Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, January 7
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
11-3, 0-1MAC
59
vs
60
Ball State
6-6, 1-0MAC
1
2
OT 1
F
Ball State
22
28
10
60
Eastern Michigan
20
30
9
59
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Suffer 60-59 Overtime Setback to Ball State
1/7/2015 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sean Sellers drilled a three with 15 seconds left to end EMU's 17-game home winning streak
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Postgame Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In the first Mid-American Conference game of the season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team saw its 17-game home winning streak come to an end as a Sean Sellers' three-pointer with 15 seconds left lifted the Ball State Cardinals to a 60-59 overtime win Wednesday night, Jan. 7, at the Convocation Center. Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) sliced through four defenders for layup with 28 seconds left to give the Eagles (11-3, 0-1 MAC) the two-point advantage, but Sellers knocked down a corner triple for the game-winner, giving the MAC win to the Cardinals (6-6, 1-0 MAC).
The setback was the first on the Convocation Center court for the Green and White. The 17-game home winning streak went all the way back to last season when EMU fell 58-56 to Ohio University, Jan. 25, 2014.
The Eagles struggled shooting as a team, shooting 27.9 percent from the field and (17-of-61) making 6-of-25 (24 percent) from beyond the arc. At the foul line, the Green and White converted on 19-of-28 attempts. Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) finished with a game-high 16 points that included going 3-of-7 from three-point land and 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)) recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jodan Price (Indianapolis, Ind.-Detroit Country Day (DePaul)) added 10 points off the bench, while Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stroudburg North (Indiana State)) tallied eight points and tied his career high with a team-best 11 rebounds.
Ball State recorded a field goal percentage of 34 (21-of-62) and shot 25 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-28). Sellers led the way for the Cardinals with 15 points, going 5-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-9 from three-point land. Franko House added 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Zavier Turned cracked double figures with 11 points.
The Eagles were off to a slow start offensively in the game, missing their first 11 shots, but their highly-regarded defense stood strong as they have all season. Ball State went on a 5-0 run to open the game before Price opened the scoring for EMU, scoring the teams first five points on back-to-back possession six minutes into the half.
Midway through the first half, Eastern trailed 12-11 as both teams struggled to make baskets. With 8:40 left in the first half, Ward drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles the lead at 14-12, which Ball State answered with a three-pointer of its own. With the Green and White possessing the ball with 4:30 left in the first and a tie score of 16-16, Talley drew a shooting foul and converted one of the two free throws to make the score 17-16. Ward came out of a timeout with 3:15 left in the half to make a jumper, giving the Eagles a 19-16 advantage. Ball State answered with back-to-back scores, sinking a jump shot and three-pointer to regain the lead 21-19. After Talley was fouled with 12.5 seconds left in the half, he converted on the front end of a one-and-one situation to wrap up the first half with Ball State in front, 22-20.
In a low scoring first half, Ball State outshot the Eagles from both the field and long distance. BSU went 8-of-29 from the field, including 4-of-15 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. The hometown Eagles went 8-of-31 from the field, making just 2-of-13 from three point land as well as 2-of-5 from the line. Ball State outrebounded the Eagles 26-20, but committed more turnovers than the Eagles with totals of eight and five, respectively. The leading scorer for the Eagles was Price with seven points, while Sellers paced the Cardinals by converting a pair of threes for six points in the half.
The Eagles made the first basket of the second half with a three by Lee, giving the hometown squad a 23-22 lead two minutes into the half. The hot start to the second half led to a 12-1 run that included back-to-back dunks by Ward to give the Eagles a 32-23 lead. After nearly nine minutes without a bucket, Ball State found the bottom of the net, leading to a 6-0 Cardinal run and tightening the score 32-29.
With 9:45 left in the game, the Eagles also entered into the bonus, converting both the front and back end of the one-and-one opportunity making the score 34-29. Ball State then made consecutive field-goals to pull within one, before Lee hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 40-33 in favor of Eastern Michigan.
With 3:00 remaining in the game, Turner hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point contest with the Eagles on top, 47-46. As the game entered its final two minutes of play, EMU held a two-point lead over the Cardinals with the scoreboard reading 48-46. With 1:30 left on the clock, Ball State would tie the game at 48 after Sellers converted on a layup. The squads traded baskets and the score became tied at 50 with 35 seconds remaining. After a missed by Sellers, the Eagles would get the ball with 1.2 seconds left in the game. Nothing would come of the EMU possession, sending the game into overtime.
Both teams scored seven points in over four minutes of the extra time, knotting the contest at 57 points apiece. With 26 seconds remaining and the shot clock reading 8 seconds, Talley took it to the hole and converted an acrobatic layup to give the Eagles a two-point advantage. However, Sellers proceeded to find an open look in the corner and this time knocked down the triple to flip the game in favor of Ball State. Without any timeouts, EMU raced down the floor. Talley's corner three missed the mark, but the Eagles had two more opportunities for the win with offensive rebounds. Nonetheless, putbacks by Ward and Olalekan Ajayi (Winston-Salem, N.C.-Quality Education Academy (Collin College)) did not fall as the Cardinals escaped with the one-point road victory.
The Eagles will hit the road for the first time in conference play, traveling to Oxford, Ohio to face the RedHawks of Miami University. The battle of the birds will take place Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, at Millett Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and the game can be heard on WEMU (89.1 FM).
Postgame Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In the first Mid-American Conference game of the season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team saw its 17-game home winning streak come to an end as a Sean Sellers' three-pointer with 15 seconds left lifted the Ball State Cardinals to a 60-59 overtime win Wednesday night, Jan. 7, at the Convocation Center. Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) sliced through four defenders for layup with 28 seconds left to give the Eagles (11-3, 0-1 MAC) the two-point advantage, but Sellers knocked down a corner triple for the game-winner, giving the MAC win to the Cardinals (6-6, 1-0 MAC).
The setback was the first on the Convocation Center court for the Green and White. The 17-game home winning streak went all the way back to last season when EMU fell 58-56 to Ohio University, Jan. 25, 2014.
The Eagles struggled shooting as a team, shooting 27.9 percent from the field and (17-of-61) making 6-of-25 (24 percent) from beyond the arc. At the foul line, the Green and White converted on 19-of-28 attempts. Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) finished with a game-high 16 points that included going 3-of-7 from three-point land and 3-of-5 from the charity stripe. Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)) recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Jodan Price (Indianapolis, Ind.-Detroit Country Day (DePaul)) added 10 points off the bench, while Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stroudburg North (Indiana State)) tallied eight points and tied his career high with a team-best 11 rebounds.
Ball State recorded a field goal percentage of 34 (21-of-62) and shot 25 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-28). Sellers led the way for the Cardinals with 15 points, going 5-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-9 from three-point land. Franko House added 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Zavier Turned cracked double figures with 11 points.
The Eagles were off to a slow start offensively in the game, missing their first 11 shots, but their highly-regarded defense stood strong as they have all season. Ball State went on a 5-0 run to open the game before Price opened the scoring for EMU, scoring the teams first five points on back-to-back possession six minutes into the half.
Midway through the first half, Eastern trailed 12-11 as both teams struggled to make baskets. With 8:40 left in the first half, Ward drained a three-pointer to give the Eagles the lead at 14-12, which Ball State answered with a three-pointer of its own. With the Green and White possessing the ball with 4:30 left in the first and a tie score of 16-16, Talley drew a shooting foul and converted one of the two free throws to make the score 17-16. Ward came out of a timeout with 3:15 left in the half to make a jumper, giving the Eagles a 19-16 advantage. Ball State answered with back-to-back scores, sinking a jump shot and three-pointer to regain the lead 21-19. After Talley was fouled with 12.5 seconds left in the half, he converted on the front end of a one-and-one situation to wrap up the first half with Ball State in front, 22-20.
In a low scoring first half, Ball State outshot the Eagles from both the field and long distance. BSU went 8-of-29 from the field, including 4-of-15 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. The hometown Eagles went 8-of-31 from the field, making just 2-of-13 from three point land as well as 2-of-5 from the line. Ball State outrebounded the Eagles 26-20, but committed more turnovers than the Eagles with totals of eight and five, respectively. The leading scorer for the Eagles was Price with seven points, while Sellers paced the Cardinals by converting a pair of threes for six points in the half.
The Eagles made the first basket of the second half with a three by Lee, giving the hometown squad a 23-22 lead two minutes into the half. The hot start to the second half led to a 12-1 run that included back-to-back dunks by Ward to give the Eagles a 32-23 lead. After nearly nine minutes without a bucket, Ball State found the bottom of the net, leading to a 6-0 Cardinal run and tightening the score 32-29.
With 9:45 left in the game, the Eagles also entered into the bonus, converting both the front and back end of the one-and-one opportunity making the score 34-29. Ball State then made consecutive field-goals to pull within one, before Lee hit back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 40-33 in favor of Eastern Michigan.
With 3:00 remaining in the game, Turner hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point contest with the Eagles on top, 47-46. As the game entered its final two minutes of play, EMU held a two-point lead over the Cardinals with the scoreboard reading 48-46. With 1:30 left on the clock, Ball State would tie the game at 48 after Sellers converted on a layup. The squads traded baskets and the score became tied at 50 with 35 seconds remaining. After a missed by Sellers, the Eagles would get the ball with 1.2 seconds left in the game. Nothing would come of the EMU possession, sending the game into overtime.
Both teams scored seven points in over four minutes of the extra time, knotting the contest at 57 points apiece. With 26 seconds remaining and the shot clock reading 8 seconds, Talley took it to the hole and converted an acrobatic layup to give the Eagles a two-point advantage. However, Sellers proceeded to find an open look in the corner and this time knocked down the triple to flip the game in favor of Ball State. Without any timeouts, EMU raced down the floor. Talley's corner three missed the mark, but the Eagles had two more opportunities for the win with offensive rebounds. Nonetheless, putbacks by Ward and Olalekan Ajayi (Winston-Salem, N.C.-Quality Education Academy (Collin College)) did not fall as the Cardinals escaped with the one-point road victory.
The Eagles will hit the road for the first time in conference play, traveling to Oxford, Ohio to face the RedHawks of Miami University. The battle of the birds will take place Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10, at Millett Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and the game can be heard on WEMU (89.1 FM).
Team Stats
BSU
EMU
FG%
.339
.279
3FG%
.250
.240
FT%
.579
.679
RB
51
43
TO
15
9
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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