Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 27
Harrisonburg, Va.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
1-3
68
at
74
James Madison
5-1
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
23
45
68
James Madison
24
50
74
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Randy Mascharka
Bowdry's Double-Double Not Enough to Lift Eagles Past Dukes
11/27/2010 10:05:54 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern falls, 74-68, in close game at James Madison
HARRISONBURG, Va. (EMUEagles.com) – On a night where senior forward Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) posted 22 points and 13 rebounds, and newcomer guards Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) and Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale-Southeast Missouri State) combined to score 28 points, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team came up just short, 74-68, on the road against James Madison University here Saturday night, Nov. 27, at the JMU Convocation Center.
With the loss, Eastern drops to 1-3 on the season while James Madison moves to 5-1.
The Eagles outplayed the Dukes in most facets of the game, outrebounding the home team 41 to 39 and outshooting the home team 42.2 percent to JMU's 37.5 percent overall, and 35 percent compared to 8.3 percent from beyond the arc for the Dukes. But the story of the game was the free throw disparity. James Madison went 31-of-39 from the line, while the Eagles reached the charity stripe just 11 times, connecting on seven of them.
EMU got off to a fast start, jumping ahead 7-2 and holding the Dukes to just one made field goal through the first 5:53 minutes of the game. The Dukes would counter that fast start and respond by knotting the score, 7-7, after an Eastern turnover.
Sophomore center Matt Balkema (Warren, Mich.-Cousino) would come alive at that point, taking a Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, NC-IMG Academy Hillsborough (Fla.) C.C.) pass strong to the cup for a bucket which put the Eagles up, 17-11. The teams would battle back and forth, with James Madison's Denzel Bowles converting on an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Dukes up 24-23 at the break.
Thompson notched eight points and four rebounds in the opening frame, while Bowdry had eight and seven caroms.
In the second half, the teams began the seesaw battle that would last until the final seconds of the game. While Eastern never led after taking a 34-33 advantage off of a Balkema layup, the game was never more than three possessions away from the road team.
An intense battle ensued on both ends of the court as Bowdry immediately went to work for the Eagles and forward Rayshawn Goins did the same for the Dukes. Goins would score 14 of JMU's first 16 points in the second half en route to 22 points in that half alone. Bowdry scored 14 of his team-high total after intermission as well. Balkema also added some offensive firepower, scoring eight points in the first four minutes of the second.
Despite their best efforts, EMU could not reclaim the lead and fell behind by seven, 55-48, after Humpty Hutchins hit the Dukes' lone three pointer of the game with 8:33 remaining. Eastern closed the gap to two points on three different occasions after that make, including pulling the contest to 70-68 with 21 seconds remaining, but could not avoid putting James Madison on the line where they converted time and time again.
Thompson finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds (career-highs in an Eagle uniform in each category) before fouling out with four seconds remaining in the game, while Lampley finished with 15 points and six assists. Balkema added 10 points and seven boards to round out the four Eagles who scored in double figures.
The Dukes were led by big men Goins, who tallied 25 points and 12 boards, and Bowles, who poured in 21 with 11 rebounds, including a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
Eastern will continue its road tripping as it takes to Moscow, Idaho for the Basketball Travelers Invitational, Dec. 3-5. EMU will face three opponents in three days as it squares up against Monmouth on Dec. 3, North Dakota on Dec. 4 and host school Idaho on Dec. 5. This trip will conclude a stretch of six straight games on the road for the Eagles. The next home game will be Dec. 8, versus Drake at 8 p.m.
With the loss, Eastern drops to 1-3 on the season while James Madison moves to 5-1.
The Eagles outplayed the Dukes in most facets of the game, outrebounding the home team 41 to 39 and outshooting the home team 42.2 percent to JMU's 37.5 percent overall, and 35 percent compared to 8.3 percent from beyond the arc for the Dukes. But the story of the game was the free throw disparity. James Madison went 31-of-39 from the line, while the Eagles reached the charity stripe just 11 times, connecting on seven of them.
EMU got off to a fast start, jumping ahead 7-2 and holding the Dukes to just one made field goal through the first 5:53 minutes of the game. The Dukes would counter that fast start and respond by knotting the score, 7-7, after an Eastern turnover.
Sophomore center Matt Balkema (Warren, Mich.-Cousino) would come alive at that point, taking a Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, NC-IMG Academy Hillsborough (Fla.) C.C.) pass strong to the cup for a bucket which put the Eagles up, 17-11. The teams would battle back and forth, with James Madison's Denzel Bowles converting on an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Dukes up 24-23 at the break.
Thompson notched eight points and four rebounds in the opening frame, while Bowdry had eight and seven caroms.
In the second half, the teams began the seesaw battle that would last until the final seconds of the game. While Eastern never led after taking a 34-33 advantage off of a Balkema layup, the game was never more than three possessions away from the road team.
An intense battle ensued on both ends of the court as Bowdry immediately went to work for the Eagles and forward Rayshawn Goins did the same for the Dukes. Goins would score 14 of JMU's first 16 points in the second half en route to 22 points in that half alone. Bowdry scored 14 of his team-high total after intermission as well. Balkema also added some offensive firepower, scoring eight points in the first four minutes of the second.
Despite their best efforts, EMU could not reclaim the lead and fell behind by seven, 55-48, after Humpty Hutchins hit the Dukes' lone three pointer of the game with 8:33 remaining. Eastern closed the gap to two points on three different occasions after that make, including pulling the contest to 70-68 with 21 seconds remaining, but could not avoid putting James Madison on the line where they converted time and time again.
Thompson finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds (career-highs in an Eagle uniform in each category) before fouling out with four seconds remaining in the game, while Lampley finished with 15 points and six assists. Balkema added 10 points and seven boards to round out the four Eagles who scored in double figures.
The Dukes were led by big men Goins, who tallied 25 points and 12 boards, and Bowles, who poured in 21 with 11 rebounds, including a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.
Eastern will continue its road tripping as it takes to Moscow, Idaho for the Basketball Travelers Invitational, Dec. 3-5. EMU will face three opponents in three days as it squares up against Monmouth on Dec. 3, North Dakota on Dec. 4 and host school Idaho on Dec. 5. This trip will conclude a stretch of six straight games on the road for the Eagles. The next home game will be Dec. 8, versus Drake at 8 p.m.
Team Stats
EMU
JMU
FG%
.422
.375
3FG%
.350
.083
FT%
.636
.795
RB
41
39
TO
17
12
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
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