Defense Leads Men's Hoops to First MAC Semifinals Since 1997-98

Eastern Michigan University will provide a bus for the first 50 students, fans, faculty and community members to travel to and from the men's basketball team's Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal matchup Friday, March 14, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The bus is free with purchase of a ticket to Friday's game versus Toledo. With a victory, the Eagles would move on to the finals for the first time since the 1997-98 season. For a spot on the bus, tickets must be bought through the EMU Tickect Office for $34. EMU students can purchase men's tournament tickets for $10 with a valid student ID and will secure a spot on the fan bus. Ticket order reservations may be placed by calling 734.487.2282 or purchased at the EMU table in the main ticket area inside the northeast entrance at Quicken Loans Arena. Buying tickets through Eastern Michigan is the only way to guarantee a spot in the EMU fan section.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The No. 6-seeded Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team held Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Javon McCrea to a season-low seven points, and the Eagles knocked down free throws down the stretch to pull away, 69-64, against the No. 3 seed University at Buffalo, March 13, in the third round of the MAC Tournament presented by Barbasol at Quicken Loans Arena.

For the second-straight night, the Eagles overcame a double-digit second half deficit. The victory gives EMU a 21-13 record on the 2013-14 campaign, the most wins in program history since the 1996-97 season when the Eagles won 22 contests. Meanwhile, Buffalo's season comes to an end with a mark of 19-10.

The Eagles will advance to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament for the first time since 1997-98, facing off against the No. 2 seeded University of Toledo Rockets. The two MAC West rivals split the season series as each team won on its home floor.

Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)) paced the Green and White in scoring with 19 points. The junior college transfer shot 7-of-9 from the field, including four from the perimeter. Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) added 12 while being clutch from the charity stripe, going 10-of-12 from the line. Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich.-Oak Hill Academy (Arkansas)) and Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) both tallied nine as Bryant pulled down seven rebounds, tying for a team-high with Ward.

EMU converted 15-of-21 from the line for a 71.4 percent clip while making 23-of-58 (39.7 percent) from the field. Eight of the Eagles' successful shots came from three-point land as they took 21 total from long range. The EMU bench outscored the bench of Buffalo, 19-2, and Eastern took care of the basketball by only committing six turnovers.

While holding McCrea to seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, EMU survived a big night by UB's Joshua Freelove who scored 26 points, primarily on 8-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. Will Regan notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, Buffalo shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57), but saw that percentage increase from the further distance (48.1 percent) on 13-of-27 shooting.

Both teams missed their first four shots before Ward knocked down a three from the wing for the first points of the ballgame. However, Buffalo responded with a three of its own to tie it 3-3 just three minutes into the contest. Following a layup by Lee, Freelove hit back-to-back triples on the other end of the floor to give the Bulls a four-point lead, 9-5, at the 16:12 mark of the first half.

Just like the night before where he scored nine of the team's first 11 points, Ward got off to a fast start again with seven of EMU's first nine points. The All-MAC Third Team honoree split a pair of free throws before hitting one from long range to tie the game. After a deuce from Bryant, Ward banked home a trey. Then, it was Bryant's turn again as the senior ran the floor and received a pass from Talley, capping it off with a highlight reel dunk. The 10-straight points turned the game into the favor of the Green and White, 15-9.

Statistically one of the best defenses in the nation, the Eagles made it difficult for the Bulls to find the hoop. EMU's 2-3 zone held Buffalo without a field goal for seven minutes, leading to a 15-2 run and a 20-11 advantage. Another UB three broke the drought, but Lee answered with a jumper. Buffalo followed with its first deuce of the night to cut the lead to six, 22-16, with 8:48 remaining in the opening half.

Despite the Green and White limiting UB to just 30 percent shooting from the floor in the first 16 minutes, six of Buffalo's first seven shots made were from three-point land to keep the Bulls within striking distance. With EMU maintaining the lead for the majority of the first half, two straight threes from Buffalo made it a 32-29 game, in favor of the Bulls, at the half.

EMU shot 38.7 percent (12-of-31) in the first half led by 11 points from Ward, who knocked down four of hit five attempts, including two from long range. Lee recorded nine by shooting 4-of-6 from the floor in the first half while Bryant added six.

The EMU defense held Buffalo to a 31.3 shooting percentage (10-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes, but UB buried half of its three-point attempts (8-of-16). Freelove drilled five of those treys to lead his team in scoring. The Eastern zone limited McCrea to just two first half points as well as an 0-of-7 performance from the floor.

Similar to the first half start, Ward scored the team's first five points. Nonetheless, Freelove remained on fire from beyond the arc for Buffalo, drilling three treys to increase the margin to eight, 42-34, as EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy took timeout with 16:43 left in the contest.

UB built the lead to double figures before Darell Combs (Chicago, Ill.-Thornwood (Blinn College)) decided to take over. The EMU sophomore went on a 7-0 run of his own to cut the deficit to three. Coming out of the media timeout, Ward buried a triple to knot the contest at 47 apiece. Buffalo took the lead back, ending a nearly five-minute scoreless streak with an old-fashioned three-point play.

Back-to-back threes by Daylen Harrison (Akron, Ohio-St. Vincent-St. Mary (Wyoming)) flipped the advantage back to the Green and White, 55-54, with 7:42 to go. After a UB free throw, the Eagles knocked down five themselves to lead by that margin. Trying to decrease the deficit, Buffalo's Jarod Oldham was denied at the rim by Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Country Day (Syracuse)), the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. To make the rejection even more spectacular, the ball went off of Oldham and over to Eastern with 3:38 remaining.

A fastbreak dunk by Buffalo made it a three-point game with one minute remaining. On the other end of the floor, Bryant cleaned up a miss with a two-handed dunk. However, Oldham responded with another three for Buffalo to make it 66-64 with just 23 seconds left. Bryant was fouled and split the pair at the line as UB called timeout with 16 seconds remaining and trailing by three. Trying to come through for his team one more time, Freelove chucked up a three contested by J.R. Sims (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Snider), and EMU grabbed possession. Talley put the icing on the cake with two free throws to give EMU the 69-64 victory.

Defense Leads Men's Hoops to First MAC Semifinals Since 1997-98

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Team Stats

Karrington Ward

Mike Talley

Ray Lee

Glenn Bryant

Eastern Michigan Athletics