Eastern Michigan Athletics

Tuesday, January 23
Buffalo, N.Y.
7 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

11-9 (2-5MAC)

69
at
83

Buffalo

15-5 (7-0MAC)

1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
17
52
69
Buffalo
39
44
83
Tim Bond
Photo by: Scott W. Grau/Icon SMI

First Half Deficit Too Much as EMU Falls to Buffalo, 83-69

1/23/2018 9:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

EMU outscored UB, 52-44, in the second half

BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped a cross-divisional contest at Alumni Arena to Mid-American Conference front-runner, the University at Buffalo, 83-69, Jan. 23. Crippled by 11 first-half turnovers, Eastern (11-9, 2-5 MAC) could not overcome the 22-point deficit handed to them by Buffalo (15-5, 7-0 MAC) in the opening stanza. Albeit outscoring the Bulls, 52-44, in the second half, the Eagles shot just 23.1% (6-of-26) in the first half and managed just 38.1% (8-for-21) from the free throw line throughout the duration of the game.

The Green and White's offensive effort was led by redshirt junior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr.-Eastern Kentucky), who came back from not finding twine in the first to pouring in all 20 of his points in the second. Additionally, junior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) came away with a game-high 16 boards, while contributing eight points of his own.

The Green and White struggled to get its offense going early on, coming up empty on five of its first six attempts. Although they kept things close for the first 10 minutes of the game, which saw six lead changes, Buffalo put together a 28-4 point run to end the half and put the Eagles in a deep hole, down 39-17.

The Bulls carried their momentum into the beginning of the second half, starting out with a 7-0 run before EMU turned the tide in its favor, scoring nine straight in 1:20 of play to bring the score to 46-26. From there the Eagles slowly chipped away with Jackson tallying 17 points in the opening nine minutes of the second half.

The momentum seemed to belong solely to the Eagles over the halfway mark of the second, with the Eagles bringing the game within 10 after trailing as much as 29, which was sparked behind stellar play from Jackson and senior Tim Bond (Baltimore, Md.-City College High School), who combined for 30 second-half points. However, Buffalo would not allow EMU to come within single digits, as they came away with its MAC-best seventh win of the season to remain perfect in conference play.

The Eagles complete their two-game road swing in Oxford, Ohio Saturday, Jan. 27, as they take on the RedHawks of Miami University.

 
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