Eagles Head to Stroh Center for East-West Matchup

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - After opening conference play with a loss at home to Ball State, 60-58, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team travels to Bowling Green, Ohio to take on MAC East Division foe Bowling Green State University, Jan. 12, at the Stroh Center for a 6 p.m. tip.
    Eastern is now 7-8 on the season and 0-1 in conference play with senior guard Derek Thompson leading the way offensively pouring in 11.7 points per game. Leading the Eagles in rebounding is junior center Da'Shonte Riley who is posting 5.9 rebounds per game. Other notables this season have been transfers Glenn Bryant and Daylen Harrison. Bryant is posting 10.1 points per contest, while Harrison has been averaging 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his first season comepeting for EMU.
    On the other side of the court, the Falcons have struggled thus far, posting just a 5-9 record, including a 73-67 loss to Central Michigan at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich. BGSU is led by Jordon Crawford who posted 29 points in the loss and is averaging 16.5 points on the season. A'uston Calhoun has notched 15.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for the Falcons.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' matchup with the Falcons will be broadcast on WEMU (89.1 FM). Veteran play-by-play voice Chad Bush will be on the call from Bowling Green Saturday afternoon
    The contest between EMU and Ball State is also available on SportsTime Ohio and ESPN3. Michael Reghi will serve as the play-by-play analyst on the television broadcast with David Cecutti at his side as the analyst.

ALL-TIME VERSUS BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons hold the all-time series lead with Eastern, posting a 46-38 record. The first meeting between Eastern and Bowling Green came during the early years of EMU men's basketball. It was during head coach Elmer D. Mitchell's first season as the head man of Eastern, 1915-16. The Eagles topped Bowling Green, 33-15, at home, Jan. 8, 1916. The then-Hurons later traveled to BGSU and defeated the Falcons, 36-22, Feb. 22, 1916.
    Last season, EMU topped Bowling Green, 55-50, in the only contest between the teams. Darrell Lampley led the way with a 20-point night while Anthony Strickland added eight points and six rebounds, including two clutch free throws with just 6.3 seconds left.

SHOOTING 50 PLUS: The Eagles have shot over 50 percent from the floor on two separate occasions this season. EMU won its first contest in which it shot 50-plus percent from the floor against Siena Heights, 87-49, Dec. 28. Eastern shot 55 percent from the field against the Saints.
    Against Ball State, Jan. 9, the Eagles shot 51.2 percent from the floor. Despite their blistering shooting percentage, they were unable to come away from the game with a win. The last time EMU shot better than 50 percent from the floor and lost a game was against Samford during the 2010-11 campaign. The Green and White dropped a 55-51 decision in Homewood, Ala., Dec. 31, 2010.

THEY WERE STRAIGHT SHOOTING: Ball State opened the MAC season by shooting 58.5 percent against EMU. That is the best shooting percentage that Eastern has allowed this season, including a pair of 50-plus percent shooting performances by No. 2-ranked Michigan (50.7 percent) and defending NCAA Division I National Champions Kentucky (51.7 percent). Prior to conference play, Eastern held teams to just a 39.0 percent shooting percentage on the season.

FALLING IN THE MAC OPENERS: Eastern Michigan dropped a Mid-American Conference opening game, Jan. 9, with the 60-58 loss at the Convocation Center, for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
    The last time EMU fell in its MAC opener, the Eagles fell to Western Michigan, 61-47, Jan. 9, 2010. The last time EMU dropped a home MAC opener was in the 2008-09 campaign when Ball State defeated EMU, 46-42, at the Convocation Center, Jan. 10, 2009.

FIGHTING THE ROAD WOES: Eastern Michigan is yet to win a game on the road this season and holds a record of 0-6 away from the Convocation Center. EMU is shooting just 34.2 percent on the road, and hitting just 27 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. The Eagles look to turn around their hit the road blues by picking up their first conference victory on the road at Bowling Green.

NEXT ON THE DOCKET, CENTRAL MICHIGAN: After traveling to Bowling Green, Ohio for its first cross-divisional game of the 2012-13 MAC season, Eastern Michigan will host in-state rival Central Michigan Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m.
    Last season, EMU and Central squared off on two seperate occasions. The Eagles dropped both of those matchups. First, the Green and White dropped a home contest, 60-56, to the Chippewas, Jan. 11, 2012. Eastern traveled to Mount Pleasant, Mich. later in the season and fell at McGuirk Arena, 55-52, Feb. 14, 2012.

BLOCKING HIS WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOKS: Eastern Michigan senior forward, Jamell Harris, posted 40 blocks last season which ranks as the ninth-most in EMU laurels. The Euclid, Ohio native trails former EMU defensive great Theron Wilson (1992-96) by 104 blocks. Harris sits second in the record books with 153 career blocks.
    Harris not only has been a force blocking shots, but he has made a name for himself on the glass as well. With 455 career rebounds, he is 30th all-time. Kennedy McIntosh (1967-71) has the most with 1,426.

EARNING HIS KEEP: Junior guard J.R. Sims joined has seen increased playing time since the   Eagles' loss to Oakland and has upped his production, averaging 7.8 points and 22.5 minutes per game, including a season-best 12 points against both UMass, Jan. 5, and Ball State, Jan. 9. In his first 11 games of the season, Sims was posting just 2.9 points and 13.7 minutes per game.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos