Eastern Michigan Athletics
Monday, November 7
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
85
vs
51
Marygrove (EXHIBITION)
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Men's Hoops Closes Exhibition Season With a Win
11/7/2011 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles now prepare for regular-season opener Friday, Nov. 11, at home against UIC
Box score.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team closed out its 2011-12 exhibition season with an 85-51 win over a visiting Marygrove team here Monday night, Nov. 7, in the Convocation Center.
That exhibition victory was the second in a row for the Eagles and new first-year Head Coach Rob Murphy's squad will get ready to open the regular-season schedule Friday night, Nov. 11, right here in the Convocation Center against the University of Illinois Flames. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
In Monday's exhibition, EMU had four players in double figures with junior forward Matt Balkema (Warren, Mich.-Cousino) and redshirt sophomore guard J.R. Sims (Ft. Wayne, Ind.-Snider) scored 15 points each while junior guard Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale-SEMO) had 11 and redshirt sophomore Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud-Adrian College) tallied 10. Senior forward Kamil Janton (Tarnow, Poland-Chicago Bartlett) scored eight points with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Eagles shot 56.7 percent from the field, making 34-of-60 while limiting Marygrove to just 29.1 percent on 16-of-55. EMU held a 42-29 advantage on the boards.
Marygrove was paced by freshman guard Darryll Dixon with 16 points.
Eastern jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the game's opening stages on lay-ups by Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) and Balkema.
The visitors would erase that early deficit, however, gaining an 11-8 lead at the 14:43 mark on a triple by Dixon.
The Eagles came back to tie the game at 11-all on a Sims lay-up with 13:59 followed immediately by an Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) lay-up and the home squad continued to build on that slim lead, taking a 34-24 advantage heading into halftime.
Balkema led the way in the first half with 10 points while Strickland added eight and Sims six. The Eagles shot 53.6 percent in the first 20 minutes, making 15-of-28 shots while holding the Mustangs to 36 percent on 9-of-25 from the field. Eastern had 17 first-half boards to 15 for Marygrove.
The Eagles opened the second half with a flourish, running off four answered points to take a 43-29 lead and boosted that to 18 points with 16:57 left on two quick threes from Sims.
From that point, Eastern would methodically boost its advantage to 25, 74-49, with 3:49 left and cruise to the 85-51 victory.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team closed out its 2011-12 exhibition season with an 85-51 win over a visiting Marygrove team here Monday night, Nov. 7, in the Convocation Center.
That exhibition victory was the second in a row for the Eagles and new first-year Head Coach Rob Murphy's squad will get ready to open the regular-season schedule Friday night, Nov. 11, right here in the Convocation Center against the University of Illinois Flames. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
In Monday's exhibition, EMU had four players in double figures with junior forward Matt Balkema (Warren, Mich.-Cousino) and redshirt sophomore guard J.R. Sims (Ft. Wayne, Ind.-Snider) scored 15 points each while junior guard Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale-SEMO) had 11 and redshirt sophomore Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud-Adrian College) tallied 10. Senior forward Kamil Janton (Tarnow, Poland-Chicago Bartlett) scored eight points with a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Eagles shot 56.7 percent from the field, making 34-of-60 while limiting Marygrove to just 29.1 percent on 16-of-55. EMU held a 42-29 advantage on the boards.
Marygrove was paced by freshman guard Darryll Dixon with 16 points.
Eastern jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the game's opening stages on lay-ups by Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) and Balkema.
The visitors would erase that early deficit, however, gaining an 11-8 lead at the 14:43 mark on a triple by Dixon.
The Eagles came back to tie the game at 11-all on a Sims lay-up with 13:59 followed immediately by an Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) lay-up and the home squad continued to build on that slim lead, taking a 34-24 advantage heading into halftime.
Balkema led the way in the first half with 10 points while Strickland added eight and Sims six. The Eagles shot 53.6 percent in the first 20 minutes, making 15-of-28 shots while holding the Mustangs to 36 percent on 9-of-25 from the field. Eastern had 17 first-half boards to 15 for Marygrove.
The Eagles opened the second half with a flourish, running off four answered points to take a 43-29 lead and boosted that to 18 points with 16:57 left on two quick threes from Sims.
From that point, Eastern would methodically boost its advantage to 25, 74-49, with 3:49 left and cruise to the 85-51 victory.
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