Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
11-11 (3-6MAC)
Kent State
16-7 (7-2MAC)
Double-Doubles by Dobbins, Bowdry Not Enough as EMU Falls
2/4/2010 9:22:44 PM | Men's Basketball
Late-game efforts by Medlock not good enough
Box score.
Photo Gallery.
Click Here to Re-Watch the Game.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Bench scoring and sharp shooting proved to be the deciding factors for the visitors as the Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team suffered a 75-68 loss to Kent State University Thursday, Feb. 4, in a Mid-American Conference cross-divisional battle here at the Convocation Center.
Despite double-doubles from both Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman), the 18th of his career and the 11th this season, and Justin Dobbins (Cleveland, Ohio-Glenville), Kent used a 30-8 advantage in bench points and 52 percent shooting from the field to propel its record to 16-7 (7-2 MAC). Eastern fell to 11-11 (3-6 MAC).
Carlos Medlock (Detroit, Mich.-Murray Wright) led the Eagles with 22 points while Bowdry scored 15 points with 10 rebounds and Dobbins scored 11 points with 10 rebounds.
Anthony Simpson came off the bench to lead the Golden Flashes with 19 points, while Rodriguez Sherman and Tyree Evans added 14 points each.
In the early going, the Eagles were able to hop out to a slim, 7-6, advantage thanks to back-to-back buckets by Bowdry, but the Golden Flashes reeled off the next six points to gain a 12-7 advantage.
The teams would seesaw back and forth, with neither team gaining an advantage of more than three, until Kent used a 9-0 run, connecting on three straight from beyond the arc, to take a 27-18 lead with 4:53 left in the half. The Eagles only managed one Medlock basket in the final 6:17 of the first stanza, and KSU ended the half on a 14-2 run to take 32-20 lead into the locker room.
Bowdry paced the Eagles in the first half with 10 points and three rebounds, while Kent was lead by Anthony Simpson with 10 points and Tyree Evans with nine.
The second half opened like the first half started: with a three-pointer from junior college transfer Jay Higgins (Fayetteville, N.C.-IMG Academy-Hillsborough (Fla.) C.C.). The shot trimmed the lead to single digits, 32-23, but KSU scored eight of the next 10 points to swell the margin to 15, 40-25.
The senior leadership of Medlock kicked in, as the Eastern's floor general went on a personal 8-1 barrage over the next three minutes to pull the Eagles to within eight, 41-33. EMU's other senior, Dobbins, would also catch fire and score the Green and White's next seven to keep Kent's lead at a manageable eight points, 55-47.
Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) nailed a baseline triple with 5:06 left in the game to pull the Eagles to within seven, 57-50, the closest the margin had been since the 5:11 mark in the first half.
The teams traded baskets and free throws over the remainder of the contest as the Eagles would draw as close as five after three Medlock free throws inside of one minute, but failed to complete a late rally attempt.
Eastern will stay at home this weekend for a Saturday, Feb. 6, MAC cross-divisional game with Ohio at 4:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the EMU women hosting Ohio at 2 p.m.
