Beerfest on Tap for Saturday, Feb. 19, as EMU Hosts Akron

Men's Basketball vs. Akron
Date	Saturday, Feb. 19 \| 3 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| George Gervin GameAbove Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes \| Media Guide.
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	WEMU (89.1 WEMU-FM) \| The Varsity Network App \| Eastern Insider Podcast
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team continues a three-game homestand at the George Gervin GameAbove Center Saturday, Feb. 19, with a visit from the University of Akron. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
   Eastern Michigan (9-17, 4-11 MAC) dropped a hard-fought contest to the University at Buffalo, 83-69, Feb. 17. Meanwhile, Akron (16-9, 9-6 MAC) saw its losing skid stretch to three Thursday night, Feb. 17, with a 66-63 home setback to Northern Illinois University.
   The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley (pxp), Justin Rose (analyst), and Lexi Ayala (sideline) on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app with Tom Helmer.

BEERFEST ON TAP FOR SATURDAY: Come out to the game, and have a drink with us. When you purchase an exclusive Beerfest ticket package, you'll receive a 14 oz. frosted glass Block E beer mug and two beers or a beer and a pretzel all for just $25. Already have a ticket to the game? Upgrade your game day by adding the beerfest package for just $15! Call the EMU Athletics Ticket Office at 734.487.3669 or visit EMUEagles.com/tickets.

GOOD TO HAVE BRYCE BACK: Junior Bryce McBride returned to play after missing the team's game at Central Michigan, Feb. 15, and made an immediate impact for the Green and White. The junior guard dropped seven points in the opening frame on 2-of-5 shooting against UB, Feb. 17. That total tied Nate Scott for the intermission lead. He added an assist as well, one of six that EMU dished out in the opening 20 minutes of play.

BETTER AGAINST THE BULLS: Despite its setback, EMU played a much better contest against Buffalo, Feb. 17, than it did against the Bulls in the first meeting between the two teams, Feb. 8. Buffalo scored 83 points on 49 percent shooting in the most recent matchup, well below the 102 points on 57 percent shooting that it mustered against the Green and White in the first meeting between the squads. Additionally, EMU surrendered just 10 turnovers during the Feb. 17 game, three less than it did against UB in the initial contest.

SPREADING THE SCORING: A total of 10 different players found the scoring column for Eastern Michigan against Buffalo, Feb. 17, with each scoring at least two points. The effort marked the fourth consecutive game and eighth overall during the 2021-22 campaign that Eastern has gotten points from nine-or-more players.

SAVVY SAVICEVIC: Freshman guard Luka Savicevic finished the contest with a team-best four assists, his second-straight game with multiple helpers, and fifth overall this season. His four assists tie his career-high, which he recorded at UC San Diego, Dec. 2.

BAD TO THE BINELLI: Senior Thomas Binelli went 3-for-7 from beyond the arc against UB. Binelli has hit multiple triples in consecutive games (led EMU with three at CMU, Feb. 15) for the first time since his initial two games of the season, Nov. 9 at Indiana, and Nov. 24 against Western Illinois. Prior to his current stretch, he had not hit three-or-more triples in consecutive games since he did so in three-straight contests between Feb. 18-25, 2020 against Kent State (3), Ball State (3), and Northern Illinois (6), respectively.

NO MO OF THAT!: Center Mo Njie had another strong game on the defensive half of the court against the Bulls, Feb. 17. The first-year Eagle recorded two blocks, which led EMU, and marked his seventh multiple-swat game of the season. Njie leads all Eagles with 26 total blocks this season and ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference heading in blocks per game (1.1).

BULKING UP: Freshman Noah Farrakhan led the Eagles with 14 points in the Feb. 17 contest against Buffalo, his second consecutive double-digit performance, and 16th overall this season. Farrakhan has scored a combined 38 points during the last two games, the most in a two-game stretch for the first-year Eagle since putting up 45 in a pair of games against Miami, Jan. 29, and Toledo, Feb. 1.

FARRAKHAN NEARING GARRETT FOR FRESHMAN SCORING: Freshman Noah Farrakhan scored 14 points against Buffalo, Feb. 17, to jump EMU great Lorenzo Neely (338) with 344 points so far this season. Farrakhan sits fifth all-time in freshman scoring and is just the fifth freshman in the 21st century to make the list. The guard is on pace to score 422 points by the end of the regular season. The point total would place him second all-time behind James Thompson IV (490). The freshman needs 15 points to move into fourth and pass Darryl Garrett (358).

SCOTT. NATE SCOTT: Senior Nate Scott has reached double-digits in seven of his last eight games (vs. Miami - 25, vs. Toledo -17, at Ohio -16, at Kent State - 11, at Buffalo – 11, at Central Michigan – 10, vs. Buffalo - 13). He is averaging 13.0 points per game over that span. Additionally, in those games, the senior has shot well, hitting 43.9 percent (36-of-82) from the field, 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from deep, and 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free throw line.
   Most recently against Buffalo, Feb. 17, Scott was the team's second-leading scorer (13) and tied for the team lead in rebounding (7).

YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT: EMU is averaging 26.3 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference and 107th nationally. Eastern grabbed 27 defensive boards most recently game against Buffalo, Feb. 17.

EASTERN'S IRON MAN: Between COVID and injuries, there has been one constant in Eastern Michigan's lineup, senior captain Darion Spottsville. The guard is the only player on the team to have played in all 26 games so far this season and has started in 22 of those contests. Furthermore, Spottsville leads the team in steals (29) and is third on the squad in blocks (15) and total rebounds (113).

TAKE THE FREEBEES: Eastern currently ranks fifth in makes (339), fifth in free throw attempts (476), and sixth in percentage (71.2%) in the Mid-American Conference. Junior Bryce McBride leads the team, shooting 79.0 percent (83-of-105), which ranks 14th in the conference. Freshman Noah Farrakhan is 15th in the MAC with 60 free throws made on 77 tries.

OFF THE ROAD FOR A BIT: Eastern hits the road just twice more in the regular season. The Eagles will be home for three of its next four games – only traveling to Ball State, Feb. 26.

ALL-TIME VS. AKRON: Saturday's game marks the 57th meeting between Eastern Michigan and Akron. The Zips lead the series, 33-23, which began with a 62-55 win by Akron, Feb. 3, 1968. Since 1998, Akron has dominated the series winning 28-of-37 meetings. Furthermore, the Green and White hold just a 6-9 mark in Ypsilanti over that span.

LAST TIME AGAINST AKRON: Down two points with six seconds remaining, Eastern Michigan drove the length of the court and had an opportunity to tie or take the lead against Akron, Jan. 22. Unfortunately, junior Bryce McBride's layup rolled off, as the Zips escaped with a 46-44 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena.
   The defensive slugfest saw Eastern hold Akron to just 34 percent (17-of-50). However, the Zips limited the Eagles to just 24 percent (6-for-25) shooting in the second half, and just 1-of-6 from outside. Freshman Colin Golson Jr. had 14 points. McBride added 10 points and freshman Mo Njie six points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.

LAST WIN AT HOME VERSUS THE ZIPS: Hard-nosed basketball, full of physicality and valiant displays of effort were shown inside the then-Convocation Center Jan. 9, 2021 as Eastern Michigan captured its first Mid-American Conference victory of the 2020-21 season after stunning Akron, 71-59.
   Eastern held UA's Loren Christian Jackson to just 10 points. Coming into the game, Jackson had been averaging 25.4 points per game, which led the MAC and ranked fourth in the nation. All five EMU starters scored in double-figures Drew Lowder paced all scorers with a career-high 18 points. Yeikson Montero followed close behind recording 14 points of his own, while Bryce McBride registered 10 points towards the Eagles' effort. The Tennessee native shot 4-of-5 from the field and wrangled in three rebounds, matching his career-high. In addition, Ty Groce and Noah Morgan added 10 points apiece.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern closes out a three-game homestand against Northern Illinois University Tuesday, Feb. 22. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN3.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Binelli

Noah Farrakhan

Colin Golson Jr.

Ty Groce

Drew Lowder

Bryce McBride

Yeikson Montero

Noah Morgan

Mo Njie

Luka Savicevic

Nate Scott

Darion Spottsville

Eastern Michigan Athletics