Bryant's Career Night Lifts Eastern to 69-57 Victory Over BGSU

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team was able to snap a two-game losing skid with a 69-57 decision over Mid-American Conference opponent Bowling Green State University, Jan. 29. With the victory, the Eagles are boosted to 12-8 (4-3 MAC) while the Falcons fall to 9-11 (3-4 MAC).

The Eagles were led by the career-high night of Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)), who poured in 26 points to go with his second double-double of the 2013-14 campaign. The senior led all Eagles with 10 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. The trio of steals is also a career-high for the Detroit, Mich. native. Also notching double-digit scoring performances in the victory were Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)), Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and Daylen Harrison (Akron, Ohio-St. Vincent-St. Mary (Wyoming)).

Collectively, the Eagles were 24-of-60 from the floor, good for 40.0 percent. The Green and White picked up its game inside the key, as over half the points came from within the paint. The team also out-rebounded the Falcons 45-36, after being held on the lower end of the battle on the boards for the previous two contests.

Bowling Green was led by Richaun Holmes, who posted 20 points to go with his nine rebounds. The Falcons shot 20-of-56 for a 35.7 percent success rate and hit 8-of-13 shots from three-point range. The Eagles forced 17 turnovers from the opposing team, seven of which resulted in a successful fastbreak finishes.

Though the Falcons were the first to get on the board, Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)) quickly retaliated up with a triple to get the offense going. The score would soon be knotted up at five points apiece, but the score flipped in favor of the Falcons after the team made its way to the bucket to take a quick 9-5 advantage.

The Green and White took off on an offensive tear, as Talley drained a triple and Bryant picked up a rebound to throw down one of his patented dunks to give the Eagles the lead. Talley made his way down-court to draw the foul off a layup, as his additional free throw extended the Green and White's string of points to an 8-0 run.

Harrison sank the third trey of the evening to bring the score up to 16-9, but Bowling Green battled back, bringing its deficit to just two points with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Eagles built up more of a lead as Talley dropped two dimes as he found Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) open in the low post for a quick slam and threw up a high-arcing alley-oop to Bryant for the second consecutive crowd-rousing play.

Bryant dropped in the next four points for the Eagles, as the Falcons relied heavily on their outside game to stay in the game. A fastbreak jumper from Harrison put the Green and White up 29-24 with three minutes to play in the half. BGSU left the lane to the rim wide open as Bryant notched his fourth and fifth dunks of the game within a minute. The senior eclipsed 20 points, scoring over half the team's tally in the first half, off a tip-in with 20 seconds remaining.

The team retreated to the locker room boasting a 39-29 advantage over the Falcons. Leading the Green and White was Bryant, who had already surpassed his career-high with 21 points in the opening period. The Detroit, Mich. native also paced the team in rebounds with seven boards and came away with a steal and one rejection. Leading the team in steals was Mo Hughley (Queens Village, N.Y.-Martin Van Buren (CSU Bakersfield)), who had two of the team's seven pick pockets. Talley, not surprisingly, was the assist leader for the half as his four helpers paved the way for the dunk show that was put on in the opening half.

The team shot 15-of-34 from the field for a 44.1 percentage, while it held BGSU to taking just 23 shots. Though the Falcons had a comparably high success rate, going 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent, the stingy Eagle defense prevented Bowling Green from putting up more attempts. The Green and White also controlled the glass, as the squad pulled down 23 rebounds compared to BGSU's 12 boards.

Opening up the second half was Lee with a jumper from just inside the arc. By overloading the right side of the court, the team left Talley wide open on the left sideline to sink a three that would give the Eagles a 44-32 edge.

The Falcons pushed back to a seven -point disadvantage courtesy of back-to-back three-pointers from Anthony Henderson, who nailed his fourth triple out of five attempts to bring the count to 47-40. Following four minutes without either team finding the opportunity to score, Bryant, who had been relatively silent for the half, recovered a fastbreak layup to slam one through for the team. A Ward steal found its way into the hands of Talley, who bounded down-court for a layup, increasing the EMU lead to 54-42 and forcing BGSU's Head Coach Louis Orr to pause action with a timeout.

Eastern extended Bowling Green's scoring drought to seven minutes before Jehvon Clark hit a shot from beyond the arc. In an interesting swap of roles, Riley threw up an alley-oop from three-point range for Bryant , picking up a prime dime off his counterpart's dynamic dunk. The play was the start of a 7-0 run, giving the Eagles a 63-48 edge with four minutes remaining.

Though the Falcons were able to find ways to score, the Green and White held off the visiting team for the remainder of the contest. As the clock ticked down, the Eagles retained the lead, closing out the game with a 69-57 victory.

The Eagles will head down to Oxford, Ohio to continue competition against MAC contenders. Saturday, Feb. 1 will feature the Green and White squaring off against the Miami University RedHawks at 3 p.m.

Bryant's Career Night Lifts Eastern to 69-57 Victory Over BGSU

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Team Stats

Glenn Bryant

Mike Talley

Ray Lee

Daylen Harrison

Eastern Michigan Athletics