Eagles Get Revenge on RedHawks with 83-69 Victory

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team avenged its one-point overtime loss on Jan. 10 to Mid-American Conference foe Miami University, defeating the RedHawks in an 83-69 decision Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the Convocation Center. With the victory, Eastern advances to 15-9 (4-7 MAC), while Miami falls to 8-16 (3-8 MAC).

The Eagles were led by a trio of players that combined for 60 points. Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Twp. (Moraine Valley CC)) paced all players with 22 points and hit a season-high five three-pointers along with pulling down 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) also reached the 20-point plateau and dealt out a team-high seven assists, while Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) chipped in 18 points and swiped four steals from the hands of the RedHawks. Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College) posted a career-best with seven rebounds, while added nine points.

As a team, Eastern shot 46.9 percent from the field, including a blazing 52.6 percent from three-point range on 10-of-19 from the long line. The 10 triples mark the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Eagles had double-digit makes from beyond the arc in consecutive games, as they also sank 10 treys in Saturday's 76-73 setback to Ohio, Feb. 7. The last time the feat was accomplished, the Green and White hit 10 three-pointers in a 74-67 loss to Valparaiso, Dec. 20, 2010, before following it up with another 10 long balls in an 82-63 victory against Rochester, Dec. 21, 2010.

The Green and White was stealthy on defense as usual, grabbing 12 steals and forcing an additional 12 turnovers, resulting in 24 points off miscues. Miami was held to a 41.0 percent clip from the field on 25-of-61 shooting, and was led by Eric Washington's 20-point effort while Will Sullivan led the offense on the boards with eight rebounds.

Eastern opened up quickly with a trio of triples courtesy of Talley and Ward. While the Green and White was doing damage on the perimeter, the RedHawks were able to dish inside the paint for their first pair of points, with the Eagles holding a 9-4 advantage at the 16:30 mark.

Miami continued to swelter under the hot hand of Ward, as the senior sank two more treys within 45 seconds to give the Eagles a 17-9 edge and force Miami into a timeout at 12:22. The intermission worked in favor of the RedHawks, as Jaryd Eustace knocked down the first shot outside the key with a sideline three-pointer and Zach McCormick broke away for a fastbreak layup to bring Miami within three points, 17-14 with 11:30 remaining in the half.

Though Eastern was able to hold the RedHawks scoreless for more than six minutes, the Eagles went through a period of offensive woes, scoring just four points off free throws from Talley and Lee before Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stroudburg North (Indiana State)) dropped in a layup at the 5:00 mark. Unfortunately, when Eastern opened up scoring on the floor, the RedHawks followed suit as L.J. Livingston threw down back-to-back dunks and Sullivan drained a three, leaving the Eagles will a slim 23-21 advantage with 4:04 to play.

The Eagles pulled away once more following a layup and-one by Talley, a technical on Miami that put Lee on the charity stripe for an easy two points, and a shot clock-beating jumper from Bond. Going into the final two minutes and holding a 30-23 edge, Talley added to count with a drive around Miami's big men for an easy layup.

Miami had the final word in the first half, with Washington sinking a three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining. Going into the locker rooms, EMU led, 33-26.

Talley and Ward paced the Eagles' offense with 12 points apiece, with Ward earning all his points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Ward also pulled down four rebounds, tying with Bond for the game-leading total at the half. Eastern came away with eight steals in the first 20 minutes of play and forced an additional seven turnovers, capitalizing on Miami miscues with 12 points off turnovers.

The second half started similar to the first, with Talley scoring the first points for the Eagles, this time off a trip through the paint. The Eagles piled on the points in the paint with the help from Bond, who maneuvered his way through the Miami defense for a pair of layups to extend the lead to 41-27 with 17:02 remaining.

Eastern kept scoring with apparent ease, posting seven more points off buckets from Lee and Talley as well as Ward's fifth triple of the evening. Following a brief three-point run by the RedHawks, Eastern went off on another seven-point string that included a three-pointer from Lee as well as one from Ethan Alvano (Corona, Calif.-Corona) to give the Green and White a 57-35 lead with 9:37 to play.

The Eagles kept using the long ball to their advantage, with Lee hitting another trey before Trent Perry (Franklin, Tenn.-Independence) sank one of his own. Eastern kept Miami at bay, going up 68-49 on the RedHawks with 4:26 remaining in the half.

Miami rattled off three triples within a minute, knocking down what was once a 20-point deficit to as little as just 10 points, but multiple trips to the free throw line kept the Eagles in charge of the board. Eventually, the Eagles were able to run out the clock and walk away with the 83-69 victory.

Eastern will remain at home for its next contest, taking on Akron in the latter part of the "Cheer Your Hear Out" doubleheader with the women's basketball team Saturday, Feb. 14. The women will square off against Central Michigan at noon, with the men following at 2:30 p.m. as the two teams join up to support heart disease prevention as part of American Heart Month.

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Team Stats

Karrington Ward

Mike Talley

Ray Lee

Tim Bond

Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Trent Perry

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Players Mentioned

Ethan Alvano

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Trent Perry

Mike Samuels

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics