Eastern Michigan Athletics
Monday, March 9
Kent, Ohio
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
16-16 (6-12MAC)
76
at
86
Kent State
20-12 (9-9MAC)
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
28
48
76
Kent State
39
47
86
Heartbreak at Kent State as Eagles Fall in MAC Tournament First Round
3/9/2020 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Noah Morgan posted a career-high 30 points, including six triples
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball program saw its Mid-American Conference Tournament journey come to an end, as the No. 11 seed Eagles fell to No. 6 seed Kent State University, 86-76, tonight, March 9 in the first round inside KSU's M.A.C. Center.
Eastern Michigan dropped to 16-16 overall with a 6-12 conference mark, while Kent State earned its 20th win of the season (20-12, 9-9 MAC).
Junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) paced the Eagles with a career-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers. Morgan also contributed four assists and two rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Redshirt junior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) was the second Eagle to reach double-digits as he finished the evening with 14 points and led the team with five assists, and tallied two steals.
Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) notched his 21st career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) added eight points and two steals. Classmate Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) also contributed four helpers.
Binelli started the night with a deep triple to put the Eagles on the board first, but Kent State responded with a 12-0 run to take the early 12-3 lead in the first half. Toure broke a four-minute Eastern scoring drought at the 15:37 mark of the first 20 minutes. The scoring continued to go back-and-forth over the next four minutes; however, the Golden Flashes kept its lead of seven points, 20-13. With three minutes left, the Eagles scored three-straight buckets, highlighted with a Spottsville layup, a Groce two-handed slam, and another Groce fastbreak layup to cut the KSU lead to five points, 30-25. To end the first 20 minutes of play, Kent State went on a 9-5 run with an 11-point lead at 39-28.
Both teams came out of the locker room strong offensively, but KSU held its nine-point lead (47-38) at the 15:31 mark of the second half. The Golden Flashes posted a 5-0 run over the next two minutes to push their lead to 14, but the Eagles answered with a 12-4 run to cut KSU's lead to six (71-65) with four minutes left to play. Kent State finished the game on a 12-11 run to seal the 86-76 victory.
Kent State will advance to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland and will take on No. 3 seed Ball State. Eastern Michigan will await its fate for a postseason tournament bid.
Eastern Michigan dropped to 16-16 overall with a 6-12 conference mark, while Kent State earned its 20th win of the season (20-12, 9-9 MAC).
Junior Noah Morgan (Mount Vernon, N.Y.-Mount Vernon (Northwest Florida State)) paced the Eagles with a career-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers. Morgan also contributed four assists and two rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Redshirt junior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) was the second Eagle to reach double-digits as he finished the evening with 14 points and led the team with five assists, and tallied two steals.
Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) notched his 21st career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while junior Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic (Monroe College)) added eight points and two steals. Classmate Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C)) also contributed four helpers.
Binelli started the night with a deep triple to put the Eagles on the board first, but Kent State responded with a 12-0 run to take the early 12-3 lead in the first half. Toure broke a four-minute Eastern scoring drought at the 15:37 mark of the first 20 minutes. The scoring continued to go back-and-forth over the next four minutes; however, the Golden Flashes kept its lead of seven points, 20-13. With three minutes left, the Eagles scored three-straight buckets, highlighted with a Spottsville layup, a Groce two-handed slam, and another Groce fastbreak layup to cut the KSU lead to five points, 30-25. To end the first 20 minutes of play, Kent State went on a 9-5 run with an 11-point lead at 39-28.
Both teams came out of the locker room strong offensively, but KSU held its nine-point lead (47-38) at the 15:31 mark of the second half. The Golden Flashes posted a 5-0 run over the next two minutes to push their lead to 14, but the Eagles answered with a 12-4 run to cut KSU's lead to six (71-65) with four minutes left to play. Kent State finished the game on a 12-11 run to seal the 86-76 victory.
Kent State will advance to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland and will take on No. 3 seed Ball State. Eastern Michigan will await its fate for a postseason tournament bid.
Team Stats
EMU
KENT
FG%
.412
.536
3FG%
.235
.273
FT%
.632
.909
RB
27
41
TO
9
18
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
11
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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