Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, March 6
Toledo, Ohio
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
16-15 (6-12MAC)
57
at
79
Toledo
16-15 (8-10MAC)
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
26
31
57
Toledo
32
47
79
EMU Falls at Toledo in Regular Season Finale
3/6/2020 9:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Yeikson Montero and Thomas Binelli each tallied 12 points
TOLEDO, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball program dropped the regular-season finale at the University of Toledo 79-57, tonight, March 6, inside UT's Savage Arena. The Rockets (16-15, 8-10 MAC) held the Eagles (16-15, 6-12 MAC) to two 3-pointers during the second half.
Two Eagles finished the evening with double-figures in juniors Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) and Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) contributed 12 points each. Binelli drained four triples, while Montero went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied two steals.
Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while junior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) dished out five assists.
Eastern Michigan shot 40.7 percent from the field (22-of-54), while the Rockets posted the same field-goal percentage on 24-of-59 shooting. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent compared to Toledo's 37 percent clip. The Rockets held the rebound advantage over the Eagles at 43-28, but EMU posted more points in the paint (28-22) and off the bench (21-2).
Binelli opened the game with back-to-back triples to give the Eagles an early 6-2 lead, but the Rockets answered with a 16-4 run over the next six minutes to claim the nine-point lead with 10:14 left in the first half. The Green and White held UT scoreless for a four-minute stretch, which was highlighted by a freshman Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) jumper, Binelli triple and junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) layup. The 7-0 run helped cut Toledo's lead to two with 6:32 left in the first stanza. The scoring went back-and-forth over the next five minutes as the Rockets headed into the locker room with a six-point lead (32-26).
Eastern Michigan struggled to score after halftime, as Toledo went on a 15-7 in the first six minutes of the second stanza to extend its lead to 14 (47-33). The Rockets continued to pull away, gaining a 27-point lead with four minutes left in the game. Eastern Michigan finished the contest with a 8-2 run, but couldn't recover as the Rockets sealed the 79-57 win.
EMU will be the 11th-seed and travel to No. 6 Kent State for the first round of the tournament. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. from the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Eastern won the only regular season meeting, as the Eagles walked away with a 70-49 victory, Feb. 18.
2020 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Presented by Visit Myrtle Beach
Monday, March 9, 2020 - First Round (High Seed Campus Sites)
Game 1: No. 9 Central Michigan at No. 8 Ohio, Time TBA
Game 2: No. 12 Miami at No. 5 Buffalo, Time TBA
Game 3: No. 10 Western Michigan at No. 7 Toledo, Time TBA
Game 4: No. 11 Eastern Michigan at No. 6 Kent State, 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 12, 2020 - Quarterfinals
Game 5: No. 1 Akron vs. Game 1 Winner, Noon ET %
Game 6: No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. Game 2 Winner, Time TBA* %
Game 7: No. 2 Bowling Green vs. Game 3 Winner, 6:30 p.m. ET %
Game 8: No. 3 Ball State vs. Game 4 Winner, Time TBA* %
Friday, March 13, 2020 - Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:00 p.m. ET #
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 9:30 p.m. ET #
Saturday, March 14, 2020 - MAC Championship
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
# CBS Sports Network | % ESPN+
*30 minutes following the completion of the first game of the session.
Two Eagles finished the evening with double-figures in juniors Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) and Yeikson Montero (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-Redemption Christian Academy (Pensacola State)) contributed 12 points each. Binelli drained four triples, while Montero went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and tallied two steals.
Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while junior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) dished out five assists.
Eastern Michigan shot 40.7 percent from the field (22-of-54), while the Rockets posted the same field-goal percentage on 24-of-59 shooting. The Green and White struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent compared to Toledo's 37 percent clip. The Rockets held the rebound advantage over the Eagles at 43-28, but EMU posted more points in the paint (28-22) and off the bench (21-2).
Binelli opened the game with back-to-back triples to give the Eagles an early 6-2 lead, but the Rockets answered with a 16-4 run over the next six minutes to claim the nine-point lead with 10:14 left in the first half. The Green and White held UT scoreless for a four-minute stretch, which was highlighted by a freshman Chris James (Long Beach, Calif.-St. John Bosco) jumper, Binelli triple and junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) layup. The 7-0 run helped cut Toledo's lead to two with 6:32 left in the first stanza. The scoring went back-and-forth over the next five minutes as the Rockets headed into the locker room with a six-point lead (32-26).
Eastern Michigan struggled to score after halftime, as Toledo went on a 15-7 in the first six minutes of the second stanza to extend its lead to 14 (47-33). The Rockets continued to pull away, gaining a 27-point lead with four minutes left in the game. Eastern Michigan finished the contest with a 8-2 run, but couldn't recover as the Rockets sealed the 79-57 win.
EMU will be the 11th-seed and travel to No. 6 Kent State for the first round of the tournament. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. from the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Eastern won the only regular season meeting, as the Eagles walked away with a 70-49 victory, Feb. 18.
2020 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Presented by Visit Myrtle Beach
Monday, March 9, 2020 - First Round (High Seed Campus Sites)
Game 1: No. 9 Central Michigan at No. 8 Ohio, Time TBA
Game 2: No. 12 Miami at No. 5 Buffalo, Time TBA
Game 3: No. 10 Western Michigan at No. 7 Toledo, Time TBA
Game 4: No. 11 Eastern Michigan at No. 6 Kent State, 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 12, 2020 - Quarterfinals
Game 5: No. 1 Akron vs. Game 1 Winner, Noon ET %
Game 6: No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. Game 2 Winner, Time TBA* %
Game 7: No. 2 Bowling Green vs. Game 3 Winner, 6:30 p.m. ET %
Game 8: No. 3 Ball State vs. Game 4 Winner, Time TBA* %
Friday, March 13, 2020 - Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:00 p.m. ET #
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 9:30 p.m. ET #
Saturday, March 14, 2020 - MAC Championship
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
# CBS Sports Network | % ESPN+
*30 minutes following the completion of the first game of the session.
Team Stats
EMU
TOLEDO
FG%
.407
.407
3FG%
.300
.370
FT%
.538
.955
RB
28
43
TO
11
10
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
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