Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Albion
Eastern Opens Regular Season Campaign Friday Afternoon
11/6/2013 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles will host Albion College for a noon contest
| Game Notes (.pdf) | Live Stats | Live Audio |
YPISLANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - After a decisive 101-38 win in its exhibition matchup with Marygrove College, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team begins the 2013-14 regular season Friday, Nov. 8, with a Noon matchup against the Albion College Britons. Tip-off is slated for Noon at the Convocation Center. Along with the gameday tip, Friday will serve as EMU's "Education Day" in which children from both the Ypsilanti and Albion communities will be in attendance.
The Eagles finished the 2012-13 campaign with a 16-18, 7-9 MAC record last season and looks to build on continued success since Rob Murphy took over the program. The Green and White made it to Cleveland, Ohio for the MAC tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Not only have the Eagles improved over the past two seasons, but they plan to make a run at another MAC West Tournament title in 2013-14. Eastern was able to take the divisional title in Murphy's first season and looks for three returning starters, Glenn Bryant, Daylen Harrison and Da'Shonte Riley to lead Eastern to its second division title in three years. These three student-athletes were the top-three rebounders on the team last season, while Bryant and Harrison were two and three in scoring and Riley was a force defensively, averaging two blocks a game.
FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eagles' contest with the Britons will air on Eastern Michigan's internet based web stream, Eagle All-Access. Veteran "Voice of the Eagles" Chad Bush will serve as EMU's play-by-play announcer, while Sean Hostetter will be the analyst of the Green and White's opening contest.
ALL-TIME VERSUS ALBION: Friday afternoon's game with the Albion Britons will be the 53rd time these two teams have squared off in the history of each program. The Green and White hold a commanding 37-15 record against the Britons. The last time these two teams hit the hardwood was Dec. 9, 2003 when the Eagles laid a 31-point thrashing on the Brits. Eastern Michigan's history with Albion dates back to just the then-Normalites' second season of sponsoring men's basketball when E.E. Crook led the team in 1898-99. In two contests, the teams split decisions.
FOR THE 117th TIME: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will kick off its 117th season of competition Friday, Nov. 8, 2013, when the Eagles play host to the Albion College Britons. The noon matchup can be caught on Eagle All-Access. Eastern played its first season in 1897-98 and split games with Detroit, losing a 2-0 decision before coming back for a 4-0 victory. The Eagles are are 68-48 in season openers. For the secon straight season, EMU will open up the NCAA Division I regular season with a Noon start against the Britons.
THE EAGLES IN LID-LIFTERS: Eastern Michigan has played 116 seasons to this point in the university's existence. The Eagles are 67-49 in those 116 season opening games. The Green and White's first campaign was in 1897-88 when they dropped a contest to Detroit. EMU did not win a season opener until its third year, 1899-1900.
A ROUT IN THE WARMUP: The Eagles hosted Marygrove College, Nov. 4, for an exhibition matchup. The Green and White scorched the Mustangs, 101-38, in the contest, thanks in part to an offensive effort in which Eastern shot 40-for-78 from the floor, good for a shooting percentage of 51.3 percent.
Glenn Bryant led on the offensive front as he notched 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Daylen Harrison had 15 points on the night, while Mike Talley dropped in 11 points. Junior Karrington Ward led EMU under the basket pulling down 10 rebounds with seven on the defensive side of the ball. The Eagles totaled 10 blocks on the night, which was just two shy of the Mustangs' field goal total. Bryant rejected four shots, while Da'Shonte Riley turned away three and Ward had two blocks of his own.
EMU PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN THE MAC WEST: The EMU men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the West Division in the 2013-14 Mid-American Conference preseason poll by the MAC News Media Panel. The announcement was made in Cleveland Tuesday, Oct. 29. Along with the preseason poll, EMU senior Glenn Bryant was named to the 2013-14 West Division Preseason All-MAC Team.
The poll was announced prior to the league's preseason media teleconference and was determined by a 25-member media panel. That panel also selected the preseason All-MAC teams and the Eagles did not have a representative on any of those squads.
Third-year Head Coach Rob Murphy and his Eagles received 101 votes, which was shy of the University of Toledo's 149 points and Western Michigan University's 108 votes. Following Toledo, WMU and EMU in the poll was Ball State University (89), Central Michigan University (50) and Northern Illinois University (28).
UT received 24 first-place votes and seven to win the conference tournament, while the Green and White was the only other squad in the West to receive any first-place votes with one.
OPENING UP THE YEAR IN NCAA DIVISION I: For the second straight season, Eastern will be opening up the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball season with the Friday matchup at Noon. Last season the Eagles knocked off Rochester College, 66-52, in the Green and White's first contest, Nov. 9. That game was the first of the 2012 EMU "Ice Man" Classic which was played at Noon as well.
A PAIR OF EAGLES NAMED IN THE TOP-25 MAC PLAYERS OF 2013-14: Both Glenn Bryant and Daylen Harrison were named to HustleBelt.com's Mid-American Conference top-25 players in 2013-14. Harrison started the countdown after being named the 25th best player in the conference, while Bryant was a top-10 choice according to Hustle Belt. The Detroit, Mich. native earned the 10th spot on the list.
BRYANT EARNS ALL-MAC HONORABLE MENTION ACCOLADES: Eastern Michigan University men's basketball forward Glenn Bryant was named an All-Mid-American Conference honorable mention award winner Monday, March 11, the league office announced.
Bryant finished the regular season averaging 10.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. The Detroit, Mich. native led the Eagles in scoring with 11.5 points per game in MAC contests, while shooting 44.1 percent from the floor. The 6-foot-8 redshirt-junior was 18th in conference games in scoring, while also posting 1.5 blocks per game, which was tied for sixth in the conference.
NEW FACES IN THE CROWD: Eastern has a multitude of new student-athletes on its men's basketball roster for the 2013-14 campaign. The Eagles have eight new faces on this season's squad including six transfers. Olalekan Ajayi, Darell Combs, Mo Hughley, Jordan Martin, Jodan Price and Karrington Ward each transferred from other institutions to join the EMU squad. Ward leads the transfers coming into Eastern as a two-time NJCAA All-American. Hughley and Price each had NCAA Division I experience under their belts already. Hughley comes to Eastern from California State University-Bakersfield. Hughley will not have to sit out this season because he is coming to the Eagles roster as a graduate student who still has one year of eligibility remaining. Price, however, transferred to EMU from DePaul University and will have to sit out the 2013-14 season due to transfer rules.
The Green and White had a pair of freshmen walk-ons earn spots on the Eagles' squad. Ali Farhat and Trent Perry join EMU's team after graduating from high school. Farhat attended Dearborn High School in Dearborn, Mich. while Perry comes from the southern part of the U.S. traveling to Eastern from Irving, Texas.
Mike Talley will most likely make an immediate impact for Rob Murphy's Eagles. Although Talley is not a new face to the roster, he sat out last season after transferring to Eastern from Duquesne University.
ETCHING HIS NAME IN THE RECORD BOOK: Eastern Michigan senior center Da'Shonte Riley has made a name for himself on the defensive side of the court at Eastern Michigan. Riley has totaled 96 blocks in just two seasons donning the Green and White. That number ranks as the fifth most rejections in a career at EMU. Theron Wilson holds the all-time record, posting 257 blocks from 1992-96.
Last season, Riley turned away 67 shots. That number ranked as the fifth-most in a single season at Eastern. He is also tied for the second-most blocks in a single game. The Detroit, Mich. native posted seven rejections against Buffalo, Jan. 24, 2012. Wilson also holds the single game record with eight blocks.
40th MAC SEASON: The 2013-14 season will also be the 40th for the Eagles in the Mid-American Conference. The first year of MAC play for EMU was 1974-75 when the then-Hurons went 12-14 and 4-9 in league play.
Eastern has won three Mid-American Conference championships: 1987-88, 1990-91 and 1995-96. The Green and White captured MAC Tournament crowns in all three of those seasons, in addition to winning the tournament title in 1997-98. In 2011-12, the Eagles captured their first-ever Mid-American Conference West Division title.
EAGLES FACE FOES FROM 10 LEAGUES: The 2013-14 EMU men's basketball team will square off against teams from at least 10 different leagues. In addition to its Mid-American Conference schedule that starts Wednesday, Jan. 8, the Eagles will meet teams from the Big Ten (Purdue), the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (Albion), the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (Robert Morris), Horizon (Cleveland State, Green Bay and Oakland), Sun Belt (Texas-Arlington), Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (Concordia), Southeastern (Kentucky), Atlantic Coast Conference (Duke and Syracuse), Atlantic 10 (Massachusetts) and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (Rochester).
FOLLOW EMU MEN'S BASKETBALL ON EAGLE ALL-ACCESS: Building off the success of Eagle All-Access through spring 2013, the Eastern Michigan University Department of Athletics has continued the growth of the broadband channel with the announcement of the school's 2013-14 broadcast schedule. The productions are a combined effort be tween the EMU Athletic Media Relations Office, WEMU (89.1 FM) and SIDEARM Sports. The following men's basketball games in 2013-14 will be part of Eagles All-Access.
| Day | Date | Time | Sport | Opponent |
| Fri. | Nov. 8 | Noon | Men's Basketball | Albion College (Audio Only) |
| Tues. | Nov. 12 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Concordia (Mich.) |
| Thurs. | Nov. 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Robert Morris |
| Mon. | Nov. 18 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Cleveland State |
| Sat. | Nov. 23 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Texas-Arlington |
| Tues. | Dec. 3 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Massachusetts |
| Tues. | Dec. 10 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Green Bay |
| Sat. | Jan. 4 | 2 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Rochester |
| Sat. | Jan. 25 | 2 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Ohio |
| Wed. | Jan. 29 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Bowling Green |
| Sat. | Feb. 8 | 2 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Kent State |
| Sat. | Feb. 15 | 2 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Toledo |
| Wed. | Feb. 26 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Central Michigan |
| Sat. | March 1 | 2 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Northern Illinois |
| Tues. | March 4 | 7 p.m. | Men's Basketball | Ball State |
EMU'S CAREER DIVISIONAL RECORD: The Mid-American Conference has had West-East Divisional competition since 1997-98. A complete list of divisional play is listed below.
EMU IN MAC DIVISIONAL PLAY:
| Year | MAC Record | Overall Record | Divisional Place |
| 1997-98 | 13-5 | 20-10 | 3rd-West |
| 1998-99 | 5-13 | 5-20 | 5th-West |
| 1999-00 | 9-9 | 15-13 | 3rd-West |
| 2000-01 | 1-17 | 3-25 | 6th-West |
| 2001-02 | 2-16 | 6-24 | 6th-West |
| 2002-03 | 8-10 | 14-14 | T-4th-West |
| 2003-04 | 7-11 | 13-15 | 5th-West |
| 2004-05 | 5-13 | 12-18 | 6th-West |
| 2005-06 | 3-15 | 7-21 | 5th-West |
| 2006-07 | 6-10 | 13-19 | 4th-West |
| 2007-08 | 8-8 | 14-17 | T-2nd-West |
| 2008-09 | 6-10 | 8-24 | 4th-West |
| 2009-10 | 8-8 | 17-15 | T-2nd-West |
| 2010-11 | 5-11 | 9-22 | T-4th-West |
| 2011-12 | 9-7 | 14-18 | 1st-West |
| 2012-13 | 7-9 | 16-18 | 4th-West |
| OVERALL | 102-172 | 186-295 |
