Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Bowling Green
Highly-Efficient Offense Not Enough For Men's Hoops at Bowling Green
1/25/2022 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
EMU shot nearly 50 percent as a unit; Golson Jr. led the way with 16 points
Key Plays
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its Tuesday night affair with Bowling Green State University, 85-71, Jan. 25, inside the Stroh Center.
Eastern kept Bowling Green to just 17.6 percent from beyond the arc in a 3-for-17 shooting performance, but fell 85-71 to the Falcons on the road Tuesday.
The Eagles (7-11, 2-5 MAC) had two players score in double figures, led by freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale (Siena College)), who tied his career-high with 16 points. Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside (Dyersburg State C.C.)) tacked on 15 points, while senior Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C.)) added eight points and two assists.
Defensively, freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville (DME Sports Academy)) and Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)) led the way with six boards each. Spottsville recorded the way with two steals.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 46-31 heading into halftime.
Bowling Green kept widening its lead after intermission, leading as much as 20 (82-62) with under three minutes to play. McBride and Co. made some late buckets to shrink the Falcons' advantage, but could not overcome the deficit, falling 85-71.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan played solid perimeter defense, holding Bowling Green to 17.6 percent from beyond-the-arc on 17 attempts.
» The Eagles shot better from the field (49.1-44.4) and three-point land (20.0-17.6) than the Falcons.
» Golson led Eastern's offensive attack in the first half, scoring a team-best 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The 10 points tied for his third-highest scoring half of the season (12 vs Ball State, Jan. 8; 11 at Michigan State, Nov. 20; 10 – twice previously), and tied for his second-best first half effort (12 points vs. BSU were in the second half). The performance was Golson's fifth individual double-digit half this season.
» Golson finished the game with 16 points to notch his eighth double-digit outing of the season and his career-best effort. He has scored 16 points in four games this season, including tonight's contest.
» EMU allowed 46 first half points to the Falcons. The game is the fifth this season in which EMU has allowed 40+ points in the first half. The total is the third-highest allowance in a first half to date (53 at Depaul, Nov. 28; 49 at Michigan State, Nov. 20).
» McBride finished the contest with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The effort was his 12th double-digit performance of the season. Additionally, the game marked his third in-a-row with 10+ points. McBride now has three separate stretches of three-straight double-digit scoring efforts this season.
» EMU finished the contest with 71 points, six better than its road-game average of 65.0 points per game coming into today's contest. The 71 points is Eastern's fourth-highest road total of the season.
» Eastern shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field in tonight's contest. That number is the team's fifth-best overall shooting performance of the season.
» The Green and White hit just two shots from behind the three-point line in tonight's contest. The game is just the second this season in which EMU has failed to record three-or-more three-point makes, and the first since it hit just one at Valparaiso, Dec. 20.
» The Eagles scored 42 points in the paint against Bowling Green, the third-most in a single game for the team this season. Eastern previously scored 46 points in the paint at UC San Diego, Dec. 2, before tallying 50 against Central Michigan, Jan. 11. Eastern has now surpassed the 40-paint-point plateau six times this season.
» Eastern Michigan was effective in protecting the rock against the Falcons. The Eagles committed just 11 turnovers in the contest, including just three in the second half. That number is the fifth-lowest total in a game this season for the Green and White.
Up Next
Eastern will be back on the court Saturday, Jan. 29 when it welcomes Miami University to the George Gervin GameAbove Center for a weekend soiree. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
