Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, November 27
Lexington, Ky.
4 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
5-1
63
at
81
#3/4 Kentucky
6-1
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
32
31
63
Kentucky
35
46
81
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Chloe Smith
Eagles Handed First Loss of 2013-14 at No. 3/4 Kentucky
11/27/2013 7:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern Michigan fell on the road, 81-63, for its first loss
Photo Gallery
Post-Game Quotes
LEXINGTON, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – After starting the 2013-14 season 5-0, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was handed its first loss at the hands of the No. 3/4-ranked University of Kentucky, 81-63, Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Rupp Arena. With the loss, the Eagles (5-1) fail to earn the right to call themselves the champions of the 2013 Keightley Classic, while the Wildcats (6-1) went 4-0 in the tournament, taking the title outright.
The Green and White was led by junior college transfer Darell Combs (Chicago, Ill.-Thornwood (Blinn)) who posted a career-best 23 points, along with a pair of rebounds, while Daylen Harrison (Arkon, Ohio-St. Vincent/St. Mary (Wyoming)) tied his season-high of nine points in the loss. Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) posted eight points off the bench, along with three rebounds and a trio of blocked shots as the Eagles shot 36.4 percent after going 24-for-66 from the floor and just 4-of-19 from three-point land which was good for 21.1 percent. EMU did manage to cause 20 Kentucky turnovers, while notching nine steals, including a pair from Daylen Harrison, Mo Hughley (Queens Villiage, N.Y.-Martin Van Buren (CSU Bakersfield)) and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) each.
The Wildcats had four players score in double-figures, including Julius Randle notching his seventh-straight double-double of the season. The freshman forward grabbed 10 rebounds while pouring in 14 points. Aaron Harrison led the team with 22 points, including shooting 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson notched 15 and 10 points, respectively. Defensively, Kentucky turned away nine EMU shots, including Cauley-Stein swatting seven. The Wildcats went 25-of-58 from the floor (43.1 percent), while the hitting just 3-of-16 three-point attempts (18.8 percent). The Wildcats work at the free throw line proved to be the difference with Kentucky scoring 28 of its points on 40 attempts at the line.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on a pair of buckets, one from Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley CC)) each. However, Kentucky used an Aaron Harrison jumper to get on the board just over a minute into the game. After nearly two minutes of scoreless play, Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) put a jumper off the glass to put the Eagles back on top by four.
The Wildcats went on a 10-2 run in the next three minutes of action to take their first lead of the night, one which they never relinquished. Eastern Michigan and Kentucky traded baskets for awhile until a 13-4 run by the Wildcats had the Eagles looking at a 10 point deficit with 4:41 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of play. Eastern closed out the half with a 13-6 run, cutting the Kentucky lead to three, 35-32, heading into halftime.
Eastern scored 32 points in the opening half after posting 12-of-31 field goals for a 38.7 percent field goal percentage. Combs led the way with eight points, while Daylen Harrison poured in seven, with even other Eagles scoring points in the first half. Kentucky went 10-of-23 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, shooting at a 43.5 percent clip. The Wildcats went to the free throw line 21 times, while EMU saw just nine shots from the charity stripes in the first half. The Eagles did hold Kentucky to a 12.5 percent clip from beyond the arc after the Wildcats went 1-of-8 from downtown.
Coming out of the locker room, Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles traded buckets with Kentucky before a 13-2 run gave the Wildcats a 13 point lead with 12:39 left in the second half of the game. During that run, EMU was held to 3-of-15 shooting with four turnovers.
The Eagles managed to go back-and-forth with Kentucky, until the Wildcats gradually pulled away, leading by as many as 21 at 79-58 with 2:39 left in the game. The final 2:28 of the contest saw just three field goals made. Combs finished his night by draining a step-back trey, before Johnson had a put-back for the Wildcats. Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich.-D.H. Robichaud (Adrian)) completed the contest with a layup for his only points of the game, making the final score 81-63.
Eastern returns back to Ypsilanti, Mich. Tuesday, Dec. 3, when it welcomes in the No. 24-ranked University of Massachusetts to the Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. contest. UMass comes into the game with a perfect 6-0 record. The Minutemen and Eastern Michigan have only met two times in the history of the two programs, with UMass winning both contests.
Post-Game Quotes
LEXINGTON, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) – After starting the 2013-14 season 5-0, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was handed its first loss at the hands of the No. 3/4-ranked University of Kentucky, 81-63, Wednesday, Nov. 27, at Rupp Arena. With the loss, the Eagles (5-1) fail to earn the right to call themselves the champions of the 2013 Keightley Classic, while the Wildcats (6-1) went 4-0 in the tournament, taking the title outright.
The Green and White was led by junior college transfer Darell Combs (Chicago, Ill.-Thornwood (Blinn)) who posted a career-best 23 points, along with a pair of rebounds, while Daylen Harrison (Arkon, Ohio-St. Vincent/St. Mary (Wyoming)) tied his season-high of nine points in the loss. Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) posted eight points off the bench, along with three rebounds and a trio of blocked shots as the Eagles shot 36.4 percent after going 24-for-66 from the floor and just 4-of-19 from three-point land which was good for 21.1 percent. EMU did manage to cause 20 Kentucky turnovers, while notching nine steals, including a pair from Daylen Harrison, Mo Hughley (Queens Villiage, N.Y.-Martin Van Buren (CSU Bakersfield)) and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) each.
The Wildcats had four players score in double-figures, including Julius Randle notching his seventh-straight double-double of the season. The freshman forward grabbed 10 rebounds while pouring in 14 points. Aaron Harrison led the team with 22 points, including shooting 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson notched 15 and 10 points, respectively. Defensively, Kentucky turned away nine EMU shots, including Cauley-Stein swatting seven. The Wildcats went 25-of-58 from the floor (43.1 percent), while the hitting just 3-of-16 three-point attempts (18.8 percent). The Wildcats work at the free throw line proved to be the difference with Kentucky scoring 28 of its points on 40 attempts at the line.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on a pair of buckets, one from Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley CC)) each. However, Kentucky used an Aaron Harrison jumper to get on the board just over a minute into the game. After nearly two minutes of scoreless play, Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) put a jumper off the glass to put the Eagles back on top by four.
The Wildcats went on a 10-2 run in the next three minutes of action to take their first lead of the night, one which they never relinquished. Eastern Michigan and Kentucky traded baskets for awhile until a 13-4 run by the Wildcats had the Eagles looking at a 10 point deficit with 4:41 remaining in the opening 20 minutes of play. Eastern closed out the half with a 13-6 run, cutting the Kentucky lead to three, 35-32, heading into halftime.
Eastern scored 32 points in the opening half after posting 12-of-31 field goals for a 38.7 percent field goal percentage. Combs led the way with eight points, while Daylen Harrison poured in seven, with even other Eagles scoring points in the first half. Kentucky went 10-of-23 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, shooting at a 43.5 percent clip. The Wildcats went to the free throw line 21 times, while EMU saw just nine shots from the charity stripes in the first half. The Eagles did hold Kentucky to a 12.5 percent clip from beyond the arc after the Wildcats went 1-of-8 from downtown.
Coming out of the locker room, Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles traded buckets with Kentucky before a 13-2 run gave the Wildcats a 13 point lead with 12:39 left in the second half of the game. During that run, EMU was held to 3-of-15 shooting with four turnovers.
The Eagles managed to go back-and-forth with Kentucky, until the Wildcats gradually pulled away, leading by as many as 21 at 79-58 with 2:39 left in the game. The final 2:28 of the contest saw just three field goals made. Combs finished his night by draining a step-back trey, before Johnson had a put-back for the Wildcats. Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich.-D.H. Robichaud (Adrian)) completed the contest with a layup for his only points of the game, making the final score 81-63.
Eastern returns back to Ypsilanti, Mich. Tuesday, Dec. 3, when it welcomes in the No. 24-ranked University of Massachusetts to the Convocation Center for a 7 p.m. contest. UMass comes into the game with a perfect 6-0 record. The Minutemen and Eastern Michigan have only met two times in the history of the two programs, with UMass winning both contests.
Team Stats
EMU
UK
FG%
.364
.431
3FG%
.211
.188
FT%
.647
.700
RB
33
52
TO
13
20
STL
9
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
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