Eagles Travel to Indianapolis to Take on Gardner-Webb in 2K Classic

Men's Basketball vs. Gardner-Webb (2K Classic)
Date	Friday, Nov. 18 \| Noon
Venue	Indianapolis, Ind. \| Indiana Farmers Coliseum (6,800)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| Gardner-Webb Game Notes
Live Stats	IUPUIJags.com
Watch	No Video Available
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) -- Coming off of its first victory of the season, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team looks to build momentum as it travels to Indianapolis, Ind. for a pair of tilts against non-conference mid-major foes in the tail end of the 2K Classic. The Eagles (1-2) open the weekend with a contest against Gardner-Webb University, Nov. 18. Both squads dropped their first two games of the season to common opponents, Pittsburgh and Southern Methodist.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (0-2) come into the Friday afternoon matchup following a pair of losses in the 2K Classic. Gardner-Webb opened up the season with a 72-44 setback in Dallas, Texas versus Southern Methodist, Nov. 11, before dropping a 99-80 decision on the road at Pittsburgh Monday night, Nov. 14.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Gardner-Webb matchup will have just audio on Friday. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet at WEMU.org to hear the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Joining Bush on the call this season will be analyst Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director Sean Hostetter. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE RUNNIN' BULLDOGS: Friday's contest with the Runnin' Bulldogs will be the second time that Gardner-Webb and Eastern Michigan will square off on the hardwood. The Eagles own a 1-0 edge all-time versus GWU and look to remain perfect versus the Big South foe. The last time these two squads met, the Green and White notched a 78-63 victory over the Runnin' Bulldogs at the Convocation Center, Dec. 21, 2002.

James Thomspon IV posted a final stat line of 17 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Willie Mangum IV had a very efficient night from the floor, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from downtown, while Ray Lee chipped in 11 points on the night and Tim Bond narrowly missed a double-double of his own, as he had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a career-best nine rebounds.

LIKELY LOOK FOR GARDNER-WEBB...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Jamaal Robateau	G	Sr.-Jr.	6-5	180	1.5	3.5	1.5	Sunshine Coast, Australia-North Idaho
3	Laquincy Rideau	G	So.-So.	6-1	204	16.0	4.5	5.0	West Palm Beach, Fla.-Blanch Ely
5	Liam O'Reilly	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-2	180	10.0	4.5	1.0	Austin, Texas-Collin College
20	Tyrell Nelson	F	Sr.-Sr.	6-7	235	11.5	3.0	1.5	Charlotte, N.C.-Metrolina Christian
31	L'Hassane Niangane	C	Jr.-Jr.	6-10	245	0.5	2.5	0.0	Chalon-sur-Saone, France-Elan Chalon

LAST TIME OUT: The Eagles are coming off of a 78-63 victory over Rochester College, Nov. 15. EMU used James Thompson IV's first double-double of the 2016-17 campaign to propel the Green and White past the Warriors.

One of five Eagles in double figures, Thompson went for 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead Eastern. Additionally, Tim Bond, Ray Lee, Willie Mangum IV and Ty Toney each contributed double-digit scoring affairs. Bond and Lee poured in 12 points apiece, while Mangum grabbed 14 and Toney notched 10. Eastern shot at a season-high 46.8 percent from the floor, while also knocking down 43.8 percent of its three point attempts, good for the best this year.

EMU AND THE BIG SOUTH: Squads from the Big South Conference aren't all that familiar to Eastern Michigan. In fact, the Eagles have only met up with teams from the Charlotte, N.C.-based organization on five occasions. EMU has been quite successful in those five contests, going 4-1.

Head Coach Rob Murphy is currently 2-0 in games versus the Big South. In the 2011-12 campaign, the Eagles dropped Radford, 52-48, Dec. 20, 2011, on the road, while the Green and White also knocked off Longwood, 79-48, Nov. 23, 2014.

PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM: This 2016-17 EMU men's basketball squad has shown it is very deep from top to bottom, and Rob Murphy will have a lot of options to choose from throughout the course of the season. So far this season, Eastern Michigan has seen its entire active roster take the floor and nine student-athletes are averaging 15-or-more minutes per game. In addition, the Eagles have seven that are posting 20-plus minutes per contest.

ROAD WARRIORS: Eastern Michigan has four of its first five games away from the Convocation Center this season. The last time the Eagles has been on the road in four of the first five was during the 2010-11 campaign when they were on the road for six of their first seven games of the season. In that stretch, that EMU squad went 1-6.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: EMU sophomore James Thomspon IV has proven to be one of the premier frontcourt players in the Mid-American Conference and country through his short time at Eastern Michigan. The Baton Rouge, La. native have racked up 20 double-doubles in just 36 games donning the Green and White. That number ranks as the seventh-most double-doubles recorded in EMU history.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING: As of the NCAA's most recent statistical update, Nov. 16, the Eagles are near the top of the country in multiple categories. As a team, Eastern Michigan is No. 3 in the nation in total steals (29), while Ray Lee is the 10th active leading scorer in the country. Lee also ranks as the top athlete in the country in free throws made (25) and sits in fourth in free throw attempts (28). Additionally, James Thompson IV is tied as the top rebounder in the country with 36 total rebounds and Willie Mangum IV is No. 16 in the NCAA for three point field goal makes with nine.

CHARITY CHAMPIONS: A season ago, EMU converted 72.1 percent of its free throw attempts, marking the third-best free throw percentage as a team in Eastern Michigan history. Through the first two games of the season, the 2016-17 Eagles are hitting their free throws at an 80 percent clip, which would shatter the EMU all-time record of 72.9 percent.

In addition, EMU's Ray Lee has continued to show his worth at the free throw line in the early goings of this year. The Detroit, Mich. native ranks 10th overall in EMU history for free throws made (381), while also ranking 10th in career free throw percentage (.785). This season, the 6-foot-3 combo guard connected on his first 19 free throw attempts and is 25-for-28 overall at the charity stripe. Lee's 25 free throw makes currently leads NCAA Division I basketball.

CHASING 100: EMU Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy begins his sixth season at the helm of the Eagles' men's basketball program. After five seasons and into his sixth, he has amassed a record of 92-82 for Eastern Michigan. Should Murphy and his 2016-17 squad win nine games this season, the Detroit, Mich. native will become just the fourth coach in Eastern Michigan history to cross the 100-win mark.

AMONG THE ELITE IN EMU SCORING HISTORY: EMU redshirt senior guard Ray Lee put together another stellar offensive season during the 2015-16 campaign. Lee, who led the Eagles in scoring last year (15.1 ppg), has scored 1,483 points in his career. That number ranks him as the 10th-most prolific scorer in Eastern Michigan history. Currently, Kennedy McIntosh is the all-time scoring leader with 2,219 and Earl Boykins is second with 2,211. Lee needs to score 737 more points this year to become EMU's all-time leading scorer.

MID-MAJOR SUCCESS: Since taking over the EMU men's basketball program, head coach Rob Murphy has shown sustained success versus other NCAA Division I mid-major programs. Over the last four seasons, Murphy holds a 23-11 record versus mid-majors in non-conference matchups. The last three seasons, Murphy is 16-4 against other mid-major programs outside of the MAC

DOUBLE OT THRILLER: The Eagles' game with Pittsburgh was EMU's first double overtime game since last season when Eastern ended up on the wrong side of an 88-87 decision, Jan. 23, 2016, versus Ball State. The finish of that game was controversial and ended up with three officials being suspended and banned from postseason play due to the final few seconds of the game.

OT IN MURPHY ERA: Eastern Michigan has gone to nine overtime games since Rob Murphy took over as head coach of the Eagles prior to the 2011-12 campaign. In those nine games, Murphy's squad has been to three double overtime contests. The Green and White is 3-6 in those nine games.

HIGH LEVEL SCORING: Eastern Michigan was able to score 90 points in its 93-90 loss to Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. Those 90 points were the most scored by an Eagle team in a season opening game during the Rob Murphy era. The last time the Green and White posted 90-or-more points in a lid lifter came when they notched 119 in a victory over Marygrove, Nov. 14, 2008.

BOND BLOWS UP: EMU guard Tim Bond put together his best offensive performance as an Eagle Friday versus Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. The junior notched a career-high 21 points, shooting at a 77.8 percent (7-of-9) clip. Additionally, Bond went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Picking up right where he left off a season ago, Bond was no slouch on the defensive end either, swiping the ball from the Panthers' on a pair of occasions and blocking two Pitt shots.

TWO WITH 20-PLUS: A pair of Eagles scored 20-plus points in the season opener at Pitt, Nov. 11. The last time two members of the Eastern squad notched that mark was in the Green and White's double overtime loss to Ball State a year ago. Ty Toney and James Thompson IV each poured in 23 points for EMU in that game.

NOT A NORMAL SCENARIO: The Eagles went to double overtime for the second consecutive season in their matchup with Pittsburgh, Nov. 11. In fact, that is the first time the Green and White had posted two seasons in a row with double overtime contests since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Green and White went to two overtimes with Central Michigan, Jan. 13, 2008, and won, 84-77, before falling, 97-89, in the MAC Tournament to Akron the following season, March 11, 2009.

Eagles Travel to Indianapolis to Take on Gardner-Webb in 2K Classic

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Eagles Travel to Indianapolis to Take on Gardner-Webb in 2K Classic

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

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