Men's Hoops Falls in First Round of Cable Car Classic

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team once again fell behind early and could not make up the difference in a 75-55 loss to the Santa Clara University Broncos here Thursday, Dec. 29, on the first day of the Cable Car Classic in SCU's home court, the Leavey Center.

Eastern will meet Air Force in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic Friday, Dec. 30, at 6 p.m. PST here in Leavey Center while Santa Clara will square off against Wagner in the championship tilt at 8:15 p.m. Wagner recorded a 72-61win over Air Force in the first game Friday.

The Eagles, now 5-8 on the season, were led by senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) with 14 while redshirt sophomore J.R. Sims (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Snider) added 10 points. Junior center Matt Balkema (Warren, Mich.-Cousino) scored nine points for EMU.

Eastern shot just 36.4 percent from the field, making 20-of-53 attempts while the home squad was connecting at a 52.2 percent clip, making 24-of-46 field-goal attempts. The Broncos were also 8-of-18 from beyond the arc to Eastern's 5-of-16. Santa Clara held a decisive 39-24 advantage on the boards.

Santa Clara, now 8-4 on the year, was led by junior guard Kevin Foster who poured in 25 points to lead all scorers. Niyi Harrison added 13 for the Broncos.

The home team raced out to a 10-2 lead in the early going with EMU's lone bucket coming on a dunk by sophomore center Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Country Day-Syracuse) at the 18:10 mark.

The Eagles would chip away at that deficit, cutting it to three, 13-10, on a layup by redshirt sophomore Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) with 10:21 left in the first half.

The Broncos would rally from that point, increasing its lead to 13, 23-10, with 3:55 left on a layup by Foster. but the Eagles fought backto cut it to seven at the half, 25-18, after out-scoring the Broncos, 8-2 over the final 1:19. The big bucket in that stretch came on a lone three from the top of the circle by Lampley.

Eastern would finish the first half shooting 28 percent, making just 7-of-25 attempts while Santa Clara would shoot at a 45.0 percent clip, making 9-of-20. Santa Clara won the first-half board battle, 18-11.

Santa Clara would come out of intermission on fire, hitting the first seven points for a 32-18 lead before senior guard Quintin Dailey (Las Vegas, Nev.-Bishop Gorman-Sheridan C.C.) quieted that run on a tip.

The Eagles would creep as close as 11 points, 36-25, on a three from Lampley with 14:07 left in the contest, but the home squad would boost its margin back up to 15 midway through the half and would continue to build on that advantage the remainder of the game for the victory.

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Team Stats

Darrell Lampley

J.R. Sims

Matt Balkema

Quintin Dailey

Eastern Michigan Athletics