Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
2-4,0-0MAC
DePaul
6-0,0-0Big East
Men's Basketball Drops Road Affair at DePaul
11/28/2021 3:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Monty Scott leads all Eagles with 18 points
Photo Gallery
CHICAGO, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team lost, 101-63, to DePaul University in the final contest of the Blue Demon Classic today, Nov. 28, in Chicago.
Eastern (2-4; 0-0 MAC) was led by senior Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedict's Prep (Portland State)) with 18 points, followed by a trio of Eagles that each scored seven. It was the first contest of the season for the Green and White where two players did not hit double-digit scoring. EMU shot 33.3 percent (22-66) from the field and 80 percent (12-15) from the free throw line in the contest.
On the defensive end, the Eagles allowed DePaul to hit 101, the first time this season an opponent has scored 100+ on the squad. Eastern Michigan was out rebounded 44-32 in the contest by DePaul, and forced the Blue Demons into 11 turnovers, while committing 17 of their own. Senior Axel Okongo (Saacy-Sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Missouri)) was the only player in Green and White to block a shot in the game, while the Blue Demons swatted nine.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan started the game strong, hitting its first 3-of-4 shots, including a three from freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville (DME Sports Academy)), the first of his career, to jump out to an early five point lead. From there, the battle ensued, with four lead changes in the half, and six ties. After the back-and-forth action, DePaul went on a 31-7 run over the final 7:34 of the first half. The Eagles entered the locker room down 53-29. Eastern shot 33.3 percent from the field (9-27) and from beyond the three-point line (4-12), and were led by M. Scott who scored eight in the half.
Early in the seconds half, EMU found itself down 69-31 with 15:44 left to play as Eastern proceeded to shoot 27.3 percent in the half. DePaul's largest lead of the contest was 43 (97-54) with 2:55 left in the game, the largest deficit for the team this season. Two freshman scored their first points in Eagle uniforms as Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich-North Farmington (Oakland)) hits six, and Kevin David-Rice (Flint, Mich.-Grand Blanc (Delta College)) contributed four. Classmate Luka Savicevic (Skopje, North Macedonia-Sports Academy Skopje) added seven points, all in the second half. The Green and White were unable to hold off DePaul's surge beginning in the first half, ultimately falling 101-63. The team saw a 30-point performance from its bench in the loss.
Game Notes
» The Eastern Michigan bench came alive by adding 30 points to its scoring output.
» Eastern Michigan cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game, more than DePaul's 10.
» Monty Scott led the Eagles with 18 points, and hit multiple threes (three) for the third consecutive game.
» Njie hits the first three of his college career, shooting 1-of-1 from deep in the contest and hitting 50 percent (1-2) on the season.
» Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyerburg C.C.)) earned first start of the season.
» Eastern shot 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free throw line in the first half, the best shooting from the line in a half this season (minimum of eight attempts).
» The seven free throws made in the first stanza is the most for Eastern in any first half of a game this season.
» Savicevic earns his first career assist.
» McBride's three assists ties his season-high.
» Monty Scott's three treys tied his season-high.
» Four Eagles shot 100% from the free throw line at DePaul; Senior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C.)) (2-2), Senior Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)) (2-2), Freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale (Siena)) (3-3), and Savicevic (2-2).
» Monty Scott scored 18 points in today's contest. The effort is his fifth in-a-row with double-digit scoring.
» EMU finished the day shooting 33 percent (22-for-66) from the field, including 28 percent (7-for-25) from deep. The field goal percentage was the second-lowest of the season from the Green and White, while the three-point percentage is the lowest.
» Jihad came off the bench to record his first points in an Eastern uniform in the game at DePaul. The Farmington Hills, Mich. native finished with six points on 3-of-6 shooting in 10 minutes of action. Those numbers are all EMU-career-best marks for the redshirt freshman.
» Rice scored his first points as an EMU Eagles against DePaul. The Flint, Mich. native put up four points on 2-of-5 shooting for EMU.
» With its seven triple makes, EMU has now flushed at-least six shots from deep in each of its games this season.
» Redshirt junior Derek Ballard Jr. (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield-Lathrup) dropped his first points of the season against DePaul. He drained his only triple try of the game and finished with three points.
» Savicevic earned significant minutes for the Green and White at DePaul. He finished with a season-high 22 minutes on court, and also flushed a personal-best two free throws and two boards.
Historical Notes
»Eastern Michigan moves to 0-6 all-time against DePaul.
Next Up
»The Eagles head to the Golden State, taking on UC San Diego for the first time in program history Thursday, Dec. 2. The game will start at 10 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
