMO's Derek Thompson led all scorers with 12 points at the half, while Bowdry and Dobbins each notched eight.
The Redhawks came out firing early on in the second half of play, as a Pearson jumper gave SEMO an eight point lead, 53-45, with 15:47 left on the clock.
But the Eagles would make it a five point game with 12:51 left, as a Bowdry lay-up and free throw made it 57-52. The Eagles pulled within a basket with 11:21 remaining, as a Dobbins lay-up and free throw made it a 62-60 game.The Eagles made it a 66-all game with under nine minutes left, as Dobbins found Bowdry in the post with 8:56 left to tie it, forcing SEMO head coach Dickey Nutt to use a 60-second timeout.
From there, superb free throw shooting by EMU and a stingy defense effort paved the way for the victory.
The Redhawks put four players in double figures in the loss, as Pearson led SEMO with 17, while Derek Thompson pitched in 15 and LaMont Russell and Marland Smith finished with 10 points each.
Like Lee Osler, the Eagles now head back to Ypsilanti for their much anticipated home opener Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Convocation Center when they take on the Davenport University Panthers at 2 p.m.
