Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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Oakland
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Eastern Rallies Before Falling at Oakland, 92-90, in Overtime
11/19/2022 5:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Acuff scores a career-high 18 points to help Eagles mount comeback
ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team went into the halftime break trailing Oakland University, 45-36, but rallied from the deficit to tie the game at 82-82 and force overtime. Ultimately, the Eagles could not complete the comeback, falling to the Golden Grizzlies, 92-90, on the road inside the O'Rena, Nov. 19.
The Eagles (1-3) had five players score in double figures, led by Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis), who had 19 points. Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech-Duquesne) added a career-high 18 points and four assists and Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina) chipped in with 15 points - all in the second half of play - and four assists.
Eastern Michigan out-rebounded Oakland, 33-31, in the game, led by six boards from Legend Geeter (River Rouge, Mich.-River Rouge-Providence).
The Eastern Michigan defense was effective at taking away the basketball in the game, forcing 13 Oakland turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor. Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit, Mich.-Summit Academy North) led the way individually for the Eagles with three steals.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 44-27, Eastern Michigan went on a 9-0 run with 1:46 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Bates, to narrow its deficit to 44-36. Oakland answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Eagles down 45-36 entering halftime.
Eastern Michigan narrowed its deficit to 70-65 before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Acuff's three, to seize a 73-70 lead with 6:12 to go in the contest. The Golden Grizzlies then fought back to even things up at 82-82 and send the game to overtime. Eastern Michigan shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting eight shots from deep to score 24 of its 46 points.
Game Notes
» Acuff scored 18 points for a career-high point total. His previous best was 16 against University of California-Irvine, Dec. 19, 2021, when he played for Duquesne University. He finished the game with a team-high-tying four assists, which also tied his career high set against the University of Michigan, Nov. 11.
» Eastern sent 10 different players to the floor in the contest with each scoring at least two points. That stat held true at halftime with the lone exception being Farrakhan, who was scoreless in the opening stanza before scoring 15 in the second half.
» Luka Savicevic (Skopje, North Macedonia-Sports Academy Skopje) saw seven minutes of action and tallied two points on two made free throws, added two assists, and two steals. It marked the first time in his career he recorded multiple steals and assists in the same game with the theft total setting a career high.
» Oakland started the game 8-of-8 from the field, including 5-of-5 from three, to eventually build a 19-point lead. Eastern didn't take its first lead of the game until Acuff's trey with 6:12 left made it 73-70.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles slipped to 11-8 in the all-time series with the Golden Grizzlies and have dropped two in a row.
» Oakland has now won three in a row when hosting the game.
» Eastern is now 41-45 all-time in overtime games and 2-1 under Stan Heath. EMU won games in double and quadruple overtime last year under Heath.
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