EMU Opens MAC Season With Road Win at Northern Illinois

DeKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) — Senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) made six straight free throws in the final 1:34 to boost the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team to a 47-40 win over Northern Illinois University here Saturday, Jan. 7, in the Convocation Center in the 2012 Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.

Holding a slim 41-40 lead with 2:23 left in the game, the EMU defense held the Huskies scoreless the rest of the way and NIU, forced to foul Lampley to get the ball back, saw the 5-foot-10 Eagles' point guard make all six of his charity tosses on the way to a 16-point performance.

Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles, now 6-9 overall and 1-0 in league action, shot just 36.1 percent from the field, making 13-of-36 attempts, but shot a blistering 79.2 percent from the free throw line, making 19-of-24.

NIU, now 1-12 overall and 0-1 in the MAC, was held to just 29.2 percent shooting from the field on 14-of-48 attempts and the Eagles turned the Huskies over a whopping 18 times. NIU did win the battle of the boards, 31-29. The Huskies were led in scoring by Tim Toler with 11.

Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Country Day-Syracuse University) opened the game with two quick buckets and the Eagles made eight of their first 12 field goal attempts to forge a 19-10 lead in the first nine minutes of the game.

The EMU offense cooled at that point and Northern was able to out-score the Eagles, 12-0, over the next six minutes to take their first lead of the game, 20-19, with 5:13 left on two free tosses by Toler.

The Eagles finally broke a seven-minute scoring drought on two free throws by Lampley to take a 21-20 lead with 4:46 left in the half.

Zach Miller would hit his second three-point field goal of the half to boost NIU to a 26-22 lead with 1:01 left and the Huskies would head to intermission with a 26-23 lead.

After scoring 19 minutes in the first nine minutes the Eagles would score just four more the remainder of the half, making 8-of-19 field goals.

Lampley led the Eagles with seven while Toler had eight for the Huskies in the first 20 minutes.

The Eagles came out of halftime fired up, out-scoring the Huskies by a 11-3 count in the first five minutes to go up by five, 34-29.

NIU would go to the long ball at that point, with Toler and Tony Nixon firing home triples to put NIU back on top, 35-34, with 13:22 left.

The action would slow considerably over the next several minutes with Eastern holding a two-point lead, 37-35, wth 8:58 left.

The Eagles would not relinquish that lead the rest of the way, with Lampley finishing things off by making all six of his free throwns during that final 1:34.

EMU ends a 45 day streak on the road Wednesday, Jan. 11, with a MAC contest against in-state rivial Central Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

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Team Stats

Darrell Lampley

Antonio Green

Jamell Harris

Da'Shonte Riley

Eastern Michigan Athletics