Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Illinois State
Eagles Fall at Illinois State, 87-81
12/7/2022 10:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern sees four players score in double digits, but the comeback falls short on the road
NORMAL, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – Four different players scored in double figures with Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech-Duquesne) leading the way with a team-best 14 points as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fought back from a halftime deficit before eventually falling at Illinois State University, 87-81, in Normal, Ill., Dec. 7. Eastern (2-8) also saw Legend Geeter (River Rouge, Mich.-River Rouge-Providence), Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit, Mich.-Summit Academy North), and Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina) score for 10-or-more to build back from a six-point deficit before the Redbirds (4-6) closed the game on an 11-2 run.
How It Happened
The Eagles held several early leads in the game before entering halftime trailing, 41-35. In the second half, the Eagles began to chip away and took the lead, 60-59, at the 10:37 mark, giving the visitors their first lead since it was 18-16 with 9:51 remaining in the opening half.
Eastern Michigan narrowed its deficit to 71-66 before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Emoni Bates' three, to even the score at 71 all with 5:39 to go in the contest. The Eagles could not turn their rally into a victory, as the Redbirds outscored them 16-10 the rest of the way to hand Eastern Michigan the 87-81 loss. Eastern Michigan got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 14 of its 46 total points.
Game Notes
» Geeter turned in a career-high 13 points on the night, bettering his previous best of 12 points he scored against Winthrop University, Nov. 23, in the Cancun Challenge. He finished the game with five made baskets to tie a career high from the same game.
» Lovejoy recorded a team-high three steals, which also tied his career high he set at Oakland University, Nov. 19. Lovejoy finished the game with 11 points, marking the third time he has reached double figures this season and his first time since the Oakland game.
» Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich.-North Farmington-Oakland) made his first career start tonight, finishing with six points on 2-of-3 shooting that included a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the arc. His point total is a season high and was two off his career best. The game at Illinois State is the 44th game he has played in his career, which includes 17 with Oakland University (2020-21 season) and 27 with the Eagles.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 10-23 in the all-time series and saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
» Eastern is now 2-14 when the game is played in Normal, Ill., and have dropped three in a row at Illinois State.
Up Next
The Eagles will play their final road game before the holiday break as they venture to Niagara University, N.Y., to take on the Purple Eagles of Niagara University, Sunday, Dec. 11. The battle of eagles is set for a 1 p.m. tip inside Gallagher Arena and will be aired live on ESPN+, WEMU (89.1 FM), and the Varsity Network app.
