Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, January 7
Convocation Center
2:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
9-6, 1-1MAC
68
vs
77
Buffalo
6-8, 1-1MAC
1
2
F
Buffalo
35
42
77
Eastern Michigan
38
30
68
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Eagles Fall in Back and Forth Affair to Buffalo
1/7/2017 5:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The lead changed hands 11 times, was tied eight
Photo Gallery.
Highlights.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped a hotly contested back-and-forth game to the University at Buffalo, 77-68, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 7, inside the Convocation Center. The lead changed hands 11 times, and was tied on a total of eight occasions.
Leading the Eagle (9-6, 1-1 MAC) attack was senior Willie Mangum IV (Richmond, Va.-Marshall (San Jacinto College)) who had 17 points. Three other Eagles finished in double figures, with redshirt senior Ray Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and sophomore Baylee Steele (Norwalk, Iowa-Des Moines Area C.C.)) contributing 12 apiece, while fellow sophomore James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) was one rebound shy of a double-double, going for 11 points and nine boards. Finally junior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) tied his career-best with three blocks, accomplished for the third time.
The EMU defense was a suffocating as ever, forcing 10 turnovers which turned into 21 of the Eagle points. Eastern's bench out-scored the Bulls (7-8, 1-1 MAC) by a 29-9 margin. The Eagles also got it done at the charity stripe, finishing 20-of-26 (76.9 percent).
The game started out slow, with just a single point being scored by EMU in the first three minutes. A beautiful feed from Thompson to Steele for a dunk made the score 3-0 before Buffalo scored six of the next eight to take a 6-5 lead at the first media timeout. Buffalo scored the next bucket to lead 8-5, but EMU scored the next 11, which included three triples in a row, one from Bond and two from Mangum to retake a 16-8 advantage with just under 12 minutes until half.
The teams traded buckets, which included a nice by a jumper from the wing from Steele to keep EMU ahead, 20-12. Buffalo then went on a 12-2 run to take a two-point lead, 24-22 at the 5:30 mark. Two Lee free throws broke the dry spell and tied the game back up at 24. Buffalo answered, but Lee had a swift jumper in the lane to keep it tied. The Bulls got four of the next five to put it at 30-27 at the under-four timeout.
Out of the break, redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) nailed a trey to tie the game, which was followed by a high-flying alley-oop from Lee to Bond to retake the lead with under two until the half. The Bulls hit a three to gain the lead back, which was answered immediately by a Thompson reverse layup to make it 34-33 Eagles with less than a minute until half.
The final minute was an eventful one, following a Buffalo foul that put Lee at the line, the Buffalo coach was assessed a technical foul to keep Lee at the line to shoot four. The senior converted on all of them to give EMU a 38-33 advantage right before half. On Buffalo's ensuing possession, they drew a foul, and made both freebies to put the halftime score at 38-35.
Thompson began the second half nailing a jumper to gain a five point lead, but UB answered with a three to cut it to two. After an EMU free throw, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan traded jumpers, which were followed by another Bull three ball to tie the game at 43. Buffalo gained the lead not long after with a trio of free throws, putting UB up 46-43 at the 15-minute mark.
A Steele layup kept things close, but UB kept pace with a bucket of their own. Following the layup, Buffalo was assessed their second technical, and Lee converted the free throws to keep it a one-point game. Maintaining possession, Nobles nailed his second three to recapture the two point advantage, 50-48. With the momentum, Eastern built its lead up to six with its ninth straight point, 54-48, with 12 minutes to go.
The Bulls stole the momentum soon thereafter however, going on a 9-0 run of their own, gaining a 57-54 advantage with just under nine to go. A Steele layup broke the streak, but UB scored eight more in a row to open its largest lead of the game, 65-56 with seven minutes to play.
Needing to keep pace, the Eagles went to work beginning with a pair of Mangum free throws. After blank UB possessions, Steele and Thompson went back-to-back with layups to cut it to three, 65-62. One more Thompson free throw completed the 7-0 run, making the score 65-63 with five and a half to go. Buffalo broke the run with a layup, but Mangum drilled a three to cut it to one at the final media timeout.
Buffalo made the first two shots in the final act, one at 3:11 and the other at 1:53 to stay ahead by five. Unable to get the ball to fall their way, Eastern began to foul with under a minute to play. The Bulls made enough freebies to keep the lead, and hang on for the 77-68 win.
Eastern gets back into action next week when it treks down to Ohio to take on Bowling Green University. Tip-off against the Falcons at the Stroh Center is set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Highlights.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped a hotly contested back-and-forth game to the University at Buffalo, 77-68, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 7, inside the Convocation Center. The lead changed hands 11 times, and was tied on a total of eight occasions.
Leading the Eagle (9-6, 1-1 MAC) attack was senior Willie Mangum IV (Richmond, Va.-Marshall (San Jacinto College)) who had 17 points. Three other Eagles finished in double figures, with redshirt senior Ray Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) and sophomore Baylee Steele (Norwalk, Iowa-Des Moines Area C.C.)) contributing 12 apiece, while fellow sophomore James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) was one rebound shy of a double-double, going for 11 points and nine boards. Finally junior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) tied his career-best with three blocks, accomplished for the third time.
The EMU defense was a suffocating as ever, forcing 10 turnovers which turned into 21 of the Eagle points. Eastern's bench out-scored the Bulls (7-8, 1-1 MAC) by a 29-9 margin. The Eagles also got it done at the charity stripe, finishing 20-of-26 (76.9 percent).
The game started out slow, with just a single point being scored by EMU in the first three minutes. A beautiful feed from Thompson to Steele for a dunk made the score 3-0 before Buffalo scored six of the next eight to take a 6-5 lead at the first media timeout. Buffalo scored the next bucket to lead 8-5, but EMU scored the next 11, which included three triples in a row, one from Bond and two from Mangum to retake a 16-8 advantage with just under 12 minutes until half.
The teams traded buckets, which included a nice by a jumper from the wing from Steele to keep EMU ahead, 20-12. Buffalo then went on a 12-2 run to take a two-point lead, 24-22 at the 5:30 mark. Two Lee free throws broke the dry spell and tied the game back up at 24. Buffalo answered, but Lee had a swift jumper in the lane to keep it tied. The Bulls got four of the next five to put it at 30-27 at the under-four timeout.
Out of the break, redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) nailed a trey to tie the game, which was followed by a high-flying alley-oop from Lee to Bond to retake the lead with under two until the half. The Bulls hit a three to gain the lead back, which was answered immediately by a Thompson reverse layup to make it 34-33 Eagles with less than a minute until half.
The final minute was an eventful one, following a Buffalo foul that put Lee at the line, the Buffalo coach was assessed a technical foul to keep Lee at the line to shoot four. The senior converted on all of them to give EMU a 38-33 advantage right before half. On Buffalo's ensuing possession, they drew a foul, and made both freebies to put the halftime score at 38-35.
Thompson began the second half nailing a jumper to gain a five point lead, but UB answered with a three to cut it to two. After an EMU free throw, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan traded jumpers, which were followed by another Bull three ball to tie the game at 43. Buffalo gained the lead not long after with a trio of free throws, putting UB up 46-43 at the 15-minute mark.
A Steele layup kept things close, but UB kept pace with a bucket of their own. Following the layup, Buffalo was assessed their second technical, and Lee converted the free throws to keep it a one-point game. Maintaining possession, Nobles nailed his second three to recapture the two point advantage, 50-48. With the momentum, Eastern built its lead up to six with its ninth straight point, 54-48, with 12 minutes to go.
The Bulls stole the momentum soon thereafter however, going on a 9-0 run of their own, gaining a 57-54 advantage with just under nine to go. A Steele layup broke the streak, but UB scored eight more in a row to open its largest lead of the game, 65-56 with seven minutes to play.
Needing to keep pace, the Eagles went to work beginning with a pair of Mangum free throws. After blank UB possessions, Steele and Thompson went back-to-back with layups to cut it to three, 65-62. One more Thompson free throw completed the 7-0 run, making the score 65-63 with five and a half to go. Buffalo broke the run with a layup, but Mangum drilled a three to cut it to one at the final media timeout.
Buffalo made the first two shots in the final act, one at 3:11 and the other at 1:53 to stay ahead by five. Unable to get the ball to fall their way, Eastern began to foul with under a minute to play. The Bulls made enough freebies to keep the lead, and hang on for the 77-68 win.
Eastern gets back into action next week when it treks down to Ohio to take on Bowling Green University. Tip-off against the Falcons at the Stroh Center is set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Team Stats
UB
EMU
FG%
.387
.368
3FG%
.250
.300
FT%
.706
.769
RB
46
36
TO
15
16
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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