Eagles Soar Past Chippewas to Sweep Season Series, 64-42

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team captured its eighth Mid-American Conference victory of the season with a decisive 64-42 win over in-state rival Central Michigan University, Feb. 26. The Eagles now hold a 16-12 (8-7 MAC) record, while the Chippewas fall to 10-17 (3-12 MAC).

The Green and White was led by Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine C.C.)) with 18 points and a team-high three steals. Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) chipped in an additional 12 points. On the defensive end, Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Detroit Country Day (Syracuse)) had eight boards to go with two rejections.

As a team, the Eagles shot 22-of-51 for a 43.1 percent clip and had 10 steals in the effort to go with an additional five forced Chippewa miscues. Eastern dominated the paint, 24-8, and the EMU bench tallied 30 points on the evening. The squad showed why it leads the nation in defensive shooting percentage, holding Central Michigan to a paltry 24.5 percent success rate on 13-of-53 shooting.

The Chippewas saw most of their success from three-point range, hitting 8-of-23 shots beyond the arc. Chris Fowler came away with the most points for CMU with a 10-point effort, and John Simons was the leader on the glass with eight rebounds.

The Eagles got on the board quickly as Riley rose up to throw a missed three-pointer through the rim within 10 seconds of the tip, but the Chippewas answered back quickly with a successful trey from Braylon Rayson to give CMU its first lead of the game. Darell Combs (Chicago, Ill.-Thornwood (Blinn)) showed his value on the perimeter by hitting two triples in-a-row to flop the score and give the Eagles a more comfortable 8-3 advantage in just over two minutes of play.

Central Michigan made efforts to make its way to the basket, but ran into the tall frame of Riley on the inside, who forced two turnovers to put the ball back into the Eagles' hands. Rayshawn Simmons was able to record the next pair of points for his squad after a five-minute dry spell via a high-arcing jumper on the left baseline to avoid the wide range of Riley's extensive wingspan.

Despite ample movement to open up players on the Chippewa perimeter, the team struggled to convert on any of its shots. A rebound by Ward thrown out to Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne) allowed him to dish out to Bryant for a two-handed slam on the other side of the court to bring the Green and White up 12-5 with 11:07 remaining. A baseline jumper from Bryant increased the lead even further while the Chippewas suffered their fair share of shooting efficiency woes to trail by a considerable margin.

John Simons hit just the third field goal of the game for CMU with his first triple of the evening, but the Eagles retained their lead when J.R. Sims (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Snyder) drove to the hoop for a loopy shot from the middle of the paint, drawing the foul and converting on his free shot.

A full-court scramble ended in favor of the Green and White, which opened up Ward beyond the arc to drain a trey and put the squad up 20-10, yet the team surrendered its 10-point edge as Austin Keel hit a long shot for the Chippewas. After Head Coach Rob Murphy called a timeout, Bryant used the stall in momentum to come away with a steal. When Ward just missed a mid-range jumper, Riley found the rebound and converted with an easy shot off the glass.

Play remained uneventful for the ensuing two minutes, but Riley was able to fire up the team with a backboard-shaking dunk with seven seconds remaining in the half. A buzzer-beating toss-up from Fowler found its way through the CMU rim to give the Chippewas the last word in the half, but the Eagles still held on to the lead, 24-19, heading into the locker room.

The Eagles were led by Combs and Riley at the close of the first 20 minutes, as each tallied six points for the Green and White. Riley also paced the team in rebounding with six boards and picked up a block as well. Central Michigan was led by a full lineup of players, as five different athletes contributed three points to the effort, all courtesy of a three-pointer, and Simons pulled down a team-high three rebounds.

Collectively, the Eagles shot 9-of-24 from the field for a 37.5 percent efficiency and were perfect from the charity stripe, converting on all three free throws. The team also dominated on the boards, 18-13, while holding the Chippewas to a 27.3 shooting percentage on 6-of-22 shots. The Chippewas scored all but one of their field goals from three-point range, going 5-of-11 from beyond the arc for a 45.5 percent rate.

Central Michigan opened up the second half with a triple from Fowler, and a handful of Eagle turnovers allowed the Chippewas to get within one point off a tip-in from Simons. Ward followed with a jumper, and Bryant made a move from the free throw line to sail through the key and drain a shot while drawing a foul. As his free throw made its way through the rim, the Eagles built up to a six-point advantage, 31-25, with 16:30 remaining. Ward would capitalize on the offensive spark by sinking a fastbreak three before a media timeout.

Attempting to throw up a shot on a fastbreak play, Ward was fouled under the basket by Rayson. While he sank his first shot from the charity stripe, his second effort rolled outside the rim and appeared to head into the hands of CMU's rebounders. However, Sims used his speed to sneak through the pair of Chippewas and extend the Eagles' run to 11-0 with a soft touch off the glass.

The Chippewas mustered one point from a free throw, but their effort was immediately silenced as Combs found Bryant wide open for a high-flying alley-oop and Mo Hughley (Queens Village, N.Y.-Martin Van Buren (CSU Bakersfield) dished out to Ward in the paint for a flawlessly-executed hook shot. The Eagles continued to hand out dimes when Combs faked a drive and threw the rock behind his head to Ward at the top of the arc, bringing the Green and White up 45-26 with 11 minutes to play.

Bryant kept up his aggression in driving to the basket, flying around the defenders in the key and extending his arm for a sidearm toss on the left side of the hoop to draw yet another foul in a futile effort to stop his offensive outburst. The Eagles extended their lead to 19 points when Daylen Harrison (Akron, Ohio-St. Vincent-St. Mary (Wyoming)) snatched the ball in mid-air and tossed it down-court to Talley for an effortlessly easy two.

The lead was extended to a 20-point margin when Harrison swished two from the charity stripe, putting the Eagles up 53-33 with five minutes remaining and followed up with a triple to go on an uncontested five-point run. Though Central put together a 9-1 run, it continued to trail by a considerable deficit entering the final minute on the clock. The Eagles made one final play as Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Dearborn Heights Robichaud) rejected a CMU shot into the hands of Ali Farhat (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn), who found Sims under the rim for a pair of points to cap the victory, 64-42.

Eastern Michigan will remain at home when it hosts Northern Illinois University in a 2 p.m. tilt Saturday, March 1. The squad will look to avenge a 61-59 double-overtime setback from less than a fortnight ago.

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Team Stats

Karrington Ward

Glenn Bryant

J.R. Sims

Da'Shonte Riley

Eastern Michigan Athletics