Men's Hoops Ready to Host Three in Three Days for the EMU Showcase

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is off to a hot start to begin the 2014-15 campaign. EMU is now 2-0 after defeating Saint Francis (Ill.), 64-52, Nov. 14, and Oakland, 89-77, Nov. 17. With their first two games in the rear view mirror, the Eagles look forward to the EMU Showcase. The EMU Showcase is a multi-team event hosted by Eastern Michigan. The Green and White will face Youngstown State, UNC Greensboro and Longwood in consecutive days, Nov. 21-23. Eastern opens the weekend with a contest against YSU, scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday evening.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Youngstown State contest can be found exclusively on Eagle All-Access. Video and audio will be provided so fans can enjoy listening to the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call will be analyst and Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter.

Eagle All-Access is EMU's internet-based web streaming service. 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 Friday evening.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE PENGUINS: Friday evening's contest between the Eagles and Penguins will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the two mid-major programs. Eastern Michigan leads the all-time series 5-4.

In the last outing, the Eagles came away with a 77-71 victory inside of the Convocation Center, Dec, 7, 2005. Former Eagles Carlos Medlock and John Bowler posted solid games versus YSU. It was a career-day for Medlock as he notched his then-career high in points with 21, while Bowler added 21 of his own.

THE MOST IN AN ERA: In the Eagles victory over Oakland, Nov. 17, there was a mark reached that has yet to happen in the Rob Murphy era. Eastern defeated the Golden Grizzlies, 89-77, and those 89 points were the most scored by a Murphy-coached team against an NCAA Division I institution. In fact, it was just the third time that EMU has notched 80-or-more points versus NCAA Division I foes in the last four seasons. The last, their 81-79 win over Oakland last year.

WARD EARNS NO. 1 SPOT ON THE #SCTop10: Eastern threw down numerous dunks in its 89-77 victory over Oakland University Monday night, Nov. 17, and one dunk in particular got the attention of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. A thunderous slam by Karrington Ward earned the nod as the top play of the night on the show's Top 10 Plays segment.

As the No. 2 play of the night aired, an impressive breakaway dunk by Jeff Green of the Boston Celtics, ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt noted, "This is filthy! Something's got to be great to beat this." Upon seeing Ward's dunk as the No. 1 play of the evening, Van Pelt exclaimed, "Oh I see you Karrington Ward! Yeah, that's pretty nasty, that's number one!"

Helping put the game on ice, the Lockport, Ill. native threw down the tomahawk dunk over an Oakland defender, brining the EMU crowd to its feet.

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME THAT HAPPENED?: Eastern Michigan redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee and senior Karrington Ward each scored 20-plus in EMU's win over Oakland, Nov. 17, as Lee checked in with 24 and Ward posted 22. The last time the Eagles had two 20-plus point scorers in a single game came back in the 2009-10 season when Carlos Medlock and Brandon Bowdry combined for 53 of the Eagles' 76 points in a 76-66 victory over Davenport. Medlock finished that game with 32 points, while Bowdry walked away with 21.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER: Despite being relocated to the bench when games began in the first two contests of the season, senior guard Mike Talley proved to be the diference-maker in the Eagles' 89-77 victory against Oakland Monday, Nov. 17, filling up the stat sheet for EMU. Not only did he record his 22nd contest of 10-or-more points by notching 11 in the win, but he dished out seven assists without turning the ball over.

POKING THE BEAR: Senior Mike Talley has shown that he enjoys playing with grizzly bears. In fact, in two games against Oakland, Talley has totaled 32 points and 16 assists, giving him an average of 16 points and eight assists per contest. What is more amazing is the point guard did not turn the ball over once in 65 total minutes played versus the Golden Grizzlies. The Eagles have won both games that Talley has competed in.

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.

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 two in 2014, Lee has totaled 459 points in his career at EMU.

RETURNING AN 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).

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.

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. With Combs and Ross gone, the Eagles lost a lot of depth in the backcourt, but have filled spots with freshmen Ethan Alvano and Tim Bond, while Jodan Price became eligible this year after sitting out a season due to transfer rules.

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.

Men's Hoops Ready to Host Three in Three Days for the EMU Showcase

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Tim Bond

Darell Combs

Jerome Hunter

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Jordan Nobles

Anali Okoloji

Jodan Price

Jalen Ross

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics