Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, December 9
Convocation Center
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
7-2
80
vs
65
Central State
4-4
1
2
F
Central State
27
38
65
Eastern Michigan
45
35
80
EMU Men’s Basketball Outlasts Central State, 80-65
12/9/2017 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
James Thompson IV paces EMU with 19 points and 18 rebounds
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team celebrated Family Day with an 80-65 victory over NCAA Division II opponent Central State University Saturday, Dec. 9, inside the Convocation Center.
With the win against his Alma Mater, head coach Rob Murphy has led the Eagles (7-2) to a perfect 21-0 record when facing non-NCAA Division I opposition in both regular season and exhibition games. Murphy played for the Marauders (4-5) from 1993-96, earning the team's Defensive Player of the Year honors during his senior season.
Junior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and pulled down a team-high 18 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)) also added 19 points to go with four steals and three assists. Redshirt junior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)) tallied 14 points and a team-best five helpers, while senior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) netted 13 points and led the Eagles in steals (6) and blocks (3).
EMU put together another strong offensive performance, shooting 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the free throw line. The Green and White also out-rebounded Central State, 35-27 and earned 16 steals, 11 of which came in the opening half.
The Eagles were dominant on both sides of the ball to begin the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 run before the Marauders attempted their first field goal. EMU took advantage of poor Central State passing, forcing five steals in the opening four minutes of play.
Central State's offense struggled to keep up as they failed to make a field goal during a 5:22 stretch of the first half. After the Marauders trimmed the Eagles' lead to seven with 6:14 to go in the opening stanza, EMU closed out the half on a 16-5 run and led 45-27 going into the intermission.
Though Central State started the second half with back-to-back triples, EMU quickly found its rhythm, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 51-35 lead with 17:40 left in the contest. The Marauders slowly chipped away at the Green and White's lead and eventually cut the deficit to just five when Bond set up Minnie for a reverse alley-oop to give EMU a 66-59 edge.
Bond added a forceful dunk of his own on the Eagles' next possession to give the Eagles a nine-point cushion with 7:44 to go in the second half. The Eagles concluded the contest with a 12-4 run to secure an 80-65 victory and improve to 6-0 inside the Convocation Center this season.
Eastern Michigan hits the road for its longest remaining road trip of the season, traveling west to California to take on Long Beach State, Saturday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. PT. The Eagles then complete their home-and-home against Oakland, Dec. 22, before traveling to face Syracuse to finish the road swing, Dec. 27.
With the win against his Alma Mater, head coach Rob Murphy has led the Eagles (7-2) to a perfect 21-0 record when facing non-NCAA Division I opposition in both regular season and exhibition games. Murphy played for the Marauders (4-5) from 1993-96, earning the team's Defensive Player of the Year honors during his senior season.
Junior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) scored 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and pulled down a team-high 18 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)) also added 19 points to go with four steals and three assists. Redshirt junior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)) tallied 14 points and a team-best five helpers, while senior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) netted 13 points and led the Eagles in steals (6) and blocks (3).
EMU put together another strong offensive performance, shooting 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the free throw line. The Green and White also out-rebounded Central State, 35-27 and earned 16 steals, 11 of which came in the opening half.
The Eagles were dominant on both sides of the ball to begin the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 run before the Marauders attempted their first field goal. EMU took advantage of poor Central State passing, forcing five steals in the opening four minutes of play.
Central State's offense struggled to keep up as they failed to make a field goal during a 5:22 stretch of the first half. After the Marauders trimmed the Eagles' lead to seven with 6:14 to go in the opening stanza, EMU closed out the half on a 16-5 run and led 45-27 going into the intermission.
Though Central State started the second half with back-to-back triples, EMU quickly found its rhythm, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 51-35 lead with 17:40 left in the contest. The Marauders slowly chipped away at the Green and White's lead and eventually cut the deficit to just five when Bond set up Minnie for a reverse alley-oop to give EMU a 66-59 edge.
Bond added a forceful dunk of his own on the Eagles' next possession to give the Eagles a nine-point cushion with 7:44 to go in the second half. The Eagles concluded the contest with a 12-4 run to secure an 80-65 victory and improve to 6-0 inside the Convocation Center this season.
Eastern Michigan hits the road for its longest remaining road trip of the season, traveling west to California to take on Long Beach State, Saturday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. PT. The Eagles then complete their home-and-home against Oakland, Dec. 22, before traveling to face Syracuse to finish the road swing, Dec. 27.
Team Stats
CSU
EMU
FG%
.456
.525
3FG%
.462
.333
FT%
.538
.857
RB
27
35
TO
25
23
STL
15
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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