Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
0-2,0-1MAC
Toledo
3-2,1-0MAC
Second Half Surge Not Enough as Men’s Basketball Falls to Toledo, 91-74
12/4/2020 9:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Ty Groce scores 21 in 100th EMU career-game
Game Recap Video | Postgame Press Conference | Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team came up short in its Mid-American Conference opener, falling 91-74 to the University of Toledo, Friday, Dec. 4, inside the Convocation Center. EMU (0-2; 0-1 MAC) pulled within two, 66-64, with eight minutes left in the game but slipped into a cold shooting spell. The Eagles ultimately could not overcome a late deficit, as Toledo (3-2; 1-0 MAC) earned its first conference victory of the season.
Four Eagles finished the evening in double-figures, paced by redshirt senior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) with 21 points. The forward went 8-for-12 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds and three steals. Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State C.C.)) added a career-best 15 points and was perfect for the charity stripe, going 5-for-5. Redshirt junior Miles Gibson (Richmond, Va.-Milwood (Northwest Kansas Tech)) added 11 points with four boards, while senior Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) tallied 10 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds.
Eastern posted a 42.2 field goal percentage (27-of-64), compared to Toledo's 50.8 percent efficiency. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc shooting 29.0 percent, while the Rockets shot nearly 36 percent from the three-point line. The Eagles bested the Rockets in total rebounding (36-to-35), offensive boards (14-to-13), and free-throw percentage (73.3-to-72.0). However, UT held the advantage in assists (19-to-13), bench points (22-to-20), and points off of turnovers (19-to-10).
Montero opened up the scoring for the Eagles with a corner–three, thanks to a helper from McBride. Shortly after, in his first game as an Eagle, senior Axel Okongo (Saacy-sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Missouri)) muscled his way into the paint for the offensive rebound and the layup to take a 5-2 lead with 18 minutes left in the first stanza. Toledo responded with an 8-0 run over a span of two minutes, pushing the score to 10-5 at the 16:07 mark. Gibson ended the scoring drought as he hit a contested-jumper with about 14 minutes remaining in the half. Groce, in his 100th game as an Eagle, quickly followed that with a three-pointer of his own, tightening the score 13-10. UT responded with another 8-0 run, ballooning their advantage to 21-10. Sophomore Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) ended their streak by making a free throw with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
Back and forth scoring ensued over the next few minutes, highlighted by a strong dunk from Groce, bringing the score to 25-15, Rockets. Another 6-0 run by Toledo tallied the score to 33-20, Rockets, which concluded when McBride made both free throws with six minutes left in the first half of play. The Eagles found their next score around the three-minute mark from a clever pass by McBride to Groce in the paint, making the score 37-24. The final minutes consisted of back and forth, however, Toledo continued to pull away, leading to end the half with a score of 46-30. Groce and Gibson led the offensive efforts for the Eagles in the first half, tallying nine and eight points respectively, while Montero paced the team with five rebounds heading into the locker room.
The two teams traded baskets early in the second half, highlighted by a Groce dunk and a physical Montero layup. The Green and White continued to play hot as redshirt junior Derek Ballard Jr. (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield-Lathrup) grabbed an offensive board then immediately dished to Groce for the easy bucket. On the following Eagles' possession, McBride nailed a three-pointer to make it a 39-51 game with 17:33 on the clock. The Tennessee product then drilled a tough jumper, drew a foul, and converted on the and-one opportunity to make it a 42-53 score. Groce made his defensive-presence felt in the second-half as he blocked a Rockets' three-point attempt and then stole the ball on the following UT possession. The Ypsilanti native then drained a deep-ball and performed his signature two-handed slam to complement his defensive prowess to cut the UT lead to six, halfway through the period.
A triple from Gibson brought the Eagles to within five as the team hit 8-of-9 to go on a 6-0 run in a 1:27 span as the Rockets held on to a slight 55-61 edge. However, the Green and White went on a cold stretch with just one make in a three-minute stretch as the Rockets went up 68-78 with 4:57 remaining. Toledo took advantage of Eastern's sluggish offense as they built an 18-point lead with under a minute to play. EMU ultimately could not convert the comeback, falling at home 74-91.
Eastern will continue its non-conference slate when the Eagles host Adrian College Wednesday, Dec. 8 inside the Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. EMU leads the all-time series, 44-12, with the last meeting resulting in the Green and White defeating the Bulldogs, 85-54, on Dec. 7, 1966.
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.
