Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 14
Cleveland, Ohio
9 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
16-18
55
vs
70
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Western Michigan
20-11
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
32
23
55
Western Michigan
36
34
70
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
EMU Hoops Season Ends at MAC Tournament with Loss to Broncos, 70-55
3/14/2013 11:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles finish 16-18 on the 2012-13 campaign
Photo Gallery.
Postgame Press Conference.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its quarterfinal matchup of the 2013 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament with Western Michigan University, 70-55. With the loss, the Eagles finish the season 16-18.
EMU made 22-of-57 from the field for a 38.6 percent clip behind Daylen Harrison's (Akron, Ohio – St. Vincent St. Mary (Wyoming)) 14 points. Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich. - Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) grabbed 10 rebounds for the Green and White while also tallying eight points. The Eagles made five-of-eight threes in the first half, but did not make one in the second half, missing all seven of their attempts. Eastern also converted 6-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Shayne Whittington recorded 23 points and eight boards to lead the Broncos to victory. WMU found its success from the foul line, making 24-of-29 for 82.8 percent. Western shot 21-of-45 from the floor, including 4-of-17 from beyond the arc, for a 46.7 field goal percentage.
The Broncos opened up the scoring after EMU notched up the game at two apiece, scoring six-straight to take an early 8-2 lead. Sims broke the Eagles' three-minute scoreless streak with a trey to cut the lead to three at the 15:10 mark.
Eastern and Western traded buckets over the next five minutes until Harrison struck on a three-ball from the corner to give the Eagles their first lead of the contest with 10:29 on the clock. Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich. – Melvindale) converted on a baseline to put EMU on top, 14-11, but the Broncos' Darius Paul hit a jumper with a man in his face to keep it within one on the next trip down.
EMU and the Broncos traded baskets, scoring a combined 23 points in three minutes to see a 25-23 tally in favor of the Eagles with 6:36 on the clock. After four-straight points by the Eagles, the Broncos' David Brown connected on his second triple of the game to keep his team within three, 29-26, at 5:26. Riley and Connar Tava traded buckets before Whittington scored six-straight to give the lead back to Western, 34-31, with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
After Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) ended a three-minute scoring drought with a free throw, Western jumped back out to a four-point lead, 36-32, at the 1:27 tally which is where the score would stay heading into the break.
Harrison led the offense for Eastern with 12 points in the opening half while Jalen Ross (Greensboro, N.C. – Greensboro Day) posted six and Riley had eight points and five rebounds. The Eagles shot 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from the floor, including converting on 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Whittington was tough to stop for Western, converting on 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shots, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Whittington had 18 points and seven rebounds in the opening half.
Western kept building on its lead to open the second half by scoring four-straight to get up eight, 40-32, but Riley scored the Eagles' first bucket of the half at the 17:49 mark on a second-chance layup. A three-pointer by WMU's Brandon Pokley put the Broncos back up by eight, 44-36, with 15:57 left in the contest.
Whittington hit a long jumper out of the first media timeout to give the Broncos a 10-point lead with just over 15 minutes on the clock. However, four points in a row from the Eagles brought it back to six, 46-40. Both teams answered each other's tries, and Thompson converted the old-fashioned three-point play to make it a three-point deficit, 50-47, for EMU with 9:38 on the clock.
EMU and WMU traded buckets but Paul came back with two consecutive baskets to extend the Western lead back to five, 54-49, with just over seven minutes left in the contest. The Broncos scored the next four points to get back up nine, 58-49, until Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich. – Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) connected on an alley-oop dunk, and Thompson followed up with a finish on a drive of his own to bring Eastern back within five.
Over the next two minutes of play, WMU went on a 5-0 run to jump back ahead by double-figures, 63-53. In the final two minutes, Eastern was outscored 7-2 and saw the game slip away in the waning minutes at a 70-55 final.
The Eagles finished the 2012-13 campaign with a record of 16-18, while Western moves on to face the No. 2-seeded Ohio University Bobcats at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio Friday, March 15. Tonight's game was the final contest for Thompson, Harris and Matt Balkema (Roseville, Mich. – Cousino) in their EMU hoops careers.
Head Coach Rob Murphy (Opening statement)
Well I thought tonight was a very tough game for us. Not to make any excuses, but any time you play four games in five days starting with Saturday, you kind of lose something as you move along with the excitement of advancing and fatigue setting in. Not to take anything away from Western Michigan, they have a really good team, I thought Shayne Whittington put his stamp on the game early on, especially throughout the first half, we kind of got him under control in the second half. For the most part, I'm proud of our guys for advancing in the tournament, winning two games. I think Western is a really good team, a well-balanced team and I think moving forward we just have to get better when we get in these positions to be well-prepared for the game and continue to get better.
Daylen Harrison (on struggling offensively the second half)
I think in the second half we weren't doing what we were doing in the first half. We were playing together, getting each other open shots in the first half, I think the second half we started to force a little bit more shots and we just didn't make as many.
Da'Shonte Riley (on playing four games in five days)
Honestly, to say that we were tired to me would just be an excuse. It's been done in the past, seniors have played multiple games in a certain amount of days. We didn't really look at that as an excuse, it may have been an advantage for Western, having a bye, but I think we had our adrenaline pumping, we felt we were in good position to win the game, we just didn't make the right plays at the end.
Postgame Press Conference.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its quarterfinal matchup of the 2013 FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament with Western Michigan University, 70-55. With the loss, the Eagles finish the season 16-18.
EMU made 22-of-57 from the field for a 38.6 percent clip behind Daylen Harrison's (Akron, Ohio – St. Vincent St. Mary (Wyoming)) 14 points. Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich. - Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) grabbed 10 rebounds for the Green and White while also tallying eight points. The Eagles made five-of-eight threes in the first half, but did not make one in the second half, missing all seven of their attempts. Eastern also converted 6-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Shayne Whittington recorded 23 points and eight boards to lead the Broncos to victory. WMU found its success from the foul line, making 24-of-29 for 82.8 percent. Western shot 21-of-45 from the floor, including 4-of-17 from beyond the arc, for a 46.7 field goal percentage.
The Broncos opened up the scoring after EMU notched up the game at two apiece, scoring six-straight to take an early 8-2 lead. Sims broke the Eagles' three-minute scoreless streak with a trey to cut the lead to three at the 15:10 mark.
Eastern and Western traded buckets over the next five minutes until Harrison struck on a three-ball from the corner to give the Eagles their first lead of the contest with 10:29 on the clock. Derek Thompson (Detroit, Mich. – Melvindale) converted on a baseline to put EMU on top, 14-11, but the Broncos' Darius Paul hit a jumper with a man in his face to keep it within one on the next trip down.
EMU and the Broncos traded baskets, scoring a combined 23 points in three minutes to see a 25-23 tally in favor of the Eagles with 6:36 on the clock. After four-straight points by the Eagles, the Broncos' David Brown connected on his second triple of the game to keep his team within three, 29-26, at 5:26. Riley and Connar Tava traded buckets before Whittington scored six-straight to give the lead back to Western, 34-31, with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
After Jamell Harris (Euclid, Ohio-Euclid) ended a three-minute scoring drought with a free throw, Western jumped back out to a four-point lead, 36-32, at the 1:27 tally which is where the score would stay heading into the break.
Harrison led the offense for Eastern with 12 points in the opening half while Jalen Ross (Greensboro, N.C. – Greensboro Day) posted six and Riley had eight points and five rebounds. The Eagles shot 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from the floor, including converting on 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc. Whittington was tough to stop for Western, converting on 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shots, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Whittington had 18 points and seven rebounds in the opening half.
Western kept building on its lead to open the second half by scoring four-straight to get up eight, 40-32, but Riley scored the Eagles' first bucket of the half at the 17:49 mark on a second-chance layup. A three-pointer by WMU's Brandon Pokley put the Broncos back up by eight, 44-36, with 15:57 left in the contest.
Whittington hit a long jumper out of the first media timeout to give the Broncos a 10-point lead with just over 15 minutes on the clock. However, four points in a row from the Eagles brought it back to six, 46-40. Both teams answered each other's tries, and Thompson converted the old-fashioned three-point play to make it a three-point deficit, 50-47, for EMU with 9:38 on the clock.
EMU and WMU traded buckets but Paul came back with two consecutive baskets to extend the Western lead back to five, 54-49, with just over seven minutes left in the contest. The Broncos scored the next four points to get back up nine, 58-49, until Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich. – Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) connected on an alley-oop dunk, and Thompson followed up with a finish on a drive of his own to bring Eastern back within five.
Over the next two minutes of play, WMU went on a 5-0 run to jump back ahead by double-figures, 63-53. In the final two minutes, Eastern was outscored 7-2 and saw the game slip away in the waning minutes at a 70-55 final.
The Eagles finished the 2012-13 campaign with a record of 16-18, while Western moves on to face the No. 2-seeded Ohio University Bobcats at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio Friday, March 15. Tonight's game was the final contest for Thompson, Harris and Matt Balkema (Roseville, Mich. – Cousino) in their EMU hoops careers.
Head Coach Rob Murphy (Opening statement)
Well I thought tonight was a very tough game for us. Not to make any excuses, but any time you play four games in five days starting with Saturday, you kind of lose something as you move along with the excitement of advancing and fatigue setting in. Not to take anything away from Western Michigan, they have a really good team, I thought Shayne Whittington put his stamp on the game early on, especially throughout the first half, we kind of got him under control in the second half. For the most part, I'm proud of our guys for advancing in the tournament, winning two games. I think Western is a really good team, a well-balanced team and I think moving forward we just have to get better when we get in these positions to be well-prepared for the game and continue to get better.
Daylen Harrison (on struggling offensively the second half)
I think in the second half we weren't doing what we were doing in the first half. We were playing together, getting each other open shots in the first half, I think the second half we started to force a little bit more shots and we just didn't make as many.
Da'Shonte Riley (on playing four games in five days)
Honestly, to say that we were tired to me would just be an excuse. It's been done in the past, seniors have played multiple games in a certain amount of days. We didn't really look at that as an excuse, it may have been an advantage for Western, having a bye, but I think we had our adrenaline pumping, we felt we were in good position to win the game, we just didn't make the right plays at the end.
Team Stats
EMU
WMU
FG%
.386
.467
3FG%
.333
.235
FT%
.545
.828
RB
28
35
TO
10
11
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
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