Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, February 29
Kalamazoo, Mich.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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Western Michigan
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles at Western Michigan for Key MAC West Battle
2/27/2012 4:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 » 7 p.m. » University Gym (5,421) » Kalamazoo, Mich.
Complete Release.
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Live Stats.
EAGLES AT WESTERN MICHIGAN FOR KEY MAC WEST DIVISION BATTLE: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will close out its 2011-12 Mid-American Conference regular-season schedule with two road games, the first set for Wednesday, Feb. 29, at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. against the Western Michigan University Broncos. The Eagles have a two-game lead over the Broncos and a two-game lead over the Toledo Rockets. Toledo will be EMU's final regular-season game Saturday, March 3, in Toledo.
Eastern enters the WMU game with a 13-16 overall record and an 8-6 MAC mark. The Eagles are on a two-game winning streak, beating Northern Illinois, 48-45, Feb. 22, and Ball State, 61-50, Feb. 25.
Western is 12-17 overall and 6-8 in league action after dropping an 83-74 decision at Toledo Saturday, Feb. 25.
LOCKED IN TO A TITLE: The EMU men have gained at least a share of the 2011-12 Mid-American Conference West Division title with a two-game lead over both Western Michigan and Toledo with two games left in the regular season.
LAMPLEY NAMED MAC WEST CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: EMU senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week for Feb. 27, 2012. Lampley helped lead the Eagles to two West Division wins last week. The award is his second this season after capturing the weekly award Nov. 11, 2011. He shares the honor with Toledo's Julius Brown.
The 5-foot-10 Lampley averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while making 17-of-19 free throw attempts as EMU won two games. He scored 21 points with five assists and three steals in a 48-45 win over Northern Illinois, Feb. 22. He also made 9-of-11 free throws in that victory. Saturday, Feb. 25, at home on Senior Day, Lampley scored 13 points with five rebounds and eight assists in a 61-50 victory over Ball State. Lampley hit all 10 free throw attempts in that contest.
THE LAST TIME VS. WMU: It was a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division here Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Convocation Center and the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team came up with a hard-fought 62-59 thrilling overtime win.
The two teams combined to put on an entertaining show for the fans and in the end it was some great clutch shooting by both teams and hard-nosed defense and strong foul shooting down the stretch that helped Eastern record the win.
Senior guard Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) hit a long three from the top of the arc with just 4.6 seconds left in regulation to give Eastern a 53-50 lead. Western's Nate Hutcheson answered with a three from deep in the right corner at the buzzer to tie it at 53-all, forcing the overtime period.
Eastern would go up by four, 59-55, with 1:20 left in overtime, but Matt Stainbrook would cut it to one, 59-58 with 1:06 left on a three-point play the old-fashioned way, making a layup and adding the foul shot on the play. Junior forward Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) would then make the second of two free throws to put the Eagles up by two, 60-58, with 41.9 seconds remaining in overtime.
Green would then get another chance to put it out of reach, making both ends of a two-shot foul for a 62-58 EMU lead with just 17.9 left. Western's Demetrius Ward would then split two free throws to cut it to three, 62-59, with nine seconds left and the Broncos forced a turnover, giving them one more chance to tie it. This time around Western's Hutcheson's three-point chance at the buzzer was off line, giving Eastern the three-point victory. Green led the Eagles, now 8-10 overall and 3-1 in the MAC, with 11 points while redshirt sophomore guard J.R. Sims (Ft, Wayne, Ind.-Snider) added 10 and sophomore guard Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) had three points with seven assists while celebrating his 21st birthday. Harris added 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
Western was led by Hutcheson with a game-high 23 while Stainbrook added 12.
CHECKING THE SERIES: WMU leads the series, 54-42. EMU has won two of the last four games, but Western has dominated the series since 2000-01, recording a 20-5 mark.
EMU CLINCHES AT LEAST A HOME GAME IN FIRST ROUND OF TOURNEY: With its 61-50 win over Ball State Saturday, Feb. 25, the Eagles have clinched at least a first-round home game in the upcoming FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament. With its 8-6 MAC record, EMU is still vying for a first-round bid in the tourney. The top four teams in the final regular-season standings get byes for the first-round games and the top two seeds get byes all the way into the semifinal round. Akron is assured of a first-round bye with its 12-2 record, but Ohio and Buffalo both have 10-4 records with two games left. EMU could tie Ohio and Buffalo at 10-4 and the tie-breaker would be head-to-head records against the teams involved in a tie. EMU is 1-1 against those two teams while Ohio is 2-0 and Buffalo is 0-3, giving EMU the fourth-place finish. Kent State enters the final two games with a 9-5 record and could also figure into that scenario if it wins one of those two contests.
This year's seeds are determined by the school's final MAC record, from 1 through 12. The division winners do not automatically receive one of the top four seeds. The top two seeds receive a bye all the way to the semifinal rounds while seeds three and four get a first-round bye. From there, the teams seeded 5-8 will host the teams seeded 9-12 at the home sites of 5-8.
CAPTURING THE WEST: The EMU men's and women's teams have both claimed at least share of the 2011-12 Mid-American Conference West Division titles heading into the final week of the regular season. Since division play started in 1997-98 both men's and women's teams winning division titles has happened just four times. The 1998-99 Toledo teams, the 2001-02 and 2008-09 Ball State squads, and this year's EMU teams are the only duos to turn in that feat.
MURPHY BECOMES THE FOURTH COACH IN MAC HISTORY TO WIN A DIVISION TITLE IN HIS FIRST SEASON: With a victory over Ball State, Feb. 25, Head Coach Rob Murphy joined a select group of coaches to win a Mid-American Conference division title in their first season. The MAC split into divisions beginning with the 1997-98 campaign. The other coaches to accomplish the feat in their first season include: Kent State's Stan Heath (2001-02), KSU's Jim Christian (2002-03) and Western Michigan's Steve Hawkins (2003-04).
BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Wednesday, Feb. 29, concludes the Eagles' chase for the Michigan MAC Trophy, which is given to the Michigan MAC university that defeats the other two schools in the same sport in the same regular season. This season in the rivalry games, EMU is 1-2, CMU is 2-1 and WMU is 1-1.
The trophy, sponsored by the state of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, is awarded annually to the Michigan MAC school that has the best record between EMU, CMU and WMU. The EMU football team won the Michigan MAC trophy last fall.
Listen to the Game.
Live Stats.
EAGLES AT WESTERN MICHIGAN FOR KEY MAC WEST DIVISION BATTLE: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will close out its 2011-12 Mid-American Conference regular-season schedule with two road games, the first set for Wednesday, Feb. 29, at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. against the Western Michigan University Broncos. The Eagles have a two-game lead over the Broncos and a two-game lead over the Toledo Rockets. Toledo will be EMU's final regular-season game Saturday, March 3, in Toledo.
Eastern enters the WMU game with a 13-16 overall record and an 8-6 MAC mark. The Eagles are on a two-game winning streak, beating Northern Illinois, 48-45, Feb. 22, and Ball State, 61-50, Feb. 25.
Western is 12-17 overall and 6-8 in league action after dropping an 83-74 decision at Toledo Saturday, Feb. 25.
LOCKED IN TO A TITLE: The EMU men have gained at least a share of the 2011-12 Mid-American Conference West Division title with a two-game lead over both Western Michigan and Toledo with two games left in the regular season.
LAMPLEY NAMED MAC WEST CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: EMU senior guard Darrell Lampley (Linden, N.J.-Linden-Lakeland C.C.) was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Co-Player of the Week for Feb. 27, 2012. Lampley helped lead the Eagles to two West Division wins last week. The award is his second this season after capturing the weekly award Nov. 11, 2011. He shares the honor with Toledo's Julius Brown.
The 5-foot-10 Lampley averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists while making 17-of-19 free throw attempts as EMU won two games. He scored 21 points with five assists and three steals in a 48-45 win over Northern Illinois, Feb. 22. He also made 9-of-11 free throws in that victory. Saturday, Feb. 25, at home on Senior Day, Lampley scored 13 points with five rebounds and eight assists in a 61-50 victory over Ball State. Lampley hit all 10 free throw attempts in that contest.
THE LAST TIME VS. WMU: It was a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division here Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the Convocation Center and the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team came up with a hard-fought 62-59 thrilling overtime win.
The two teams combined to put on an entertaining show for the fans and in the end it was some great clutch shooting by both teams and hard-nosed defense and strong foul shooting down the stretch that helped Eastern record the win.
Senior guard Antonio Green (Inkster, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) hit a long three from the top of the arc with just 4.6 seconds left in regulation to give Eastern a 53-50 lead. Western's Nate Hutcheson answered with a three from deep in the right corner at the buzzer to tie it at 53-all, forcing the overtime period.
Eastern would go up by four, 59-55, with 1:20 left in overtime, but Matt Stainbrook would cut it to one, 59-58 with 1:06 left on a three-point play the old-fashioned way, making a layup and adding the foul shot on the play. Junior forward Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) would then make the second of two free throws to put the Eagles up by two, 60-58, with 41.9 seconds remaining in overtime.
Green would then get another chance to put it out of reach, making both ends of a two-shot foul for a 62-58 EMU lead with just 17.9 left. Western's Demetrius Ward would then split two free throws to cut it to three, 62-59, with nine seconds left and the Broncos forced a turnover, giving them one more chance to tie it. This time around Western's Hutcheson's three-point chance at the buzzer was off line, giving Eastern the three-point victory. Green led the Eagles, now 8-10 overall and 3-1 in the MAC, with 11 points while redshirt sophomore guard J.R. Sims (Ft, Wayne, Ind.-Snider) added 10 and sophomore guard Austin Harper (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven-Glen Oaks C.C.) had three points with seven assists while celebrating his 21st birthday. Harris added 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
Western was led by Hutcheson with a game-high 23 while Stainbrook added 12.
CHECKING THE SERIES: WMU leads the series, 54-42. EMU has won two of the last four games, but Western has dominated the series since 2000-01, recording a 20-5 mark.
EMU CLINCHES AT LEAST A HOME GAME IN FIRST ROUND OF TOURNEY: With its 61-50 win over Ball State Saturday, Feb. 25, the Eagles have clinched at least a first-round home game in the upcoming FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament. With its 8-6 MAC record, EMU is still vying for a first-round bid in the tourney. The top four teams in the final regular-season standings get byes for the first-round games and the top two seeds get byes all the way into the semifinal round. Akron is assured of a first-round bye with its 12-2 record, but Ohio and Buffalo both have 10-4 records with two games left. EMU could tie Ohio and Buffalo at 10-4 and the tie-breaker would be head-to-head records against the teams involved in a tie. EMU is 1-1 against those two teams while Ohio is 2-0 and Buffalo is 0-3, giving EMU the fourth-place finish. Kent State enters the final two games with a 9-5 record and could also figure into that scenario if it wins one of those two contests.
This year's seeds are determined by the school's final MAC record, from 1 through 12. The division winners do not automatically receive one of the top four seeds. The top two seeds receive a bye all the way to the semifinal rounds while seeds three and four get a first-round bye. From there, the teams seeded 5-8 will host the teams seeded 9-12 at the home sites of 5-8.
CAPTURING THE WEST: The EMU men's and women's teams have both claimed at least share of the 2011-12 Mid-American Conference West Division titles heading into the final week of the regular season. Since division play started in 1997-98 both men's and women's teams winning division titles has happened just four times. The 1998-99 Toledo teams, the 2001-02 and 2008-09 Ball State squads, and this year's EMU teams are the only duos to turn in that feat.
MURPHY BECOMES THE FOURTH COACH IN MAC HISTORY TO WIN A DIVISION TITLE IN HIS FIRST SEASON: With a victory over Ball State, Feb. 25, Head Coach Rob Murphy joined a select group of coaches to win a Mid-American Conference division title in their first season. The MAC split into divisions beginning with the 1997-98 campaign. The other coaches to accomplish the feat in their first season include: Kent State's Stan Heath (2001-02), KSU's Jim Christian (2002-03) and Western Michigan's Steve Hawkins (2003-04).
BATTLE FOR THE MICHIGAN MAC TROPHY: Wednesday, Feb. 29, concludes the Eagles' chase for the Michigan MAC Trophy, which is given to the Michigan MAC university that defeats the other two schools in the same sport in the same regular season. This season in the rivalry games, EMU is 1-2, CMU is 2-1 and WMU is 1-1.
The trophy, sponsored by the state of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, is awarded annually to the Michigan MAC school that has the best record between EMU, CMU and WMU. The EMU football team won the Michigan MAC trophy last fall.
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