Eastern Opens 2014-15 Campaign with 64-52 Victory Versus Saint Francis

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Game Highlights

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball season got underway Friday, Nov. 14, at the Convocation Center when the Eagles (1-0), hosted Saint Francis (Ill.) University for an afternoon contest, as part of "Education First Day". Despite a slow start, the Green and White came out victorious, knocking off the Fighting Saints (2-2), 64-52. The Green and White have now won their last seven season openers and are now 4-0 under Head Coach Rob Murphy in lid lifters.

The Eagles shot at a 42.9 percent clip as Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)) led the offensive charge with 16 points, while Anali Okoloji (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Impact Academy (George Mason)) began his Eastern Michigan career with a double-digit scoring effort, pouring in 10 points. The Eagles spread the wealth offensively, as Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) came away with 11 points, Ethan Alvano (Corona, Calif.-Corona) added nine in his debut, and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) recorded seven. Ward's eight rebounds tied a game-high, while Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stroudburg North (Indiana State)) posted five boards of his own. Overall, Eastern went 24-for-56 from the floor, but struggled from the long line, knocking down just 3-of-18 from distance. In addition, EMU saw hard times from the charity stripe, converting on just 56.5 percent of its attempts.

Defensively, the Green and White held Saint Francis to just a 35.6 percent field goal percentage (21-of-59). Ward notched three steals and a block, while Okoloji and Lee each notched a rejection. Okoloji and Talley each swiped three steals en route to the Eagles picking Saint Francis' pocket on 12 occasions. Jens Kennedy led SFU with a game-high 18 points, while Jo Jo Ballestero hit 5-of-10 shots from downtown to add 15 tallies.

Things looked promising out of the gate for EMU, as Okoloji knocked down a triple to start an 8-0 Eastern Michigan run, but the Fighting Saints hit on five triples to keep pace with the Green and White. Hot shooting from long range, including three triples, helped work SFU back into a tie, 19-19, with 11:59 to go in the opening half. The Eagles and Fighting Saints traded buckets over the next three minutes until Saint Francis scored six of the next eight points to garner their first, and largest lead of the game at 28-24.

With five minutes to go in the opening frame, Jerome Hunter (Buffalo, N.Y.-Queen City Prepatory Academy (Alabama A&M)) hit on a baby hook to spark a 6-0 run, giving Eastern a 30-28 lead with 2:54 remaining in the half. Ilya Ilyayev notched things up at 30 with a layup but Alvano converted on a pair of free throws to regain the 32-30 advantage for EMU heading into half.

Despite outshooting the Fighting Saints by a nearly an eight percent margin, the Eagles owned just a two-point lead at the break, and the difference was hot three-point shooting by SFU. Saint Francis knocked down seven triples in the first 20 minutes on just 14 tries from the outside. Eastern managed to shoot just 10 percent from beyond the arc, going 1-for-10. In addition to being outshot from downtown, EMU was outrebounded, 22-18, in the first half. Lee posted a team-best nine points in the first half, while Ward followed up with eight.

Eastern came out firing, beginning the second half on a 13-2 run, a run in which they did not relinquish. Looking at a 45-34 lead with 13:14 to go in the game, Talley lobbed a pass up to Ward and he threw down a thunderous alley-oop dunk, putting an exclamation point on one of the largest leads for the Eagles at 13-points, 47-34. As the Eagles and Fighting Saints went pace-for-pace down the floor, Talley ripped the ball from Breshion Tucker and took the ball coast-to-coast to finish a layup with a foul, giving him a chance for an old-fashioned three-point play. Talley converted on the free throw, giving EMU its largest lead of the game, 52-36, with 10:36 to go.

The Eagles maintained a double-digit lead for most of the remainder of the game. Heading into the final few minutes of the game, Jordan Martin (Detroit, Mich.-Chandler Park Academy (Oakland C.C.)) entered the game for Eastern. Martin pulled down an offensive rebound off of a missed three-pointer and put the ball back through the hoop for the first bucket of his Eastern Michigan career with 1:05 left in the contest. After a Talley layup, Ballestero knocked down a triple to settle the final score at 64-52.

For the Eagles, their homestand of seven-straight games played in the Convocation Center will continue Monday, Nov. 17. Eastern will continue its in-state rivalry with Oakland University as the Golden Grizzlies travel 53 miles to Ypsilanti from Rochester, Mich. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., and it is not only the "Eagles Unite" game, but it is High School Night as well. All attendees with a high school ID will receive a discounted ticket of just $3 to the game

Eastern Opens 2014-15 Campaign with 64-52 Victory Versus Saint Francis

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Team Stats

Karrington Ward

Ray Lee

Anali Okoloji

Ethan Alvano

Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Jerome Hunter

Ray Lee

Jordan Martin

Anali Okoloji

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Jerome Hunter

Ray Lee

Jordan Martin

Anali Okoloji

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics