Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
3-11,0-1MAC
Bowling Green
7-7,1-0MAC
Eastern Michigan Falls in MAC Opener to Bowling Green
1/3/2023 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bates leads the way with 15 points while Acuff added 14
Postgame Audio | Photo Gallery
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to visiting Bowling Green State University, 91-65, in both teams' Mid-American Conference opener, Jan. 3, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Eagles (3-11, 0-1 MAC) had two players score in double figures, led by Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis), who had 15 points and two steals, while Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech-Duquesne) added 14 points and two steals.
Javantae Randle (Detroit, Mich.-Frederick Douglas) added a career-high eight points, and his six rebounds were one shy of his career-best he recorded one game prior at the University of South Carolina, Dec. 30. Randle pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace the Eastern Michigan offense which grabbed 19 boards and turned them into 17 second chance points.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind, 45-34, heading into halftime. Bowling Green kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 50-35 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit to 50-42 with 16:42 to go in the contest. Bowling Green responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 91-65. Eastern Michigan got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 10 of its 31 total points.
Game Notes
» Emoni Bates reached double-digit scoring for the 12th time in his 13 games played for the Eagles as he finished with a team-high 15 points on the night. He finished with a career-high 11 free throws made on 14 attempts, also a career mark. His previous career-best came twice earlier in the season when the sophomore converted on seven free throw attempts at Florida International University, Nov. 30, and versus Florida Atlantic University, Dec. 4.
» Tyson Acuff opened the game scoring the Eagles' first seven points as he was 2-of-3 from the floor (1-of-2 from three) and 2-of-2 from the line. That opening run tied his total game output from his previous competition as he scored seven at the University of South Carolina, Dec. 30. Tonight, Acuff finished with 14 points with all three of the team's three-pointers while also tying for the team lead in both steals (two) and assists (one).
» Tyson Acuff hit a three-point shot with 15:20 remaining in the first half to extend Eastern's streak to 565 games in a row with at least made.
» Javantae Randle scored a career-high eight points, doubling his previous career best of four points he scored twice earlier this year, most recently at Oakland University, Nov. 19. Randle finished the game with eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor and added six rebounds, one shy of his career high.
» The Eagles were sent to the charity stripe a season-high 33 times where the Green and White converted on 26 of those attempts, a season-best mark. Previously, EMU attempted 27 free throws against the University of Michigan, Nov. 11, and converted 23 from the charity stripe against the University of Detroit Mercy, Dec. 18.
» Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit, Mich.-Summit Academy North) scored his first points since the Eagles took on Illinois State University, Dec. 7, with his running layup to beat the shot clock midway through the first half. The freshman, who had not scored in his previous three appearances, finished the game with four points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting from the floor to go with one rebound.
» Luka Savicevic (Skopje, North Macedonia-Sports Academy Skopje) logged his first action since the game at Niagara University, Dec. 11, as he played 23 minutes on the night. The sophomore finished the game with two points while adding one rebound, one steal, and one the team's two blocked shots.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 43-55 in the all-time series with the Falcons and saw their current losing streak in the series extend to seven games.
» Eastern also fell to 22-22 all-time when playing host to the game. The loss is the fifth in a row when the game is played in Ypsilanti.
» The Eagles are now 19-30 in their all-time MAC openers. Eastern also is now 9-14 when its first MAC game is played at home.
» Eastern is 21-28 all-time in its first home MAC contest (does not necessarily mean first MAC game overall) of the year and has lost six in a row in home openers in league play. The last time the Eagles won their home MAC opener was an 85-63 win over Central Michigan University, Jan. 3, 2017, exactly six years ago to the day.
Up Next
The Eagles will return to action at home, Jan. 7, with Central Michigan University visiting the George Gervin GameAbove Center for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The game between the intrastate rivals will be streamed live on ESPN3 and WEMU (89.1 FM).
