Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 24
Convocation Center
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
4-3
74
vs
78
Detroit Mercy
3-3
1
2
F
Detroit Mercy
34
44
78
Eastern Michigan
33
41
74
Photo by: Richard Palaikis II
EMU Hoops Falls at Home to Detroit Mercy, 78-74
11/24/2018 5:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Thompson and Toure each post double-doubles for Eagles
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team controlled the paint throughout the contest, but could not withstand a three-point barrage from the University of Detroit Mercy in a 78-74 setback Saturday, Nov. 24, inside the Convocation Center.
Trailing by as many as nine in the second half, the Eagles (4-3) rallied to recapture the lead, only for the Titans (3-3) to storm back and deal EMU its first home defeat of the 2018-19 campaign.
Senior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) paced the Green and White with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting, while matching his season-best with 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) tallied his third double-double with EMU, adding 12 points and 14 boards, nine of which came on the offensive glass. The 6-foot-11 center also set a personal best with four blocks, giving him multiple rejections in five of his first seven contests.
The Eagles were dominant in the post, netting 44 points in the paint compared to Detroit Mercy's total of 18. EMU also pulled down a season-high 48 rebounds, including a staggering 23 offensive boards. Though the two programs were nearly even in terms of shooting percentage, the Titans captured the intrastate matchup by finishing 15-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Trailing 7-2 in the early stages, redshirt senior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)) connected on a mid-range jumper before Thompson buried back-to-back buckets to give the Eagles an 8-7 edge with 16:11 to go in the opening stanza. In total, the Green and White used a 14-1 run lasting over five minutes to build a 16-8 cushion with 11:25 remaining in the first.
Detroit Mercy responded by tallying the next eight points, but redshirt freshman Tariq Silver (Clarksville, Tenn.-Northwest) knocked down a corner three to extend EMU's lead to 21-16 with 8:21 left in the frame. Junior Damari Parris (Bowie, Md.-Evelyn Mack Academy (Trinity Valley C.C.)) added a corner three of his own to make it a 33-28 contest with 2:12 to play in the first. The Titans wrapped up the half with six unanswered points as the Eagles took a 34-33 deficit into the intermission.
Behind 57-52 near the midway point of the second period, Jackson drained a layup while drawing contact, before redshirt sophomore Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) nailed a corner three to even the score at 57 apiece with 9:12 left in regulation. After Detroit Mercy sank a pair of free throws to grab a 59-57 advantage, Groce set up Thompson for an alley-oop before the latter split two attempts from the charity stripe to put the Eagles back in front, 60-59, with 8:03 remaining.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Groce buried a free throw to give the Green and White a 62-61 lead with under six minutes to play in the final frame. However, Detroit Mercy went ahead for good with a 10-0 run and held on to escape with a 78-74 result.
The Eagles start a two-game road swing Monday, Nov. 26, when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to take on No. 18 TCU. Tipoff from Dickies Arena is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT.
Trailing by as many as nine in the second half, the Eagles (4-3) rallied to recapture the lead, only for the Titans (3-3) to storm back and deal EMU its first home defeat of the 2018-19 campaign.
Senior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) paced the Green and White with a season-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting, while matching his season-best with 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) tallied his third double-double with EMU, adding 12 points and 14 boards, nine of which came on the offensive glass. The 6-foot-11 center also set a personal best with four blocks, giving him multiple rejections in five of his first seven contests.
The Eagles were dominant in the post, netting 44 points in the paint compared to Detroit Mercy's total of 18. EMU also pulled down a season-high 48 rebounds, including a staggering 23 offensive boards. Though the two programs were nearly even in terms of shooting percentage, the Titans captured the intrastate matchup by finishing 15-of-30 from beyond the arc.
Trailing 7-2 in the early stages, redshirt senior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)) connected on a mid-range jumper before Thompson buried back-to-back buckets to give the Eagles an 8-7 edge with 16:11 to go in the opening stanza. In total, the Green and White used a 14-1 run lasting over five minutes to build a 16-8 cushion with 11:25 remaining in the first.
Detroit Mercy responded by tallying the next eight points, but redshirt freshman Tariq Silver (Clarksville, Tenn.-Northwest) knocked down a corner three to extend EMU's lead to 21-16 with 8:21 left in the frame. Junior Damari Parris (Bowie, Md.-Evelyn Mack Academy (Trinity Valley C.C.)) added a corner three of his own to make it a 33-28 contest with 2:12 to play in the first. The Titans wrapped up the half with six unanswered points as the Eagles took a 34-33 deficit into the intermission.
Behind 57-52 near the midway point of the second period, Jackson drained a layup while drawing contact, before redshirt sophomore Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) nailed a corner three to even the score at 57 apiece with 9:12 left in regulation. After Detroit Mercy sank a pair of free throws to grab a 59-57 advantage, Groce set up Thompson for an alley-oop before the latter split two attempts from the charity stripe to put the Eagles back in front, 60-59, with 8:03 remaining.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Groce buried a free throw to give the Green and White a 62-61 lead with under six minutes to play in the final frame. However, Detroit Mercy went ahead for good with a 10-0 run and held on to escape with a 78-74 result.
The Eagles start a two-game road swing Monday, Nov. 26, when they travel to Fort Worth, Texas to take on No. 18 TCU. Tipoff from Dickies Arena is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
DETMERCY
EMU
FG%
.419
.418
3FG%
.500
.222
FT%
.786
.545
RB
34
48
TO
7
10
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballC
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