Eagles Out to Make it Two in a Row Over Chippewas

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EAGLES AND CHIPPEWAS TO MEET IN REMATCH: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will be seeking to make it two wins this season over the Central Michigan University Chippewas when the Eagles travel to Mount Pleasant Saturday, Feb. 28, for a 7 p.m. game. EMU held on to win this year's first matchup, 84-77, in double overtime, Jan. 13, at home in the Convocation Center. Redshirt sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) and senior guard Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich.-Belleville) led the Eagles in the first meeting with 22 points each while Bowdry hauled down 14 rebounds to record the double-double. Jordan Bitzer led CMU with 21 while Marcus Van had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Chippewas.

MAC SEASON WINDING DOWN: The 2008-09 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season is coming to a close, as all 12 league squads will have threegames left on the regular schedule. The regular season is set to end Sunday, March 8, with a full round of six games. That final day will have a dramatic impact on seeding for the MAC Tournament which is set to begin Tuesday, March 10, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. EMU will close out its regular season at Ball State while Central Michigan will play at Western Michigan, Northern Illinois is slated to play at Toledo, Miami is at Buffalo, Ohio plays at Bowling Green, and Akron is at Kent State.

BOWDRY ON THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) turned in the fourth double-double of the season and the fifth of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds to help EMU record a 65-57 win at Bowling Green, Feb. 15. Bowdry has scored in double figures 37 times and has had double-figure rebound games six times during his 59-game EMU career.

FOR THE 112th TIME: The 2008-09 season is the 112th of intercollegiate basketball for the Eastern Michigan University Eagles. Eastern played its first season in 1897-98 and split games with Detroit, losing a 2-0 decision before coming back for a 4-0 victory. The 2008-09 season will also be the 35th for the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference. The first year of MAC play for EMU was 1974-75 when the then-Hurons went 12-14 overall and 4-9 in the league. EMU has won three Mid-American Conference titles: 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1995-96, and the Green and White captured MAC Tournament crowns in all three of those years in addition to winning the tournament title in 1997-98.

EMU AND CMU: EMU and CMU will be meeting for the second time this season with the Eagles winning an 84-77 double-overtime barn-burner at home in the Convocation Center, Jan. 13, in the first game. The Eagles enter Saturday's, Feb. 28, game with a 5-23 overall record and a 3-10 Mid-American Conference mark after posting a 58-49 home win over Toledo Wednesday, Feb. 25. The Eagles had three double-figure scorers in that Toledo contest, with redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) scoring 17, junior center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) adding 16 and freshman Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights-Robichaud) adding 13. Bowdry continues to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding at 14.8 ppg and 7.0 rpg. The Chippewas enter Saturday's, Feb. 28, game with a 9-17 record and a 5-8 MAC mark after dropping a 53-44 MAC West Division game at Ball State Wednesday, Feb. 25.
Robbie Harman leads the Chippewas in points this year and has a 12.1 scoring average.

THE SERIES: EMU and CMU have met 175 times on the hardcourt and Central holds a 92-83 edge in the series. EMU won an 84-77 double-overtime decision earlier this year, Jan. 13, in Ypsilanti. The two teams split last year with Central recording a 62-53 win in Mt. Pleasant, Jan. 6, and EMU coming back to take a 67-64 decision in Ypsilanti. Eastern has won 10 of the last 13 battles with Central.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Junior center Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) and redshirt sophomore Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) continue to climb the EMU career scoring and rebounding lists. Dobbins is the 56th player in school history to reach the 700-point plateau with 726 in his 84-game EMU career. That total ranks 49th in school history and his 379 career rebounds is good for 44th. Bowdry has scored 681 career points in his 60-game career to rank in a tie for 61st and his 369 rebounds is good for the 45th spot.

FOUR SENIORS: EMU will have four seniors making their final Convocation Center appearances next Wednesday, March 4, against Northern Illinois. The four seniors are: Kyle Dodd (Rockwood, Ontario, Canada-John F. Ross Collegiate), Wendale Farrow (Sacramento, Calif.-Mira Loma-American River J.C.), Zane Gay (Olivet, Mich.-Olivet) and Tyler Jones (Belleville, Mich..-Belleville).
Dodd has played in 59 games for the Eagles, starting 13 while scoring 73 points with 68 rebounds. Farrow has played in 54 games, 25 as a starter, and scored 168 points with 195 rebounds. Gay has played in 94 contests, starting 20 times, and has 405 career points and 190 rebounds. Jones, who also started on the EMU football team for the past two seasons, has seen action in 47 games, 22 as a starter and has scored 219 points with an even 100 rebounds.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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