Eastern Michigan Athletics
Wednesday, November 25
East Lansing, Mich.
6 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
0-1,0-0MAC
67
at
83
Michigan State
1-0,0-0Big Ten
1
2
F
Eastern Mich.
27
40
67
Michigan St.
43
40
83
Men’s Basketball Fights Hard in Loss to Michigan State, 83-67
11/25/2020 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four Eagles scored in double-digits in season opener
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped an non-conference affair, 83-67, at No. 13/12 Michigan State University tonight, Nov. 25, inside the Breslin Center to open the 2020-21 season.
EMU (0-1) finished the contest on an 8-4 scoring run, showcased by a redshirt junior Miles Gibson (Richmond, Va.-Milwood (Northwest Kansas Tech)) fastbreak layup, but the Spartans (1-0) prevailed with an 83-67 victory.
Senior Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) led the Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and posted a team-high six rebounds. Redshirt senior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) added 14 points and tied a career-best with three blocks, while senior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) and Gibson recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State C.C.)) notched four assists in his Division I debut, while sophomore Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) grabbed five rebounds.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 40.6 field-goal percentage (26-of-64), while the Spartan shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55). The Eagles forced 18 MSU turnovers earning 29 points off turnovers, while EMU committed just nine giveaways. Eastern held the steal advantage as well, at 8-2. However, MSU pulled down 37 rebounds to Eastern's 29.
The Eagles opened the first half with stellar defense holding the Spartans scoreless for the first two minutes of the contest. Over the next six minutes, Michigan State posted a 17-10 scoring stint before Montero sparked the EMU offense with a jumper in the paint with 11 minutes left in the first scoring stanza. The Eagles went on a 9-2 scoring drive highlighted by a Groce dunk and Gibson triple to tie the game up at 19-all. After a media timeout, a Foster Loyer deep three started a 16-4 run for the Spartans to take the 35-23 lead at the 3:39 mark. EMU trailed by 12 (43-27) to head into the locker room.
To start the second half, the Spartans come out with a 9-6 scoring run to take the 52-33 lead. Over the next two minutes, Eastern Michigan started a 6-2 stint highlighted by a Montero layup from a behind-the-back pass from Groce to cut MSU's lead to 54-39. The scoring went back-and-forth throughout the rest of the second half, but the score deficit favored the Spartans, ending in a 83-67 MSU win.
Eastern Michigan will begin Mid-American Conference play when the Eagles host the University of Toledo Friday, Dec. 4 inside the Convocation Center. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
In accordance with Eastern Michigan University guidelines, there will be no general admittance fans allowed at EMU men's basketball home games in 2020. EMU will continue to monitor the situations revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the season and will provide updates on any changes to the attendance policy that may be made via EMUEagles.com.
For more information on Eastern Michigan men's basketball, visit EMUEagles.com or follow the team's official Twitter at Twitter.com/EMU_MBB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/EMUMBB, or on Instagram at Instgram.com/emumbb.
EMU (0-1) finished the contest on an 8-4 scoring run, showcased by a redshirt junior Miles Gibson (Richmond, Va.-Milwood (Northwest Kansas Tech)) fastbreak layup, but the Spartans (1-0) prevailed with an 83-67 victory.
Senior Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) led the Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and posted a team-high six rebounds. Redshirt senior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) added 14 points and tied a career-best with three blocks, while senior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) and Gibson recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State C.C.)) notched four assists in his Division I debut, while sophomore Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) grabbed five rebounds.
Eastern Michigan finished the evening with a 40.6 field-goal percentage (26-of-64), while the Spartan shot 54.5 percent (30-of-55). The Eagles forced 18 MSU turnovers earning 29 points off turnovers, while EMU committed just nine giveaways. Eastern held the steal advantage as well, at 8-2. However, MSU pulled down 37 rebounds to Eastern's 29.
The Eagles opened the first half with stellar defense holding the Spartans scoreless for the first two minutes of the contest. Over the next six minutes, Michigan State posted a 17-10 scoring stint before Montero sparked the EMU offense with a jumper in the paint with 11 minutes left in the first scoring stanza. The Eagles went on a 9-2 scoring drive highlighted by a Groce dunk and Gibson triple to tie the game up at 19-all. After a media timeout, a Foster Loyer deep three started a 16-4 run for the Spartans to take the 35-23 lead at the 3:39 mark. EMU trailed by 12 (43-27) to head into the locker room.
To start the second half, the Spartans come out with a 9-6 scoring run to take the 52-33 lead. Over the next two minutes, Eastern Michigan started a 6-2 stint highlighted by a Montero layup from a behind-the-back pass from Groce to cut MSU's lead to 54-39. The scoring went back-and-forth throughout the rest of the second half, but the score deficit favored the Spartans, ending in a 83-67 MSU win.
Eastern Michigan will begin Mid-American Conference play when the Eagles host the University of Toledo Friday, Dec. 4 inside the Convocation Center. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
In accordance with Eastern Michigan University guidelines, there will be no general admittance fans allowed at EMU men's basketball home games in 2020. EMU will continue to monitor the situations revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the season and will provide updates on any changes to the attendance policy that may be made via EMUEagles.com.
For more information on Eastern Michigan men's basketball, visit EMUEagles.com or follow the team's official Twitter at Twitter.com/EMU_MBB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/EMUMBB, or on Instagram at Instgram.com/emumbb.
Team Stats
EMU
MSU
FG%
.406
.545
3FG%
.190
.429
FT%
.688
.688
RB
29
37
TO
9
18
STL
8
2
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball2025-26 Field of 68 Men's Basketball Preview: Eastern Michigan Eagles
Tuesday, October 21
Men's Basketball Alumni Game All Call
Tuesday, October 21
2025 E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony
Saturday, October 11
E-Club Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Cinematic Recap
Saturday, October 11