EMU Drops New Year's Eve Showdown to No. 2 Syracuse, 70-48

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – Closing out the 2013 calendar year, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped a 70-48 decision to No. 2-ranked Syracuse University Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 31, in the Carrier Dome. For the third straight season, the Eagles scored exactly 48 points against the Orange.

It was a homecoming of sorts for EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy, who coached under Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim for seven seasons. In the third matchup between the two, the legendary coach's team held his former assistant's team to a season-low 48 points.

Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy) recorded a season-high 19 points to lead Eastern in scoring, also grabbing a team-best eight rebounds. The redshirt senior was on the receiving end of four alley-oops while shooting 8-of-11 throughout the contest. Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) converted 4-of-5 from beyond the arc as the only other Eagle in double digits. As a team, EMU struggled shooting, making 17-of-54 for a 31.5 percent clip overall, including 7-of-28 from long range.

Jerami Grant and Rakeem Christmas paced Syracuse with 15 points apiece as they were two-of-four Orange in double figures. C.J. Fair chipped in with 13 points while Trevor Cooney also scored 10. While starting point guard Travis Ennis did not score, he did tally a team-high nine assists. SU shot extremely well from the floor, sinking 51 percent of its shots (26-of-51). While the Orange struggled from long range (3-of-14), they found success in the paint, racking up 40 points in that area.

Although the Eagles secured the opening tip, they could not score first as Christmas opened up the scoring for SU with a jumper. However, EMU responded with a wing three from Lee to give Eastern its first lead of the game. The Orange answered right back with a 9-0 run to lead, 11-3, heading into the first media timeout.

Coming out of the break in the action, Darell Combs (Chicago, Ill.-Thornwood) ended the Orange run with a jumper from long range. Once again, Syracuse countered with seven straight points to increase its advantage to 12, prompting Coach Murphy to take a timeout with 13:28 remaining in the first half.

The first half continued with runs by the Orange as they scored eight straight before Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT) broke a four-minute scoreless spell with a jumper in the paint. The EMU defense stepped up its 2-3 zone to hold Syracuse without a basket for three straight possessions. After the third stop, Bryant picked up a loose ball rebound and sank the easy bunny as he was fouled. The redshirt senior converted at the line for the old fashioned three point play. After an alley-oop on the other end, Bryant countered with another three-point play to cut into the deficit, 32-21, with 4:18 left in the first half. The Detroit, Mich. native continued his strong play with an offensive board in the corner that led to a two-handed slam by Ward, increasing the EMU run to 13-4.

Bryant scored eight of his team's final 15 points as two Talley free throws brought the deficit into single digits, 36-27, at halftime. After trailing by as many as 20, the Eagles held Syracuse to just six points in the final 7:33 of the first half while scoring 17 points over that time frame. Bryant's 10 points and seven boards paced the Eagles in the opening half as EMU shot just 31 percent (9-of-29) from the floor, including 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. The Green and White was successful from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes, making all six attempts from the charity stripe.

Syracuse was led by Grant in the first half as the sophomore scored 12 points for the Orange. SU was red hot from the field, shooting 15-of-28 for a 53.6 percent clip in large part to scoring 26 points in the paint. The No. 2 ranked team in the country also out-scored Eastern in fastbreak points, 12-2, forcing 10 EMU turnovers.

Lee started the second half just as he did the first with a three pointer to make it a six-point game, 36-30. Following a Syracuse free throw, Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township) found Bryant flying through the air to complete a thunderous alley-oop and get the Eagles within five. The Orange answered with seven quick points to build the lead into double digits before another Lee-to-Bryant connection for the slam decreased the margin to 10, 44-34, with 16:34 to go in the contest.

After another EMU timeout, Lee brought the game back to single digits with a three that would make an NBA-range three look like a jumper from the elbow. Nonetheless, Syracuse tallied seven points in-a-row before Bryant found himself on another end of an alley-oop, receiving the perfect lob from Combs. That would be the only EMU bucket in a 14-2 run by the Orange that brought the game to a 19-point differential. Another Lee jumper from NBA range, his third three of the half, ended the run as the scoreboard read 58-42 in favor of SU at the 7:03 mark of the second half.

Syracuse increased the lead in the closing minutes, holding the Eagles to just six points in the final seven minutes and keeping its undefeated record in-tact to win by a final count, 70-48.

The Eagles will lift the lid on 2014 while also closing out the non-conference portion of their schedule, hosting Rochester College, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. The matchup at the Convocation is the lone home contest in EMU's current six-game stretch.

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Team Stats

Glenn Bryant

Ray Lee

Karrington Ward

Darell Combs

Eastern Michigan Athletics