Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
8-14 (3-8MAC)
Kent State
13-9 (8-4MAC)
Men's Basketball Downed By Kent State, 90-71
2/5/2022 4:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Spottsville shot a career-best 4-of-4 from deep
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to the Kent State University Golden Flashes, 90-71, Saturday, Feb. 5, inside the M.A.C Center in Kent, Ohio.
Offensively, Eastern (8-14, 3-8 MAC) saw a 33-point showing from its bench, as three Eagles scored in double figures. Senior Darion Spottsville's (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain (South Mountain C.C.)) career-high 20 points paced the Eagles. Freshman Noah Farrakhan (Newark, N.J.-The Patrick School (East Carolina)) tacked on 16 points and senior Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)) chipped in 11 points. Eastern Michigan's offense was very productive from downtown, knocking down nine threes on 21 attempts. Spottsville was the most prolific shooter for the Eagles, draining four treys on four attempts in the contest, a personal-best.
EMU was outrebounded in the contest, grabbing 27 to Kent State's 34, as N. Scott and freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville (DME Sports Academy)) each had seven. Additionally, Njie had two blocks and four players earned one steal each.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 16-11, Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run with 13:15 left in the first half to take an 18-16 lead. The Eagles then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 39-35 advantage. EMU relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 39 points.
Kent State proceeded to take a 46-41 lead before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Farrakhan's layup, to seize a 47-46 lead with 14:07 to go in the contest. KSU re-asserted control, outscoring the Eagles 44-24 the rest of the way, handing Eastern the 90-71 loss. The Eagles got a boost from their bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 22 of its 32 total points in the second stanza.
Game Notes
» The Eagles shot well from three point range, knocking down nine of 21 long-range attempts. That number ties for the team's second-best effort of the season from deep, as the Eagles have hit nine triples in a contest four times, including against the Golden Flashes. Eastern's season-best effort from deep was 14, which it hit against Miami, Jan. 29. Furthermore, it is Eastern's fifth game this season shooting 40 percent-or-better from long range.
» N. Scott scored Eastern's first eight points in the contest, the first time that a EMU player has opened a game with the squad's initial eight points this season.
» EMU scored 39 points in the first half, its most since dropping 55 in the opening 20 minutes against Miami, Jan. 29. Including the contest at Kent State, EMU has dropped 39-or-more first half points three times. Aside from the team's previously mentioned efforts, the Eagles also put up 39 first-half points at UC San Diego, Dec. 2.
» Eastern committed just eight turnovers in the contest, its second-fewest of the season. EMU's previous best came versus Central Michigan, Jan. 11. The Eagles surrendered just seven possessions against the Chippewas. Eastern has committed 10-or-fewer turnovers five times this season, but had not done so, prior to the game against Kent State, since its game at Akron, Jan. 22 (9 total turnovers).
» The Eagles recorded 11 assists, three more than the number of turnovers it committed (8). The team's +3 margin is its second-best of the season. EMU was +7 against CMU, Jan. 11. Overall, Eastern has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio just three times this season.
» Farrakhan shot 53.8 percent from the floor (7-of-13), his fifth-best effort of the season. The freshman guard converted on a season-best 73.3 percent of his shots (11-for-15) against Miami, Jan. 29.
» The Eastern Michigan bench scored 33 points, marking the sixth game of the year that the bench has produced 30-or-more.
» Spottsville scored a career-best 20 points, while hitting a personal-best 4-of-4 from downtown. His seven makes it also a career-high. Furthermore, the senior shot 7-of-10 from the field, making it the first time he attempted 10 field goals since Feb. 20, 2021, where he shot 1-of-10 against Kent State.
» Eastern Michigan got seven rebounds from both Njie and N. Scott.
» The Eagles saw two players shoot a perfect 100 percent from deep in Spottsville (4-of-4), and senior Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedicts Prep (Portland State)) (2-of-2). The performance is the first time this season that the Green and White have had two remain perfect from downtown, with a minimum of multiple attempts.
Historical Notes
» Today marked the 82nd meeting between Eastern Michigan and Kent State. The Golden Flashes lead the series 57-47.
Up Next
Eastern Michigan finishes its road trip at the University at Buffalo Tuesday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest will be streamed on ESPN3.
