Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
2-5,0-0MAC
UC San Diego
5-2,0-0Big West
Men's Basketball Falls in West Coast Trip to UC San Diego
12/2/2021 11:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
McBride, M. Scott, and Golson Jr. each score 16 in the setback
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (EMUEagles.com) --The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team saw a trio of Eagles go for 16 points, and got a 24-point showing from the bench, but fell, 83-74, to the UC San Diego Tritons on the road Thursday, Dec. 2.
The Eagles (2-5) had three players score in double figures. Senior Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedict's Prep (Portland State)), junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State)), as well as freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale) each tallied 16 points for the Green and White.
How It Happened
After falling behind 25-24, Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run with 5:55 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Scott, to take a 30-25 lead. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 40-39.
UCSD widened its lead after intermission, constructing a 52-43 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 52-49 with 13:34 to go in the contest. San Diego responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 83-74. Eastern Michigan took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of its 35 points in the lane.
Game Notes
» EMU dropped 39 points in the first half at UC San Diego. That number is the best by the Eagles this season, and the most by the team since it scored 42 in the opening frame against Northern Illinois, Feb. 27, 2021.
» Eastern had a hot hand in the first half of its game at UC San Diego. The Green and White shot an impressive 56.3 percent (18-of-32) in the first 20 minutes against the Tritons. That number is the best by the team in the first half of any game this season, and the second-best overall shooting percentage in a half. Eastern's only better performance came in the second half of its game against Western Illinois, Nov. 24, when the Eagles shot 61.5 percent (16-of-26).
» Despite scoring a season-best 39 first half points in the game against UC San Diego, Eastern got to the free throw line just once in the first frame against the Tritons. That number is the lowest in a single half for the team this season.
» Golson Jr. scored a season-high 10 first-half points against the Tritons. The performance notched him his third game in 2021-22 with double-digit points.
» It took just 4:40 for all five EMU starters to find the scoring column in EMU's game at UC San Diego. Eastern Michigan has now gotten points for each of its five starters in five of its seven games this season.
» EMU got on the board just 14 seconds into the game when Golson Jr. found the bottom of the net on a driving layup. That bucket is the fastest to open a game for the Green and White this season.
» The Eagles hit their first four shot attempts of the game, which included two makes from deep. The stretch is the best to start a game for the team this season. Prior to the game at UC San Diego, EMU had opened just two of its first six games with a make.
» Freshman guard Luka Savicevic (Skopje, North Macedonia-Sports Academy Skopje) continues to elevate his role for EMU as the season progresses. The first-year Eagle played in his fourth game and earned his first start against UC San Diego. Savicevic finished the game with five points, his third game with at-least that point total.
» After failing to score for the first time in 2021-22 in EMU's most recent game, at DePaul, Nov. 28, McBride had a nice bounce-back game at UC San Diego. The senior captain tallied 16 points, which tied for the team lead and is good for his second-most of the season. Additionally, he finished with multiple three-point makes (2) for the third time this season and first time since he knocked down three versus Illinois State, Nov. 12.
» EMU dominated the Tritons in terms of points in the paint. EMU held a 46-30 advantage in that category for the game.
» Eastern and UC San Diego combined to hit the first eight shots of the contest, the most made shots in-a-row in any game EMU has played in this season.
» Monty Scott scored 16 points in the contest. It marks his sixth-straight double-digit scoring effort.
» EMU got double-digit scoring from a trio of scorers. Tonight's game marked the fifth time this season that at least three EMU players have scored 10+ in a game. Additionally, it marks the third time that EMU has gotten 15+ from a trio of players.
» The Eagles shot 49.2 percent from the field (31-of-63), the team's second-best shooting percentage of the season. Unfortunately, it fell victim to the second best shooting clip (55%; 28-of-51) and best three-point percentage, 52 percent (12-of-23) by an opponent this season in the loss.
» EMU's bench was dominant in the game against UC San Diego. The Eagles' bench outscored the Triton's non-starters, 24-2. Eastern has now gotten 20+ points from its bench in six games this season.
» Golson Jr.'s 16 points ties his career-high, previously set against Illinois State, Nov. 12.
» EMU got a game-high seven rebounds from senior Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)).
Up Next
» EMU returns home to face NCAA Division II Northwood University Sunday, Dec. 5. Tipoff from inside the Convocation Center is set for 4 p.m.
