Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 9
Cleveland, Ohio
Noon
Eastern Michigan University
16-17 (7-11MAC)
62
vs
79
Akron
25-7 (14-4MAC)
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
27
35
62
Akron
30
49
79
Photo by: Andrew Mascharka
Eagles Unable to Dispatch No. 1 Seed Akron in 79-62 Loss
3/9/2017 2:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Green and White cut the Akron lead to single digits, but could not pull out the win
Photo Gallery.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was eliminated from the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament today, March 9, as the No. 1 seeded University of Akron defeated the Green and White by a final tally of 79-62. The Eagles (16-17, 7-11 MAC) pulled within single digits in the closing minutes, but Akron (25-7, 14-4 MAC) made clutch plays down the stretch to advance to the semifinals.
Eastern finished the game 21-of-57 (36.8 percent) from the floor, while also going a strong 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the free throw line. EMU narrowly won the rebounding battle, 36-35, in addition to forcing 10 Akron turnovers. The Eagles turned those into five steals, cashing them in for 10 points off turnovers.
Leading the way for the Green and White was sophomore James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist), who notched his 39th career double-double with 18 points and 16 boards. In fact, Thompson already had a double-double with nearly eight minutes remaining in the first half. Redshirt senior Ray Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) finished with 17 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in addition to three assists and three steals. Both junior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) and senior Ty Toney (Atlanta, Ga.-Alpharetta (Georgia Highlands College)) also hit the double-digit mark, scoring 11 and 10, respectively.
After a slow start from both teams, the Eagles were the first on the board, as a put back from Thompson gave the Green and White a 2-0 lead through the opening minutes of play. The sophomore continued to carry the Eagles in the early goings, converting a three-point play to make it 5-1 at the 16:15 mark. The hot streak for EMU kept rolling, with Thompson nailing a mid-range jumper and following up with another dunk, putting the score at 9-3. The Baton Rouge, La. native tacked on two more before the first media timeout, giving him all 11 of EMU's points.
The Zips came roaring back, pulling within one, 11-10, before redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) scored his first points of the game on a layup. Bond followed up shortly after with a mid-range jumper, keeping the Green and White in the lead, 15-12, at the next media timeout. Lee then sank a pair from the charity stripe, pushing the EMU lead to five, 17-12, with just over 11 minutes to go in the half.
An Akron three cut that down to two, before strong rebounding from Thompson gave him his 20th double-double of the 2016-17 campaign with more than eight minutes remaining in the first half. Neither team could add on any more over the next couple minutes, as the score remained 17-15 EMU at the 7:54 mark. Coming out of the break, Thompson tacked on two more with a pair of free throws, increasing the EMU lead to four.
The Zips tied the game at 19 shortly after, but a tough layup from redshirt junior Nick Madray (Mississauga, Ontario-Stephen Lewis (Binghamton)) gave the lead back to Eastern. The back-and-forth continued on the next possession, as another long ball put Akron back in front, 22-21. The Zips tacked on two more, making the score 24-21 at the next media timeout with 3:55 left in the half.
Akron continued to roll, going on an 11-0 run to open up a nine-point lead, 30-21, before Lee hit a free throw and a jumper, before Bond fired a long ball to pull within three, 30-27, at halftime.
Akron opened the half with their fifth three-pointer of the game, pushing the lead back to six, 33-27. Toney scored EMU's first points of the half, going two-for-two from the free throw line to keep it within six, 35-29. From there, Lee hit two more free throws to come within four, 35-31, before Akron returned the favor and converted a pair of their own. The first media timeout of the second half saw the Zips in front by eight, 39-31.
A Bond floater and Lee jumper kept the Green and White within six, but Akron continued to answer and remain in front by eight. Both teams got the offenses rolling, with the score sitting at 45-37 at the 13:28 mark. An Akron three then put the Zips in front by double digits for the first time in the game, as the score was 48-37 with 11:44 to go.
Thompson then scored his 15th point of the game, pulling the Green and White back within 10, before a Toney layup brought it back to a single-digit game. Akron quickly responded with a 4-0 run, but Thompson then scored yet again to put it back to a 10-point game. Lee was able to reduce the lead to single-digits again, drilling his first three of the game to make it 55-48 with 7:47 remaining.
Lee then hit his second three of the game, pulling the Green and White within four, 55-51, near the six-minute mark. The Detroit, Mich. native continued carrying EMU offensively, converting two more free throws to keep the Akron lead at four, 57-53. However, the Zips erupted for seven quick points to push it back to double digits, 64-53, with 4:17 on the clock.
Bond hit a mid-range jumper, but the clock became an issue for the Green and White, as Akron held a 13-point lead with three minutes left. Redshirt senior Quaran Jones (Fargo, N.D.-Ecorse (Findlay)) scored his first points of the game on a pair of free throws, after which Toney drove the lane to cut the lead to 12, 71-59. EMU added three more, but eventually were eliminated by Akron by a final tally of 79-62.
With the loss, Eastern is eliminated from the MAC Tournament, putting an end to the 2016-17 season. The Eagles finished the year with a record of 16-17. Thompson finished his sophomore campaign with the 358 rebounds, besting his freshman year by six. The 358 boards ranks third in a single season at Eastern. Additionally, Lee completed the 2016-17 campaign with an 85.7 free throw percentage, good for the best mark in a year by an Eagle, he completed his career with 1,873 points, the fourth-most in school history.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was eliminated from the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament today, March 9, as the No. 1 seeded University of Akron defeated the Green and White by a final tally of 79-62. The Eagles (16-17, 7-11 MAC) pulled within single digits in the closing minutes, but Akron (25-7, 14-4 MAC) made clutch plays down the stretch to advance to the semifinals.
Eastern finished the game 21-of-57 (36.8 percent) from the floor, while also going a strong 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the free throw line. EMU narrowly won the rebounding battle, 36-35, in addition to forcing 10 Akron turnovers. The Eagles turned those into five steals, cashing them in for 10 points off turnovers.
Leading the way for the Green and White was sophomore James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist), who notched his 39th career double-double with 18 points and 16 boards. In fact, Thompson already had a double-double with nearly eight minutes remaining in the first half. Redshirt senior Ray Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) finished with 17 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in addition to three assists and three steals. Both junior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School) and senior Ty Toney (Atlanta, Ga.-Alpharetta (Georgia Highlands College)) also hit the double-digit mark, scoring 11 and 10, respectively.
After a slow start from both teams, the Eagles were the first on the board, as a put back from Thompson gave the Green and White a 2-0 lead through the opening minutes of play. The sophomore continued to carry the Eagles in the early goings, converting a three-point play to make it 5-1 at the 16:15 mark. The hot streak for EMU kept rolling, with Thompson nailing a mid-range jumper and following up with another dunk, putting the score at 9-3. The Baton Rouge, La. native tacked on two more before the first media timeout, giving him all 11 of EMU's points.
The Zips came roaring back, pulling within one, 11-10, before redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles (Canton, Mich.-Canton) scored his first points of the game on a layup. Bond followed up shortly after with a mid-range jumper, keeping the Green and White in the lead, 15-12, at the next media timeout. Lee then sank a pair from the charity stripe, pushing the EMU lead to five, 17-12, with just over 11 minutes to go in the half.
An Akron three cut that down to two, before strong rebounding from Thompson gave him his 20th double-double of the 2016-17 campaign with more than eight minutes remaining in the first half. Neither team could add on any more over the next couple minutes, as the score remained 17-15 EMU at the 7:54 mark. Coming out of the break, Thompson tacked on two more with a pair of free throws, increasing the EMU lead to four.
The Zips tied the game at 19 shortly after, but a tough layup from redshirt junior Nick Madray (Mississauga, Ontario-Stephen Lewis (Binghamton)) gave the lead back to Eastern. The back-and-forth continued on the next possession, as another long ball put Akron back in front, 22-21. The Zips tacked on two more, making the score 24-21 at the next media timeout with 3:55 left in the half.
Akron continued to roll, going on an 11-0 run to open up a nine-point lead, 30-21, before Lee hit a free throw and a jumper, before Bond fired a long ball to pull within three, 30-27, at halftime.
Akron opened the half with their fifth three-pointer of the game, pushing the lead back to six, 33-27. Toney scored EMU's first points of the half, going two-for-two from the free throw line to keep it within six, 35-29. From there, Lee hit two more free throws to come within four, 35-31, before Akron returned the favor and converted a pair of their own. The first media timeout of the second half saw the Zips in front by eight, 39-31.
A Bond floater and Lee jumper kept the Green and White within six, but Akron continued to answer and remain in front by eight. Both teams got the offenses rolling, with the score sitting at 45-37 at the 13:28 mark. An Akron three then put the Zips in front by double digits for the first time in the game, as the score was 48-37 with 11:44 to go.
Thompson then scored his 15th point of the game, pulling the Green and White back within 10, before a Toney layup brought it back to a single-digit game. Akron quickly responded with a 4-0 run, but Thompson then scored yet again to put it back to a 10-point game. Lee was able to reduce the lead to single-digits again, drilling his first three of the game to make it 55-48 with 7:47 remaining.
Lee then hit his second three of the game, pulling the Green and White within four, 55-51, near the six-minute mark. The Detroit, Mich. native continued carrying EMU offensively, converting two more free throws to keep the Akron lead at four, 57-53. However, the Zips erupted for seven quick points to push it back to double digits, 64-53, with 4:17 on the clock.
Bond hit a mid-range jumper, but the clock became an issue for the Green and White, as Akron held a 13-point lead with three minutes left. Redshirt senior Quaran Jones (Fargo, N.D.-Ecorse (Findlay)) scored his first points of the game on a pair of free throws, after which Toney drove the lane to cut the lead to 12, 71-59. EMU added three more, but eventually were eliminated by Akron by a final tally of 79-62.
With the loss, Eastern is eliminated from the MAC Tournament, putting an end to the 2016-17 season. The Eagles finished the year with a record of 16-17. Thompson finished his sophomore campaign with the 358 rebounds, besting his freshman year by six. The 358 boards ranks third in a single season at Eastern. Additionally, Lee completed the 2016-17 campaign with an 85.7 free throw percentage, good for the best mark in a year by an Eagle, he completed his career with 1,873 points, the fourth-most in school history.
Team Stats
EMU
AKRON
FG%
.368
.455
3FG%
.188
.321
FT%
.850
.714
RB
36
35
TO
13
10
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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