Lee Forces Overtime and Eagles Prevail in First Round of MAC Tournament

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team punched its ticket to Quicken Loans Arena, winning a thrilling one-point overtime victory over Miami University in the first round of the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, 62-61. The eighth-seeded Eagles held the ninth-seeded RedHawks without a field goal for over 13 minutes throughout the end of the second half and the majority of the overtime period.

With the victory, Eastern has posted 20 wins on the season, marking the first time since the 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns that the Eagles have won 20-or-more contests in back-to-back seasons. The last time the feat was accomplished, the Green and White compiled a record of 22-10 in the 1996-97 season to finish fourth in the MAC before going 20-10 and qualifying for the NCAA tournament in the 1997-98 campaign.

Eastern was led by Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) with 19 points, who was an instrumental part of the Eagles' win as he sank the three-pointer that would send the contest into overtime. Also notching double figures were Anali Okoloji (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Impact Basketball Academy (George Mason)) and Mike Talley (Detroit, Mich.-Melvindale ABT (Duquesne)) with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Karrington Ward (Lockport, Ill.-Lockport Twp. (Moraine Valley CC)) led the Eagles on the glass, pulling down nine rebounds to go with his eight points.

As a team, Eastern shot 40 percent from the field on 24-of-60 shooting. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just four shots on 19 attempts, and were also stifled from the charity stripe with 10 makes on 17 shots. Despite Miami shooting at a higher clip from the field, the Eagles held the RedHawks to nine fewer attempts as they hit 21-of-51 shots from the field, but were a cool 7-of-16 from three-point range. The two teams were practically matched statistically in rebounds and steals, but EMU won the battle on second-chance points, 14-4, as well as points off turnovers, 15-10.

The RedHawks were paced by Willie Moore with 17 points, including a flawless 3-for-3 performance from beyond the arc, while Zach McCormick added 12 points and Logan McLane was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Miami used inside work by McLane along with a long ball from Eric Washington to gain a 7-4 edge in the first four minutes of play, with the Eagles' four points coming from a quartet of free throws by Okoloji. The Green and White knotted the contest at seven apiece after Okoloji kicked it out to Talley for a triple with 15:14 remaining in the half.

Eastern turned to the paint to rack up the points, with Lee and Brandon Nazione (Howell, Mich.-Howell (Des Moines Area CC)) helping the squad take over the board, 13-11. The two teams traded baskets, with the RedHawks' big men scoring the bulk of the points for the opposition. Nazione provided some much-needed stability inside, dropping four-straight points to keep the Eagles on pace with Miami before Lee found Jodan Price (Indianapolis, Ind.-Detroit Country Day (DePaul)) open for a sideline trey to put the Green and White up, 23-21 with four minutes to play.

Following the final media timeout of the half, the RedHawks turned up the heat with an aggressive full court press, but the Eagles expertly shook off the pressure and capped off the run down the court with a Nazione alley oop to Ward to give the team some energy going into the final minutes of the opening period. Miami used back-to-back three-pointers to gain a 33-29 advantage with 34 seconds remaining, which would carry the RedHawks into the locker room with the lead at the half.

Nazione paced the Eagles with six points and three rebounds, while Okoloji and Talley chipped in five points apiece. The Eagles shot 11-of-27 from the field for 40.7 percent, but struggled from three-point range after hitting just two shots on nine attempts for a 22.2 percent clip. The RedHawks had a smoother offense with a 54.2 percent success rate from the field on 13-of-24 shooting to go along with four makes on three attempts from downtown. Other than the offensive output, the two teams were reasonably matched in terms of rebounds, turnovers, and bench points.

The Eagles came out with a hot hand in the second half, knocking down five-straight points courtesy of a layup by Okoloji and a three from Lee to take the 34-33 advantage. However, the RedHawks replicated the Eagles' opening plays to flop the score in their favor, 38-34, before Head Coach Rob Murphy called a timeout less than four minutes into the half.

Eastern kept Miami at bay for a few minutes, but the RedHawks used a pair of sideline triples by McCormick to extend their lead to 46-38 with 12:42 on the clock. Miami kept putting up points, taking a 12-point lead over the Eagles with six points by Geovonie McKnight. Lee cut the deficit to nine points with a fastbreak layup and-one, and Talley sparked some energy in the team with a replicate play to leave the Green and White trailing 52-46 with seven minutes to play.

Both teams were held scoreless for more than four minutes before Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College) sank a free throw and Ward threw down a dunk to bring the Eagles within four points of Miami. Shortly thereafter, Nazione snatched the ball out of the hands of the RedHawks and fed Lee downcourt for a layup that would cut the deficit to a mere two points. After a smart foul that sent Washington to the free throw line, of which he converted on the first and missed the second one that fell into the hands of Nazione for the defensive board, Murphy called another timeout. His efforts were not in vain as Talley found Lee beyond the arc to drill the trey and send the game into overtime, tied at 54-54.

The Eagles had to play without Lee for the remainder of the contest, who fouled out 40 seconds into the extra period, but the Green and White once again came out hot after Okoloji spun around his defenders to lay in a quick two points. Following a forced turnover, Talley rose up over the 6-foot-9 frame of McLane to kiss a shot off the glass, giving the Eagles a 58-56 lead with 2:26 to play.

Though Miami found itself up by a point following a trio of free throws by Moore, the Eagles regained the lead once more after Okoloji beat the shot clock with a hook shot to put the Green and White up 60-59 with 1:22 remaining. Miami answered back with a layup of its own, but Nazione retaliated with an offensive putback with 35 seconds remaining.

After a scramble under the Miami basket, the RedHawks had possession with five seconds left on the game clock. With another timely call for a timeout by EMU, Eastern put heavy pressure on Miami as the RedHawks put up three shots but were unable to convert on any of them, coming away with the victory to send the Eagles to Cleveland for the remainder of the MAC Tournament.

The Eagles will square off with Bowling Green State University Wednesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m., from inside Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting EMUTix.com or by calling 734.487.2822.

Lee Forces Overtime and Eagles Prevail in First Round of MAC Tournament

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Team Stats

Ray Lee

Anali Okoloji

Mike Talley

Brandon Nazione

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Anali Okoloji

Jodan Price

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Brandon Nazione

Anali Okoloji

Jodan Price

Mike Talley

Karrington Ward

Eastern Michigan Athletics