Eagles Knock Off Bulls, 78-65, at the Convo

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A late second half run provided the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team the spark it needed to soar past the University at Buffalo, 78-65, in a Mid-American Conference tilt here Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Convocation Center.

The team earned the win on a day in which the 1990-91 Eastern Michigan Hurons team was celebrated for its memorable run to the Sweet 16. Players and coaches from the team were honored during a halftime presentation.

With EMU leading 57-53 and 7:35 remaining in the game, the Eagles held the Bulls without a field goal for four minutes and twenty-four seconds during an 8-1 run which put the home team up 65-54 with just 3:11 remaining.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 7-17 (4-7 MAC) and the Bulls fall to 15-8 (7-4 MAC).

The Green and White boasted four players with double figures. Brandon Bowdry (St. Louis, Mo.-Taylor (Mich.) Truman) led the team with 20 points and six rebounds, while Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) had 15 points, Derrick Thompson (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale-SEMO) scored 13, and Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) netted 11 points, including two thunderous dunks and five blocked shots.

Buffalo had three double-digit scorers as Javon McCrea had 17 points with seven rebounds, Zach Filzen had 14 points, and Dave Barnett chipped in with 13 points and seven boards.

After coming out of intermission with a one-point lead, 35-34, EMU and UB continued to battle back and forth. EMU would go up by eight, 51-43, after Quintin Dailey (Las Vegas, Nev. -Bishop Gorman) found Lampley on the wing for a three-pointer with 13:09 left to play. Buffalo closed the gap to 57-53 before the Eagles made their final run to secure the win.

Buffalo was able to get on the board first with a free throw from the Mid-American Conference steals leader Byron Mulkey, but the Eagles responded, reeling off seven straight with Thompson leading the surge. The sophomore connected on a three-point basket and another jumper, while Bowdry made a layup to give EMU a 7-1 advantage two minutes into the game.

Buffalo kept the contest close, never trailing by more than six, while pulling within one point and eventually taking a slight advantage late in the first half. The Eagles saw a 27-21 advantage dwindle away as the Bulls used a 10-2 run to take its first lead of the game, 30-29, since an opening-minute free throw made the game 1-0.

EMU regained the advantage in the final 41 seconds of the half after Dailey scored four points on a transition layup and two free with less than a second left. EMU would take a one point, 35-34 lead into intermission.

Bowdry led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, while Thompson scored eight and Harris and Dailey each notched six. Harris also recorded four blocked shots in the opening period. Buffalo was led by McCrea who posted 10 points and six rebounds. Barnett also had seven points.

EMU shot 48.1 percent from the floor in the first frame (13-of-27) while UB was 14-of-35 (40 percent). The Eagles grabbed 16 rebounds and had seven turnovers, compared to 19 and four for the visiting Bulls.

For the game, EMU shot 51.1 percent from the field (24-of-47), hitting six shots from beyond the arc. Buffalo finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (25-of-58). The visitors also won the rebounding battle, 33-28, but turned the ball over more than the Eagles, 16 times compared to 13 turnovers for EMU.

The Eagles will be back in action Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. on the road against Central Michigan as it returns to MAC West competition for the first time in three weeks since a 41-38, Jan. 23 win over CMU at the Convocation Center.

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Team Stats

Brandon Bowdry

Darrell Lampley

Derek Thompson

Jamell Harris

Eastern Michigan Athletics