Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, November 24
Montego Bay, Jamaica
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
6-0
58
vs
54
North Carolina A&T
2-5
1
2
F
North Carolina A&T
26
28
54
Eastern Michigan
32
26
58
Men's Hoops Brings Home the Hardware From Jamaica
11/24/2019 3:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Eagles move to 6-0 and claim the Rose Hall Division Championship of the Tournament
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team remained perfect with a 6-0 record following a 58-54 defeat of North Carolina A&T today, Nov. 24, at the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic. Eastern went 4-0 against tournament opposition to claim the Rose Hall Division Championship, the program's first in-season tournament title since winning its own event in 2014.
With its win over NC A&T (2-5, 0-0 MEAC), EMU begins the season 6-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign when the Green and White started the year 7-0. Eastern held its four Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic opponents to just 52.2 points per game while out-scoring them by nearly 10-points a contests. Head Coach Rob Murphy's team was masterful defensively with an average of 20.8 turnovers forced over the four-game span, while swiping 13.0 steals a game.
The Eagles had three players finish in double digits. Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon) finished with 12, tying a career-high. Shamar Dillard (South Bend, Ind.-Riley) scored 12 points as well, setting a new career-high for himself and Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy) finished with 10. Chris Barnes (Compton, Cali-Compton) went 2-2 from the charity stripe, continuing his perfection at the line. The Green and White ended the day with 10 steals to the Aggies nine, and continued the magic off the bench, outscoring NC A&T, 24-13, in bench points.
Eagles struggled early in the contest, but used a 13-0 run to regain the lead, 24-22. Dillard led with 10 points off the bench, hitting 2-2 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe. The freshman claimed the majority of the teams 16 bench points, while NC A&T only received four points from its bench. EMU struggled from downtown, only shooting 20 percent, was outrebounded by one, 18-17, but recorded seven steals to the Aggies four. Montero came up big for Eastern, sinking four of five free throws, allowing the Green and White to go into halftime with a six point lead, 32-26.
Eastern came out of the second half and quickly extended its lead. Hitting two big shots from downtown, Chris James (Long Beach, Cali-St. John Bosco) and Morgan, helping the team shoot 42.9 percent from three point land. Morgan scored nine in the second half, including three clutch free throws after being fouled downtown. A Ronald Jackson basket got the Aggies within two points with 2:33 remaining but North Carolina A&T didn't score the rest of the way. James hit 2-2 from the field, 1-1 from the free throw line, and 1-2 from three, to end the contest with eight points. Montero added six points in the second half, including two clutch free throws to seal the victory.
The Eagles are back on the road, taking on UC Irvine in California, Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m PT. This will be a homecoming for the California Kids, James and Barnes, who both hail from the Sunshine State. Fans can listen to the action on WEMU or follow @EMUHoops on Twitter.
With its win over NC A&T (2-5, 0-0 MEAC), EMU begins the season 6-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign when the Green and White started the year 7-0. Eastern held its four Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic opponents to just 52.2 points per game while out-scoring them by nearly 10-points a contests. Head Coach Rob Murphy's team was masterful defensively with an average of 20.8 turnovers forced over the four-game span, while swiping 13.0 steals a game.
The Eagles had three players finish in double digits. Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon) finished with 12, tying a career-high. Shamar Dillard (South Bend, Ind.-Riley) scored 12 points as well, setting a new career-high for himself and Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy) finished with 10. Chris Barnes (Compton, Cali-Compton) went 2-2 from the charity stripe, continuing his perfection at the line. The Green and White ended the day with 10 steals to the Aggies nine, and continued the magic off the bench, outscoring NC A&T, 24-13, in bench points.
Eagles struggled early in the contest, but used a 13-0 run to regain the lead, 24-22. Dillard led with 10 points off the bench, hitting 2-2 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe. The freshman claimed the majority of the teams 16 bench points, while NC A&T only received four points from its bench. EMU struggled from downtown, only shooting 20 percent, was outrebounded by one, 18-17, but recorded seven steals to the Aggies four. Montero came up big for Eastern, sinking four of five free throws, allowing the Green and White to go into halftime with a six point lead, 32-26.
Eastern came out of the second half and quickly extended its lead. Hitting two big shots from downtown, Chris James (Long Beach, Cali-St. John Bosco) and Morgan, helping the team shoot 42.9 percent from three point land. Morgan scored nine in the second half, including three clutch free throws after being fouled downtown. A Ronald Jackson basket got the Aggies within two points with 2:33 remaining but North Carolina A&T didn't score the rest of the way. James hit 2-2 from the field, 1-1 from the free throw line, and 1-2 from three, to end the contest with eight points. Montero added six points in the second half, including two clutch free throws to seal the victory.
The Eagles are back on the road, taking on UC Irvine in California, Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m PT. This will be a homecoming for the California Kids, James and Barnes, who both hail from the Sunshine State. Fans can listen to the action on WEMU or follow @EMUHoops on Twitter.
Team Stats
NCA&T
EMU
FG%
.438
.410
3FG%
.211
.333
FT%
.381
.710
RB
32
29
TO
16
20
STL
9
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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