Eastern Set to Take on Oakland on High School Night

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team began the 2014-15 campaign on a positive note Friday, Nov. 14, when the Eagles defeated the Fighting Saints from Saint Francis University (Ill.), 64-52. Despite it not being quite the blowout that Rob Murphy-coached teams are used to inflicting against non-NCAA Division I competition, the Green and White will gladly move forward with a victory and head to 1-0 on the year. Eastern will now play host to Oakland University Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. The contest with the Golden Grizzlies is EMU's "High School Night". High school students who show their student ID at the ticket window will receive a discounted ticket price of $3 for the game.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern MIchigan versus Oakland contest will debut the 89.1 FM WEMU men's basketball broadcast schedule for the 2014-15 campaign. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet to the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter, along with Assistant Athletics DIrector Greg Steiner as the producer.

For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be live streamed on EMU's internet-based web streaming service, Eagle All-Access. Subscriptions for Eagle All-Access start at just $6.95 and can be purchased at EMUEagles.com/watch. The pregame show and analysis will begin at 6:50 p.m. on Monday evening.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES: Monday evening's contest between the Eagles and Golden Grizzlies will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the two Southeast Michigan-based programs. Eastern Michigan leads the all-time series 9-5 currently, including an overtime victory last season at the Oakland O'Rena in Rochester, Mich. The Eagles came away with an 81-79 victory, Dec. 21, 2013.

In that contest, Travis Bader led the contest in scoring with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, exclusively from beyond the arc. However, Eastern's balanced offensive attack proved to be difficult for the Golden Grizzlies to defend. EMU had four players in double-figures as Mike Talley leading the way with 21 points for the Green and White.

A DIAPER DANDY GETS THE NOD: Eastern Michigan freshman point guard Ethan Alvano made his first career start versus Saint Francis (Ill.) on Monday, Nov. 14. The Corona, Calif. native filled up the stat sheet with nine points, including a triple and four free throws made. In addition, Alvano pulled down three rebounds, dished out three assists and picked the FIghting Saints pocket on two occasions. On top of his successful debut, the six-foot-tall guard is the first "true freshman" Eagle to start in a season opener since Jalen Ross played the point in a 66-52 victory over Rochester College back on Nov. 9, 2012.

A NEW LOOK: Replacing eight letterwinners from the season before is never any easy task to take on for a head coach. Rob Murphy is faced with just that task this season and he started the campaign off with a look that no one expected. Murphy returned his starting point guard who averaged 10.2 points per game last season, however the fourth-year head coach elected to go with freshman guard Ethan Alvano in the season opening start. Overall, Eastern had three new starters in the lineup from last season: Alvano, Anali Okoloji and Mike Samuels.

AN EARLY SCARE: Deciding to forego an exhibition contest can often call for a sluggish start in the season opener. The Eagles saw that effect in its 64-52 victory over Saint Francis (Ill.), Nov. 14, to begin the season. Rob Murphy-coached squads came into games versus non-NCAA Division I competition defeating those opponents by an average of 38.3 points. Eastern was leading by just two points, 32-30, at halftime of the 2014-15 lid lifter.

EMU PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN THE MAC WEST: The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the West Division according to the 2014-15 Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll by the MAC News Media Panel. The announcement was made in Cleveland Tuesday, Oct. 28. Along with the preseason poll, EMU senior Karrington Ward was named to the MAC West Division Preseason All-MAC Team.

WARD RECOGNIZED AS THE 15TH BEST DEFENDER IN THE NCAA: According to BleacherReport.com, senior forward Karrington Ward was named the 15th-best defender in the country. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 1.4 steals per contest last season, while also swatting nearly one shot per game. In addition, Ward was the Eagles' top rebounder. On the defensive glass, the Lockport, Ill. native totaled 5.1 rebounds per contest.

WARD NAMED FIFTH-BEST ACCORDING TO HUSTLEBELT: HustleBelt.com counted down its top-25 players in the Mid-American Conference for the 2014-15 season beginning 25 days before the season started and it took until Nov. 9 for Karrington Ward's named to be called. The reason the EMU faithful had to wait so long was because Ward was named the fifth-best player in the conference.

LEE BEGINS A CLIMB TO GREATNESS: Although it is very unlikely to catch EMU's all-time leading scorer Kennedy McIntosh, who posted 2,219 career points, the Eagles' redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee has made his mark after just over one season of play, scoring 380 points in his first full season as an Eagle, Lee scored the most points of any freshman in EMU history. In addition to that, if he scores at least 380 points over the remainder of his three years of eligibility, the Detroit, Mich. native will be the first Eagle to join the 1,000-point club since Brandon Bowdry did in the 2010-11 season. If he continues the pace from his redshirt-freshman season, Lee will pass Grant Long for No. 10 on the EMU all-time scoring list. Currently, after playing in eight games in 2012-13, 36 in 2013-14 and one in 2014, Lee has totaled 435 points in his career at EMU.

RETURN THE ARSENAL: Despite only returning five letterwinners from the 2013-14 squad, the Eagles are bringing back quite a bit of offense to the 2014-15 campaign. In fact, Eastern returns over 50 percent of its scoring output from last season, led by Karrington Ward (12.5 ppg), Raven Lee (10.6 ppg) and Mike Talley (10.2 ppg).

COMBS AND ROSS LOST TO TRANSFER: Two of EMU's back court members from the 2013-14 campaign, Darell Combs and Jalen Ross, each transferred from EMU between seasons. Combs left to IUPUI, while Ross joined the Hartford squad.

EAGLES ADD SEVEN FOR 2014-15: Eastern Michigan University Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy announced the addition of seven student-athletes to join the Eagles' 2014 recruiting class. EMU welcomed freshmen Ethan Alvano, Tim Bond and Jordan Nobles, while Jerome Hunter and Anali Okoloji joined the Eagles as graduate student-athletes. In addition, transfers Brandon Nazione and Mike Samuels will have two years of eligibility remaining at Eastern Michigan.

THE EAGLES IN LID-LIFTERS: Eastern Michigan began its 118th season with a victory against Saint Francis, Nov. 14. The Eagles are now 69-49 in those 118 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.

WARD EARNS ALL-MAC THIRD TEAM HONORS: Eastern forward Karrington Ward was named to the 2014 All-Mid-American Conference Third Team after an exceptional season for the Eagles. The All-MAC teams are voted on by the league's head coaches. Ward was the first EMU student-athlete to be named to the All-MAC Third Team since 2012 senior Darrell Lampley earned the honor.

The 6-foot-7 forward led the Eagles in scoring (12.5 ppg) which ranked as the 16th most in the MAC. In addition to his stellar scoring effort, the Lockport, Ill. native also led the Green and White in rebounding (6.4 rpg) which is the 12th-best in the league, while also being the seventh-best defensive rebounder with 5.1 per contest. Ward also ranked 13th in steals (1.4 spg) and 11th in three point field goal percentage (37.7 percent).

A SPECIAL SEASON: The 2013-14 season proved to be one to remember for the Green and White faithful. The Eagles saw their first 20-win season since 1997-98, as well as the most wins since the 1996-97 season with 22. In addition, Eastern made its first run to the Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since the '97-98 season. Moreover, EMU's Da'Shonte Riley became the first player in Eastern Michigan history to be named the MAC's Defensive Player of the Year, while Karrington Ward earned All-MAC Third Team honors.

FILLING A VOID: EMU saw its first-ever Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year in Da'Shonte Riley graduate following the 2013-14 campaign. Although he wasn't known for his offensive presence, the 7-foot center earned the distinction after he recorded 87 blocks, while averaging 2.8 rejections per contest, which is the best in the MAC. The senior rejected five-or-more blocks in seven games, and four-or more in 10. The Detroit, Mich. native was an important piece of the 2-3 zone defense, which ranked as the top field goal defense in the country. At the conclusion of the 2013-14 campaign, Riley totaled 96 blocks for the year, which tied the most in EMU history.

41st MAC SEASON: The 2014-15 season will also be the 41st 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 ALREADY TABBED FOR TV: Eastern Michigan men's basketball has already been scheduled to appear on ESPNU and the Big Ten Netork this season. The Eagles' contest with Michigan, Dec. 9, will air on ESPNU, while their game with Michigan State, Dec. 17, is slated for BTN.

EAGLES FACE FOES FROM 11 LEAGUES: The 2014-15 EMU men's basketball team will square off against teams from at least 11 different leagues. In addition to its Mid-American Conference schedule that starts Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Eagles will meet teams from the Big Ten (Michigan and Michigan State), the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Association (Saint Francis), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (Coppin State), Horizon League (Oakland and Youngstown State), Southern Conference (UNC-Greensboro), Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (Concordia and Marygrove), Big South (Longwood), Missouri Valley Conference (Missouri State), Atlantic 10 (Dayton) and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (Rochester)

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Tim Bond

Darell Combs

Jerome Hunter

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Jordan Nobles

Anali Okoloji

Da'Shonte Riley

Jalen Ross

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics