Eastern Michigan Athletics

Sunday, December 11
Niagara Falls, N.Y.
1 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

2-9,0-0MAC

60
at
67

Niagara

5-4,1-1MAAC

1
2
F
Eastern Mich.
38
22
60
Niagara
35
32
67
Noah Farrakhan

Eagles Fall on the Road, 67-60, at Niagara

12/11/2022 3:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Farrakhan leads the way with 21 points while Bates chips in 13

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team battled to the end, but came up short in its comeback bid as the Eagles dropped a 67-60 decision at Niagara University, Sunday, Dec. 11. Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina) led the way with 21 points, four assists, and four rebounds as the Eagles (2-9, 0-0 MAC) came back from several deficits before a 7-0 run by the Purple Eagles (5-4, 1-1 MAAC) closed out the contest inside Gallagher Arena.
 
How It Happened
After falling behind, 35-33, Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run with under one minute remaining in the first half, culminating in a three from Kevin-David Rice (Flint, Mich.-Grand Blanc-Delta College), to take a 38-35 lead into halftime. The three-point advantage marked just the third time this year the Eagles were ahead at the break.
 
Niagara proceeded to take a 48-41 lead before Eastern responded with a 9-0 run, finished off by a Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich.-North Farmington-Oakland) layup, to seize a 50-48 lead with 8:59 remaining in the game. Niagara regained control, outscoring the Eagles, 19-10, the rest of the way to secure the win. Eastern shot well from three-point range in the second half, hitting three shots from deep for nine of the team's 22 points.
 
Game Notes
» Noah Farrakhan finished the game with 21 points and four assists, marking back-to-back games in which he has scored at least 10 points and dropped four or more dimes. It is the third time he has accomplished the feat this year and the ninth time in his career. He also has done it for the second game in a row, marking the second time he has done so in back-to-back games in his career with the first coming last year in home games against Miami University (28 points and seven assists), Jan. 29, 2022, and the University of Toledo (17 points and four assists), Feb. 1, 2022. Farrakhan scored 10 points and had four assists at Illinois State University, Dec. 7, in the first half of his back-to-back games.
» Farrakhan finished with 21 points, marking the second time this year he has scored at least 20 points in a game and the first since he scored 25 at Florida International University, Nov. 30. Farrakhan, who was 8-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three, now has 12 career games with 20-or-more points after recording 10 last year.
» Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis) was the only other Eagle to reach double figures as he finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and a season-high three assists. His previous high of two assists came twice, most recently against Purdue University Fort Wayne, Nov. 22, at the Cancun Challenge.
» Yusuf Jihad finished the game with seven points, which is a season high and the most he has scored as a member of the Eastern program. His previous best was six points scored at Illinois State, Dec. 7, where he was 2-of-3 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three. Jihad made it back-to-back games with at least one made triple for the first time at Eastern and the second time in his career after he hit one in each game of the Xavier Tournament while playing for Oakland University in the 2020-21 season as he scored one each in games with Toledo, Nov. 26, and Bradley University, Nov. 27.
 
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the all-time series is tied at 2-2 with the Purple Eagles snapping Eastern's two-game winning streak.
» Eastern is now 0-1 when playing at Niagara.
 
Up Next
Eastern will play host to the Titans of the University of Detroit Mercy in its final game before the holiday break as the two sides will meet inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Sunday, Dec. 18. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip and will be aired live on ESPN+, WEMU (89.1 FM), and the Varsity Network app. The game is the final home non-conference game of the season and the penultimate non-conference game before the Eagles enter conference play in January.

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