Eastern Closes Out 2014 With Concordia

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After winning two-straight contests, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team will hit the hardwood for its final time Sunday, Dec. 28, in the 2014 calendar year. The Eagles (10-2) will square off with Concordia University and with a victory over the Cardinals (8-4), Eastern can declare itself the true champions of Washtenaw County as it will have defeated both institutions within the county.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Concordia contest can be found on both 89.1 FM WEMU and Eagle All-Access. 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 and on-site producer Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations Greg Steiner.
For those who prefer to watch the game, it will be broadcast on Eastern's live webstreaming 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 Sunday afternoon.

ALL-TIME VERSUS CONCORDIA: Sunday's 1 p.m. contest will be just the sixth all-time meeting between the Eagles and Cardinals. Eastern holds a perfect 5-0 record against the in-county foe, including a 95-50 victory last season.
The Eagles were led by Karrington Ward who posted 17 points, tying his career-high, after shooting 5-of-10 from the field and five-of-six from the free throw line. He also pulled down a team and career-high seven rebounds and tied with four other Eagles for the team-high in steals, with two. Glenn Bryant tallied 14 points and two steals in the win, while Darell Combs and Raven Lee netted 12 apiece. Mike Talley added 10 points of his own while dishing out seven assists for the evening. Da'Shonte Riley rejected five Cardinal shots to pace the defense.

LIKELY LOOK FOR CONCORDIA...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Makenzi Kurvitz-Statum	G	Sr.	5-10	180	6.3	2.2	1.6	Roanoke, Va.-Brunswick CC
3	Josh Fugate	G	Sr.	6-2	195	15.0	2.5	1.6	Holly, Mich.-Holly
14	Andrew Patrick	G	Sr.	6-2	195	16.5	4.3	3.8	Goodrich, Mich.-Goodrich
20	Austin Elam	F	Jr.	6-7	205	3.3	3.3	0.9	Milan, Mich.-Milan
22	Joe Remstad	F	Jr.	6-5	185	6.7	7.3	1.0	South Lyon, Mich.-South Lyon

A LOOK AT CONCORDIA: Concordia currently holds an 8-4 record through 12 games this season. The Cardinals are led by the guard duo of Andrew Patrick and Josh Fugate who combine for 31.5 points per game. Patrick is the leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, while doubling up as the Cardinals' lead assist man at 3.8 assists per contest.

MAKING HISTORY: In the battle of the Eagles, Eastern's men's basketball team soared past Coppin State University, 87-64, Tuesday night, Dec. 23. Returning to the Convocation Center for the first time since Dec. 1, following a four-game road trip, EMU improved to 10-2 on the 2014-15 campaign. The 10 victories in non-conference play are the most in program history since joining the Mid-American Conference in 1974.

20/20: Eastern Michigan has seen its duo of Raven Lee and Karrington Ward put together big games this season as individuals, but against Coppin State we saw the two Eagle stars put it on display in a single game. Both scored over 20 points in the contest. It was the second time the duo has accomplished the feat in the same game this season, also reaching the scoring total versus Oakland, Nov. 17.

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Instead of a stocking-stuffer a few days before Christmas versus Coppin State, Raven Lee was a stat-stuffer throughout the night, chalking up 21 points (7-of-11), six rebounds, six steals and five assists in just 20 minutes of play off the bench. The six swipes was a new career high for the Detroit, Mich. native, while his five dimes became a new season best for the Eastern guard.

MURPHY VERSUS NON-DI OPPONENTS: Although it comes as no surprise, EMU Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy has led the Eagles to a cool 12-0 record in both exhibition and regular season games against non-NCAA Division I opponents during his tenure. Last season, the Eagles went 4-0 in exhibition and regular season games versus NAIA and one NCAA Division III squad. EMU knocked off Marygrove in an exhibition contest before defeating Albion College, Concordia (Mich.) University and Rochester College in regular season tilts.

WARD SAYS "NO, NO, NO": EMU senior Karrington Ward has been known for his high flying ability on the offensive end, but Tuesday, Dec. 23, against Coppin State the Lockport, Ill. native showed off his defensive skills. The 6-foot-7 forward skied above all other defenders to block six different shot attempts which tied nine other performances for the 10th-most in a single game by an EMU student-athlete.

EASTERN FINDS IT STROKE: The Eagles had struggled on the offensive side of the ball in their road games prior to the 77-65 win over Missouri State. Eastern was shooting 30.5 percent from the floor and 25.4 percent from beyond the arc, while averaging just 51.7 points per game before exploding for 77 points on 51 percent shooting and connecting at a 39.1 percent clip from three-point land. The 51 percent shooting percentage is the second-best mark on the season for the Eagles, while their nine three-pointers were tied for the most in a single game this year.

HE'S BAAAACK: EMU senior Karrington Ward hit quite the four-game slump prior to a breakout performance on Saturday. Through the previous four games, Ward was shooting just 25 percent from the floor and 21.7 percent from beyond the arc. During that stretch, Ward averaged just 8.3 points from the floor. Prior to that shooting slump, Ward had been averaging 15 points per game while connecting on 41.7 percent of his shots.
The Lockport, Ill. native returned to form versus Missouri State, Dec. 20, when he went for 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.

STREAKING AT THE CONVO: Eastern Michigan's basketball program has had great success underneath current head coach Rob Murphy in home games at the Convocation Center. The Eagles are 44-12 in games played at the Convo, including a current 15-game winning streak. Eastern has not dropped a game in Ypsilanti since it fell, 56-58, to Ohio, Jan. 25, 2014.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS: In the last two seasons, Rob Murphy's squads are 11-0 in non-conference games versus NCAA Division I mid-major programs.

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Players Mentioned

Glenn Bryant

Darell Combs

Ray Lee

Da'Shonte Riley

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics