Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, February 28
Kalamazoo, Mich.
4:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
17-12, 6-10MAC
72
at
80
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Western Michigan
17-11, 9-7MAC
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
28
44
72
Western Michigan
35
45
80
Photo by: EMU Athletics/Andrew Mascharka
Men's Basketball Falls in Road Contest Against Western Michigan, 80-72
2/28/2015 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee led the EMU offense with his eighth 20-plus point contest of the 2014-15 season.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to in-state Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan University, 80-72, Saturday, Feb. 28. In a game that came down to the final minutes, the Eagles (17-12, 6-10 MAC) were unable to edge out the Broncos, falling in their second contest of the week.
The Green and White shot 47.1 percent from the floor, going 24-for-51, while making a season-best 12 three-pointers for a 46.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) led the EMU offense with his eighth 20-plus point contest of the 2014-15 season. The Detroit, Mich. native scored a team-best 26 points, while Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) notched 18 points for EMU and Anali Okoloji (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Impact Basketball Academy (George Mason)) added 13 to the Eagles' scoring effort. The final Eastern player to notch double-digit scoring was Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)), scoring 10 points for the Green and White, while redshirt-junior Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stoudburg North (Indiana State)) grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
The Broncos shot 51.1 percent from the floor, making 23-of-45 shots, and going an impressive 29-for-34 from the charity stripe to help propel them to a victory over the Green and White. Western was led by Drake LaMont, who nabbed a game-high 27 points, and Thomas Wilder, scored 23 points. The two combined for 62.5 percent of the Broncos' points, while A.J. Avery added eight points. The Western bench accounted for 34 of the Broncos 80 points and WMU was able to score 32 points in the paint.
Western Michigan opened the game with a 13-0 run before Lee netted the Eagles' first points with a three-pointer to trail by 10. Lee knocked down two free throws, followed by a second three-pointer with 10:22 left in the first half to bring EMU within seven of the Broncos, 18-11.
The two teams exchanged basket-for-basket, with Eastern never trailing by more than 10 until Jodan Price (Indianapolis, Ind.-Detroit Country Day (DePaul)) dropped a three-pointer with 4:03 left in the first half to bring EMU within six, 29-23, of Western Michigan. The two teams closed out the half with identical baskets, allowing WMU to take the slights 35-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Eagles went 10-for-22 from the floor for a 45.5 shooting percentage and made five threes in the first half, with Lee and Okoloji notching two apiece. The Green and White struggled on the boards, pulling down just nine rebounds compared to Western Michigan's 15, while both teams had five turnovers and three steals in the opening 20 minutes. Offensively, Eastern Michigan was led by Lee, who had 12 points, while Okoloji added nine points.
The Broncos out-shot the Eagles from the floor, going 14-for-25 for a 56.0 shooting percentage, while dishing out 13 assists compared to EMU's three. Western was led by LaMont, who was the only Bronco to grab double-digit scoring in the first half with 14 points, while Wilder had seven and Avery added six.
Eastern Michigan came out hungry in the second half as Lee drained two treys on back-to-back trips down the floor, bringing the Eagles within three of the Broncos, 37-34. The Green and White continued to battle, keeping within three of the Broncos until a Ward three-pointer with 11:42 remaining allowed Eastern to take its first lead of the game, 48-46. However, the Eagle lead was short-lived as Western answered back with a three-point run of its own with two Connor Tava free throws to take back control of the contest, 57-54, with 5:57 left to play.
EMU kept itself within three of the Broncos, until four-straight free throws from Wilder following an Eagle technical foul to the bench allowed WMU to extend its lead to seven, 66-59, with 3:31 remaining in the contest. The free throws proved to be detrimental to the Green and White as Eastern was forced to foul to close out the contest and was unable to generate any further offensive runs in the loss, falling 80-72 to the Broncos of Western Michigan.
The Eagles will take the court Tuesday, March 3, when they travel to Muncie, Ind. for a game against Ball State. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
The Green and White shot 47.1 percent from the floor, going 24-for-51, while making a season-best 12 three-pointers for a 46.2 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Redshirt-sophomore Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) led the EMU offense with his eighth 20-plus point contest of the 2014-15 season. The Detroit, Mich. native scored a team-best 26 points, while Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) notched 18 points for EMU and Anali Okoloji (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Impact Basketball Academy (George Mason)) added 13 to the Eagles' scoring effort. The final Eastern player to notch double-digit scoring was Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley C.C.)), scoring 10 points for the Green and White, while redshirt-junior Mike Samuels (Bushkill, Pa.-East Stoudburg North (Indiana State)) grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
The Broncos shot 51.1 percent from the floor, making 23-of-45 shots, and going an impressive 29-for-34 from the charity stripe to help propel them to a victory over the Green and White. Western was led by Drake LaMont, who nabbed a game-high 27 points, and Thomas Wilder, scored 23 points. The two combined for 62.5 percent of the Broncos' points, while A.J. Avery added eight points. The Western bench accounted for 34 of the Broncos 80 points and WMU was able to score 32 points in the paint.
Western Michigan opened the game with a 13-0 run before Lee netted the Eagles' first points with a three-pointer to trail by 10. Lee knocked down two free throws, followed by a second three-pointer with 10:22 left in the first half to bring EMU within seven of the Broncos, 18-11.
The two teams exchanged basket-for-basket, with Eastern never trailing by more than 10 until Jodan Price (Indianapolis, Ind.-Detroit Country Day (DePaul)) dropped a three-pointer with 4:03 left in the first half to bring EMU within six, 29-23, of Western Michigan. The two teams closed out the half with identical baskets, allowing WMU to take the slights 35-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Eagles went 10-for-22 from the floor for a 45.5 shooting percentage and made five threes in the first half, with Lee and Okoloji notching two apiece. The Green and White struggled on the boards, pulling down just nine rebounds compared to Western Michigan's 15, while both teams had five turnovers and three steals in the opening 20 minutes. Offensively, Eastern Michigan was led by Lee, who had 12 points, while Okoloji added nine points.
The Broncos out-shot the Eagles from the floor, going 14-for-25 for a 56.0 shooting percentage, while dishing out 13 assists compared to EMU's three. Western was led by LaMont, who was the only Bronco to grab double-digit scoring in the first half with 14 points, while Wilder had seven and Avery added six.
Eastern Michigan came out hungry in the second half as Lee drained two treys on back-to-back trips down the floor, bringing the Eagles within three of the Broncos, 37-34. The Green and White continued to battle, keeping within three of the Broncos until a Ward three-pointer with 11:42 remaining allowed Eastern to take its first lead of the game, 48-46. However, the Eagle lead was short-lived as Western answered back with a three-point run of its own with two Connor Tava free throws to take back control of the contest, 57-54, with 5:57 left to play.
EMU kept itself within three of the Broncos, until four-straight free throws from Wilder following an Eagle technical foul to the bench allowed WMU to extend its lead to seven, 66-59, with 3:31 remaining in the contest. The free throws proved to be detrimental to the Green and White as Eastern was forced to foul to close out the contest and was unable to generate any further offensive runs in the loss, falling 80-72 to the Broncos of Western Michigan.
The Eagles will take the court Tuesday, March 3, when they travel to Muncie, Ind. for a game against Ball State. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
EMU
WMU-M
FG%
.471
.511
3FG%
.462
.385
FT%
.667
.853
RB
23
29
TO
11
10
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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