Eagles Advance to MAC Tournament Quarterfinals for the Third Straight Year

Tickets for Thursday's game against Toledo are available through the EMU Ticket Office for $34. EMU students can purchase men's tournament tickets for $10 with a valid student ID. 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.

Postgame Quotes

CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The No. 8-seeded Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team advanced to the 2015 Mid-American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals for the third straight season after a thrilling 73-67 victory over the fifth seed, Bowling Green State University, March 11, inside Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

The Eagles were led by the dynamic duo of Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT) who scored 27 and 21 points, respectively. The game featured 17 lead changes and 11 ties, with each team's largest lead being only six points.

Eastern had three players reach double-figures with Lee leading the way with his game-high 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. Talley scored 21 points and recorded each of Eastern's five assists for the Green and White. Senior Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Township (Moraine Valley Community College)) was the other Eagle in double-figures, finishing with 15 points and pulling in 10 rebounds for his 11th career double-double. Richaun Holmes and Jehvon Clarke each had 18 points to lead the Falcons.

Eastern Michigan only shot 39.2 percent (24-for-61) from the field compared to 53.2 percent (25-for-47) for the Falcons, but EMU scored 20 second chance points on 18 offensive rebounds, while committing just seven turnovers, including zero in the second half. BGSU had 15 miscues, which turned into 23 points for the Green and White.

Eastern grabbed an early 5-2 advantage, following five straight points from Lee including his first triple of the first half. After the Falcons took the lead back, 9-8, Talley stepped behind the arc to knock down his second consecutive long ball to give the Eagles the lead once again, 11-9.

Lee answered five straight BGSU points with another three-pointer at the 13:23 mark to give the Green and White a 16-14 lead. Following four straight free throws from the Falcons, Lee converted on a three-point play to break the tie and give the Eagles the lead, 21-18.

BGSU answered the old-fashioned three-point play with a 9-0 run to take its largest lead of the half, 27-21. EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy called a 30-second timeout to regroup and Clarke capped the run with a mid-range jumper with 8:26 showing on the clock.

The timeout was well-timed, as the Eagles responded with a 9-0 run themselves. The run was highlighted by a Brandon Nazione (Howell, Mich.-Howell (Fes Moines Area C.C.)) steal and mid-court and fast break dunk by the junior forward Ward ended the run, dialing in from long distance to give EMU a three-point lead, 30-27.

The teams continued their even play over the final six minutes, as each team scored 10 points until a Zack Denny jumper as time was expiring to bring BGSU within one point as the Eagles held a 40-39 lead heading into the halftime break.

Lee and Talley scored the Eagles' first 21 points in the opening 20 minutes. Lee tallied 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting while Talley finished with 14 points after shooting at the exact same clip as Lee in the first half. EMU shot 46.9 percent (15-for-32), while the Falcons finished with a 56.5 percent (13-for-23) clip from the field in the opening half. BGSU was led by Holmes, who scored a half-high 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting and perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

EMU won the rebounding battle, 18-12, pulling down nine rebounds on the offensive and defensive end. The nine offensive rebounds turned into nine points for the Green and White, while also scoring 20 points in the paint compared to just 10 for the Falcons. Eastern forced eight Falcons turnovers, and scored 15 points off those miscues while BGSU scored 11 points off of seven EMU giveaways. The first half was back-and-forth as the teams traded leads 11 times and were tied on eight occasions.

The teams continued to play evenly to open the second half, as EMU held onto a one-point lead, 46-45, with 14:27 remaining in the second half. Ward and Clarke each hit a pair from downtown to keep it a single digit game heading into the second media timeout.

Talley knocked down a triple out of the media timeout to give the Green and White a four-point lead, 55-51. Six-straight points from Delvin Dickerson and a made jumper from Clarke gave the Falcons their largest lead of the second half, 59-55.

Eastern regained the lead out of a media timeout, after Lee completed a three-point play to put the Eagles on-top 62-61. A Spencer Parker layup and Anthony Henderson jumper knotted the score, 67-67, with 4:42 remaining on the game clock. Henderson's jump shot was the final time the Falcons would put points on the board as the EMU defense turned the pressure on, forcing the Falcons to miss their last five field goal attempts and turn the ball over twice.

The Eagles cashed in at the free throw line in the closing minutes of the contest. EMU connected on six of their last eight free throw attempts to grab the lead for good and close out the six-point victory, 73-67.

Eastern Michigan advances to the quarterfinal round to face the University of Toledo, March 12, at The Q. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets at EMUTix.com or by calling 734.487.2822.

Eagles Advance to MAC Tournament Quarterfinals for the Third Straight Year

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Team Stats

Ray Lee

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Olalekan Ajayi

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Players Mentioned

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics