Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-4,0-0MAC
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Purdue Fort Wayne
3-2,0-0Horizon
Eagles Fall to Mastodons in Cancun Opener, 74-67
11/22/2022 3:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bates leads the way with 16 points, including four treys
Postgame Audio.
CANCÚN, Mexico (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its opening game of the 2022 Cancun Challenge inside the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Tuesday, Nov. 22, as a hard-fought battle went to Purdue University Fort Wayne, 74-67, in the first game of the event. The Eagles (1-4), who out-rebounded the Mastodons (3-2), were led by Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis) and Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio-Lutheran East-Georgetown), who tallied 16 and 10 points, respectively.
The Eastern Michigan defense was effective at taking away the basketball in the game, forcing 13 Purdue Fort Wayne turnovers. Those takeaways turned into eight points on the other end of the floor. Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech-Duquesne) led the way individually for the Eagles with two steals.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 8-2, Eastern went on a 6-0 run with 16:58 left in the first half to tie the game at eight. Purdue Fort Wayne then pulled ahead, sending the Eagles into halftime down, 33-30.
Purdue Fort Wayne kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 48-38 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Farrakhan's layup, to shrink the deficit to 48-45 with 12:33 to go in the contest. Purdue Fort Wayne responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 74-67. Eastern Michigan took care of business in the paint, recording 26 of its 37 points in the lane.
Game Notes
» Eastern is now 12-9 all-time in games played outside of the United States and saw its two-game winning streak snapped in such games after winning both games at the 2019 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic.
» The Eagles are 0-2 on the year when out-rebounding their opponents after holding a 34-31 advantage on the boards.
» Eastern was 28-of-53 from the field (52.8 percent), its best shooting performance of the season. Additionally, the 28 makes rank as the fifth-most in an overseas game for the Eagles.
» Six of the made baskets came from behind the arc, which ranks as the fifth-most in an international game for EMU.
» Bates' performance saw him tie for the third-most three-point field goal makes (four) while ranking tied for eighth with six made baskets and becoming the 13th EMU player to score 16 or more points in an international game.
» Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina) recorded four assists, which ties for the seventh-most in an international game at EMU. He finished the game with nine points and added a team-high two thefts.
» Billingsley blocked a pair of shots to tie for fourth in international games.
Up Next
The Eagles will now play for third place in the Mayan Division Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 12:30 p.m. against either the University of Southern Miss or Winthrop University.
