Men's Hoops Edges Jaguars, 66-64, for First Road Win

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team made it two straight wins and its first on the road in the third-of-four games at the Auto-Owners Spartan Invitational Sunday afternoon, Nov. 20, with a 66-64 victory at IUPUI. The Eagles put four players in double figures including senior Darrell Lampley, who led the way with 16 points.

Eastern Michigan held off a feisty Jaguars team in a game which saw 12 lead changes. Following a seemingly comfortable 12-4 lead to begin the game, IUPUI fought back and took the lead for a short while prior to halftime. In the second half, the two teams traded the lead numerous times before EMU went ahead for good with 1:06 remaining on an Antonio Green free throw.

The Eagles (3-1) shot 21-of-41 (51.2 percent) on the day, with Lampley (16 points), Green (14), junior Matt Balkema (13) and redshirt sophomore J.R. Sims (11) all reaching double figures. From the line, EMU shot at a solid 21-of-30 (70 percent) clip. Junior Jamell Harris and Green were sharp on the boards as well, grabbing nine and seven rebounds, respectively.

Despite putting up 64 points, the Jaguars struggled offensively at times, shooting just 31.1 percent on 19-of-61 attempts. Alex Young was the leading scorer in the game with 21 points on 7-of-22 shooting. He also notched a double-double by hauling in a game-best 14 boards.

Eastern Michigan took charge early in the contest with a 12-4 run. Balkema contributed six of those points through the first 5:02 of action.

IUPUI chipped away at its deficit as a rash of EMU fouls and turnovers swung time of possession in the home team's favor. The Jaguars took their first lead of the afternoon, 23-22, on a made free throw by Marcellus Barksdale with 2:18 to play in the half.

EMU quickly regained the lead, 28-23, with six straight converted free throws. Green made four straight and Sims chipped in with a pair. The Jaguars added a fast break layup off a turnover as time expired to make the halftime score 28-25.

Balkema paced the Eagles' offense in the first half on 3-of-6 shooting for 10 points. As a team the Green and White managed 8-of-20 (40 percent) from the field along with an 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) clip from the charity stripe.

For the Jaguars, Young contributed 13 of his team's 23 first half points, going 4-of-11 including 1-of-5 from behind the arc and 4-of-6 from the line.

The second half began ominously for the Eagles, as a 7-1 Jaguars run gave them a 32-29 lead before Lampley drilled a three-pointer and filled a layup in consecutive possessions to put the Eagles back ahead, 34-32, with 17:25 to play.

Both teams traded baskets and the lead over the next 10 minutes. After the Jaguars were unable to find the basket following several minutes of sustained offensive pressure, Green ran the length of the court and made an easy layup to break the tie and put the Eagles ahead, 48-46, with 8:14 remaining.

The Green and White led by one, 57-56, with 2:36 to play. Sims stretched the margin to three points with a floater that found the basket. However, the Jaguars quickly responded as Ian Chiles sunk a layup and converted on his free throw off a foul on the initial shot to tie the game, 59-59.

With 18 seconds to play and EMU up one, 62-61, Kamil Janton fought his way under the rim and put in a layup on a nice pass from Lampley at the top of the arc. Lampley would seal the game with a pair of free throws as the Eagles ended the game 66-64 winners.

The Eagles return to the Convocation Center Wednesday, Nov. 23, for a Thanksgiving eve contest with Rochester College. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday's game is not part of the Spartan Invitational.

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Team Stats

Darrell Lampley

Antonio Green

Matt Balkema

J.R. Sims

Eastern Michigan Athletics