Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Men's Basketball Travels to West Division Leading Ball State
2/22/2010 3:29:01 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles and Cardinals meet for second time this season
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WINDING DOWN: The 2009-10 regular season is winding down with only three more games scheduled, all against Mid-American Conference West Division opponents. The Eagles travel to Muncie, Ind. Wednesday, Feb. 24, to face off against Ball State before returning home for the final two games, Saturday, Feb. 27, versus Northern Illinois and Thursday, March 4, against Central Michigan. The MAC Tournament is scheduled to start March 7, with the top team in each division and the next two teams with the best records getting byes in the first round. That leaves the teams seeded 5-8 hosting the 9-12 seeded teams at campus sites in the first round, March 7. The four teams with byes then join the four first-round winners for the remainder of the tournament, March 11-13, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
CHECKING THE SERIES WITH BSU: The Eagles and Cardinals will be meeting for the 89th time in the series with Ball State holding a 53-35 advantage. EMU won two of three meetings in 2007-08, including a 59-55 win in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Last year, 2008-09, the Eagles lost at home to the Cardinals, 46-42, Jan. 10, 2010, but bounced back with a win in Muncie, Ind. later that season, 55-53, March 8. EMU recorded a 57-53 home win earlier this year, Jan. 23, 2010.
Head Coach Charles E. Ramsey's Eagles enter Wednesday's, Feb. 24, game with a 14-13 overall record and a 6-7 MAC mark. The Eagles lost a 68-66 heartbreaker at Detroit, Feb. 20, in a non-conference BracketBuster Game at Detroit.
Head Coach Billy Taylor's Cardinals are 15-11overall and leading the MAC West Division with an 8-5 record. The Cardinals defeated Tennessee-Martin, 68-52, Feb. 20, in their BracketBuster contest.
ONE TELEVISION GAME LEFT: The EMU-CMU game, March 4, will be televised live on FoxSports Detroit. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME SET FOR SATURDAY, FEB. 27: The Eastern Michigan University E-Club, a group of former EMU varsity athletic letterwinners, has announced the addition of seven new members into the Athletic Hall of Fame. The Class of 2009 will be honored at a Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in the EMU Student Center on campus.
The Class of 2009 includes: Denise Allen (women's basketball), Charlie Batch (football), Jerry Cerulla (men's track), Angela (Springer) Johnson (women's track), Sharon McNie (women's gymnastics), Gary Patton (football), and Gary Strickland (athletic trainer).
This year's class will mark the 34th anniversary of the E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. followed immediately by a buffet luncheon. The Class of 2009 will then be honored at halftime of the EMU men's basketball game versus Northern Illinois in the Convocation Center at 2 p.m.
Tickets for the Hall of Fame ceremony and luncheon, which also includes a ticket for the EMU-NIU basketball game, are $45 each and can be purchased by calling the EMU Athletics Department at 734.487.1866.
STINGY “D”: The 42-points by Toledo in the 58-42 EMU win Wednesday, Feb. 17, marks the least amount scored by an EMU NCAA opponent since the then-Hurons held Wayne State to 42 points in a 48-42 victory at Bowen Field House, Dec. 23, 1980. The Eagles also held Toledo to just 12 first-half points in that Feb. 17 game.
ASSISTING THE OFFENSE: EMU turned in a whopping 18 team assists in the 58-42 win at Toledo, Wednesday, Feb. 17. The Eagles turned in those 18 assists on just 20 made field goals. Junior college transfer Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, N.C.-IMG Academy (Hillsborough (Fla.) C.C.) led the Eagles with seven dishes.
MAC TOURNAMENT SEEDING BATTLE HEATS UP: The battle for seeding in the upcomding FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, March 7-13, continues to heat up heading into the final two weeks of regular-season action. The top four teams in the MAC standings receive a first-round bye while the next four in the season-ending standings will host the bottom four teams. EMU currently stands in a tie for the third in the MAC West Division and the Eagles still have hopes of attaining a first-round bye. Eastern is currently tied with Western Michigan and Bowling Green in the MAC overall standings at 6-7 with three league tilts left. The four teams receiving byes, plus the four first-round winners, will head to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio for the quarterfinals, March 11, semifinals, March 12 and the finals, March 13.
BOWDRY EARNS THIRD MAC AWARD OF THE SEASON: EMU redshirt junior forward Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) was named the Mid-American Conference men's basketball West Division Player of the Week for the week ending with Sunday's, Feb. 14th games. He also won the honor Nov. 16 and Dec. 7. He turned in two great statistics' lines for two games played last week. At Buffalo, Feb. 10, Bowdry scored 26 points with eight rebounds while playing just 24 minutes because of foul troubles in an 84-67 loss to the Bulls. He came back with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a 66-52 win over Western Michigan, Feb. 14. For the two-game stretch, Bowdry made 18-of-23 field goals (78.3 percent), 1-of-2 three-point shots (50.0 percent), 7-of-8 three throws (87.5 percent) while hauling down 20 rebounds, scoring 44 points, dishing three assists and recording two steals.
SWEET VALENTINES' DAY: EMU had four starters turn in double-figure scoring efforts in the Eagles' 66-52 win over Western Michigan, Feb. 14. Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) paced the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds with Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville) scoring 17 points with eight rebounds, Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) adding 14 points and six assists and junior-college transfer Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, N.C.-IMG Academy-Hillsborough J.C.) chipping in 12.
