Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, December 22
Rochester, Mich.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
8-3
81
at
86
Oakland
8-5
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
31
50
81
Oakland
43
43
86
EMU Falls to Oakland After Comeback Bid Falls Short, 86-81
12/22/2017 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jackson's career-best 25 points led the Eagles effort
ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team mounted a tremendous comeback effort Friday, Dec. 22 at Oakland University, erasing an 18-point second half deficit, but ultimately fell short 86-81 at the Blacktop at the O'Rena.
Trailing by 16 with 4:35 to go in the game, the Eagles cut the deficit to three with just over a minute to go. In the end, the Golden Grizzlies cashed in from the charity stripe, connecting on 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the second half, to put the game on ice.
Four players notched double-digit scoring efforts in the game, led by a career-high 25 points from Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)). James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College) added 15, and Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)) had 13.
The game started sloppy for the Eagles, as they coughed up 11 first-half turnovers on just three steals for the Golden Grizzlies. EMU shot just .414 (12-of-29) from the floor in the first half compared to OU's blistering .533 (16-of-30) field goal percentage.
Eastern cleaned up its act in the second half, committing just two turnovers in the final 20 minutes, while forcing 10 miscues by Oakland. The Green and White shot .550 (22-of-40) from the floor in the second stanza, including a 10-for-10 stretch that fueled the comeback.
For the game, Eastern Michigan was edged in overall shooting percentage, .509 to .493, outrebounded 36 to 29, and attempted 13 fewer free throws. The Golden Grizzlies connected on 91.3 (21-of-23) percent of its trips to the charity stripe, while the Eagles made 80 (8-of-10) of theirs. EMU once again dominated points in the paint, outscoring OU 50-30, while also holding the edge in points off turnovers, 29-15.
Eastern Michigan finishes its three-game road trip by traveling to Syracuse University for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Orange, Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Trailing by 16 with 4:35 to go in the game, the Eagles cut the deficit to three with just over a minute to go. In the end, the Golden Grizzlies cashed in from the charity stripe, connecting on 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the second half, to put the game on ice.
Four players notched double-digit scoring efforts in the game, led by a career-high 25 points from Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)). James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College) added 15, and Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)) had 13.
The game started sloppy for the Eagles, as they coughed up 11 first-half turnovers on just three steals for the Golden Grizzlies. EMU shot just .414 (12-of-29) from the floor in the first half compared to OU's blistering .533 (16-of-30) field goal percentage.
Eastern cleaned up its act in the second half, committing just two turnovers in the final 20 minutes, while forcing 10 miscues by Oakland. The Green and White shot .550 (22-of-40) from the floor in the second stanza, including a 10-for-10 stretch that fueled the comeback.
For the game, Eastern Michigan was edged in overall shooting percentage, .509 to .493, outrebounded 36 to 29, and attempted 13 fewer free throws. The Golden Grizzlies connected on 91.3 (21-of-23) percent of its trips to the charity stripe, while the Eagles made 80 (8-of-10) of theirs. EMU once again dominated points in the paint, outscoring OU 50-30, while also holding the edge in points off turnovers, 29-15.
Eastern Michigan finishes its three-game road trip by traveling to Syracuse University for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Orange, Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Team Stats
EMU
OAK
FG%
.493
.509
3FG%
.313
.360
FT%
.800
.913
RB
29
36
TO
13
17
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
11
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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