Eagles Hosting Lake Superior State Friday

Men's Basketball vs. Lake Superior State
Date	Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
Venue	George Gervin GameAbove Center (8,754) \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF) \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Digital Programs
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	n/a
Twitter	@EMU_MBB \| @EMUAthletics
Fan Information	Purchase Tickets

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team is scheduled to host in-state foe Lake Superior State University Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center as the Eagles look to improve to 3-0 on their home floor in 2023-24.

ON AIR
Eastern Michigan and Lake Superior State will air on ESPN+. Ryan Wooley and Claire Dau will be on the call.

OPENING TIPS
» Eastern Michigan played a pair of tightly-contested games at the Central Arkansas Classic, coming home with a 74-71 win at the University of Central Arkansas, Nov. 25, before dropping a 72-70 decision against the University of North Dakota, Nov. 26, as junior Tyson Acuff scored 54 points and freshman Arne Osojnik tallied 32 points between the two contests.
» Junior Tyson Acuff is averaging 22.8 points per game through seven games, which leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the nation. Acuff's season has been highlighted by a pair of 31-point performances and his 26.0 points per game in his last five games leads the nation during that span.
» Junior Tyson Acuff has scored 23-plus points in each of the last four games (31 vs. Cleveland State, Nov. 18; 25 at Detroit Mercy, Nov. 21; 23 at Central Arkansas, Nov. 25; 31 vs. North Dakota, Nov. 26). Acuff is one of 11 players in the nation with four showings of 23 or more points and joins Oral Roberts University's Isaac McBride as the two players in the country with an active streak of four games with 23-plus points.
» Eastern Michigan is seeking a 3-0 start at home for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons after EMU defeated Georgia Southern, Nov. 11, and Cleveland State, Nov. 18. EMU had a streak of nine-straight seasons with a 3-0 or better start at home starting with the 2011-12 campaign.
» Eastern Michigan's Stan Heath is in his third year at the helm of the Eagles, holding a 22-47 record at EMU and 231-254 record over 16 years as a head coach. Fifty of NCAA Division I's head coaches are coaching their alma mater, up from 48 in 2022-23.

TYSON ACUFF, MAC SCORING LEADER AND MORE
Junior Tyson Acuff is averaging 22.8 points per game through seven games, which leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the nation. Acuff's season has been highlighted by a pair of 31-point performances. Acuff is the first Eagle since Brandon Bowdry to score at least 13 points in each of the team's first seven games. Bowdry started the 2009-10 season with 13-straight contests with 14-plus points.

TYSON ACUFF, NATION'S LEADER PPG IN LAST 5
Junior Tyson Acuff is averaging 26.0 points per game in his last five contests, which leads the nation during that span.

1. Tyson Acuff                 26.0       Eastern Michigan
2. Tommy Bruner            25.6       Denver
3. Tyler Thomas               24.8       Hofstra
4. Jordan Johnson           24.4       New Orleans
5. Isaac McBride              24.2       Oral Roberts

TYSON ACUFF, 5TH IN PROGRAM HISTORY PPG
Junior Tyson Acuff's 22.8 ppg would rank fifth in program history for a single season.

1. George Gervin             29.5       1971-72
2. Earl Boykins                 25.7       1997-98
3. Kennedy McIntosh     25.4           1970-71
4. Grant Long                   23.0       1987-88
5. Tyson Acuff                 22.8       2023-24
6. Derrick Dial                  20.9       1997-98

TYSON ACUFF, 4-STRAIGHT WITH 23+ POINTS
Junior Tyson Acuff has scored 23-plus points in each of the last four games (31 vs. Cleveland State, Nov. 18; 25 at Detroit Mercy, Nov. 21; 23 at Central Arkansas, Nov. 25; 31 vs. North Dakota, Nov. 26). Acuff is one of 11 players in the nation with four showings of 23 or more points and joins Oral Roberts University's Isaac McBride as the two players in the country with an active streak of four games with 23-plus points.

TYSON ACUFF GOES FOR 31 POINTS (x2)
Junior Tyson Acuff has a pair of 31-point performances in 2023-24 as he netted 31 against North Dakota, Nov. 26, on a blistering 12-for-19 showing from the floor. He also scored 31 points in EMU's 69-62 victory over Cleveland State, Nov. 18, in an 11-for-17 shooting performance. Acuff has netted 30-plus point games four times in his career, all of which have come at EMU. Acuff and the University of Denver's Tauko Tainamo are the nation's only players to have multiple 31-point performances this season.

TYSON ACUFF 100+ CAREER THREE-POINTERS
Junior Tyson Acuff surpassed 100 career three-point makes with his five made three-pointers against North Dakota, Nov. 26, and sits at 104 career three-pointers made. Acuff is at 825 career points. Acuff netted 38 three-pointers and 239 points in his two seasons at Duquesne.

SEEKING 3-0 HOME START
Eastern Michigan is seeking a 3-0 start at home for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons after EMU defeated Georgia Southern, Nov. 11, and Cleveland State, Nov. 18. EMU started 1-1 at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in 2022-23 after topping Wayne State University, Nov. 7, 2022, before falling vs. University of California San Diego, Nov. 11, 2022. EMU won five-straight to open the 2021-22 home slate. EMU had a streak of nine-straight seasons with a 3-0 or better start at home starting with the 2011-12 campaign.

ARNE OSOJNIK: CAREER-HIGH 20 POINTS AT UCA
Freshman Arne Osojnik produced a career-high 20 points in EMU's 74-71 win over UCA, Nov. 25. Osojnik's six three-pointers are the most since current junior Tyson Acuff nailed six triples against Ohio, Jan. 31, 2023. Acuff, who scored 23 points against UCA, and Osojnik are the first Eagle duo to each score 20-plus points since Acuff and Emoni Bates did so against Ball State, Feb. 25, 2023.

63.6% FROM THE FLOOR AT DETROIT MERCY
Eastern Michigan put up a 28-for-44 (.636) showing in the Eagles' 76-72 win at Detroit Mercy, Nov. 21, was its fifth-best shooting percentage in a single game in program history and best since EMU shot .654 against Kent State, Jan. 12, 2019. Eastern's .636 rate is its second-best mark all-time on the road as EMU converted 66.0% of its field goal attempts at Central Michigan, Jan. 6, 2016, which ranks second in program history.

THREE EAGLES WITH 10+ POINTS, FOUR IN A ROW
The Eagles, which had two players in double-digits in points in each of the first three games, have put together four-straight games of having trio of Eagles scores double-digit points. Junior Tyson Acuff scored double-figures in all four contests while junior Yusuf Jihad and freshman Arne Osojnik each scored double-figures twice in the two-game stretch. Redshirt junior John McGriff and Julius Ellerbe and redshirt sophomore Legend Geeter each tallied at least 10 points once during the four most recent games.

BACK-TO-BACK ROAD WINS
After topping Detroit Mercy, 76-72, Nov. 21, and Central Arkansas, 74-71, Nov. 25, Eastern Michigan has back-to-back road wins for the first time since 2017-18 when the Eagles beat Central Michigan, Feb. 17, 2018, and Western Michigan, Feb. 27, 2018. Eastern is looking for back-to-back non-conference road wins for the first time since 2007-08 when the Eagles beat Manhattan, Nov. 21, 2007, and St. Bonaventure, Nov. 24, 2007.

THREE-STRAIGHT GAMES, SAME LINEUP
Eastern Michigan, which used five different lineups in the opening five games of the 2023-24 season, has used the same lineup each of the last three games as redshirt junior Julius Ellerbe, juniors Tyson Acuff and Yusuf Jihad, redshirt sophomore Legend Geeter, and freshman Arne Osojnik have produced a 2-1 record as a starting group in EMU's last three contests. Acuff and Geeter have started each game. Osojnik has started six games after not starting the season-opening game at Butler, Nov. 6. Ellerbe has five starts, redshirt junior John McGriff has three starts while redshirt junior Connor Serven has two starts. Juniors Jalin BIllingsley and Yusuf Jihad also have one start each.

THR33-POINT STR3AK, 589-STRAIGHT GAM3S
Eastern, which hit eight threes against North Dakota, Nov. 26, has now hit at least one triple in 589-straight games. EMU last failed to score from downtown Jan. 24, 2004, when Miami held the Eagles to 0-of-7 from behind the arc.

MICHIGAN MATCH-UPS
The Eagles are scheduled to play five in-state opponents in non-conference action with contests against Detroit Mercy (Nov. 21), Lake Superior State (Dec. 1), Oakland (Dec. 8), Michigan (Dec. 16), and Northwood (Dec. 30). EMU last played five in-state foes during the non-conference slate in 2019-20, going 4-1 in such contests. EMU topped Detroit Mercy, 76-72, Nov. 21.

SWEET HOME MICHIGAN IN DECEMBER
Eastern Michigan is scheduled to play five games in December, all of which will occur in Michigan. The Eagles host Lake Superior State (Dec. 1), Oakland (Dec. 8), Hampton (Dec. 21), and Northwood (Dec. 30) while also traveling to Michigan (Dec. 16). The last time EMU stayed in Michigan for the entirety of a month while playing at least five games was November 2015, when Eastern played six contests in Michigan, four of which were played on its home floor. Eastern Michigan did not leave the Mitten State until Jan. 12, 2021, during the 2020-21 COVID-influenced season, but the Eagles played one game in November and four games in December, respectively.

NEW FOE, WHO DIS?
The Eagles played three first-time opponents as they met Butler (Nov. 6), Georgia Southern (Nov. 11), and Central Arkansas (Nov. 25). EMU dropped a 94-55 decision against Butler before beating Georgia Southern, 70-60. The Eagles edged Central Arkansas, 74-71.

MT. MARTYNOV, SEVEN-FOOTER
Sophomore Cyril Martynov stands at seven feet tall and is one of five players in the MAC scaling at least seven feet, per each MAC school's official website. Miami's Reece Potter is the tallest in the conference at 7-foot-1 while Bowling Green's Jason Spurgin, Central Michigan's Hunter Harding, and Western Michigan's Javonte Brown are all 7-foot.

WHO'S BACK??
EMU returns 10 players from its 2022-23 roster including juniors Tyson Acuff, Jalin Billingsley, Yusuf Jihad, Kevin-David Rice, and Andrew Wells; redshirt sophomores Legend Geeter, Javantae Randle, and Prakash Ketterhagen; sophomore Orlando Lovejoy; and redshirt freshman Derik Pranger.

WHO'S GONE??
EMU lost six players from its 2022-23 roster including Emoni Bates (2nd Round pick in NBA Draft), Noah Farrakhan (transfer to West Virginia), Derek Ballard Jr. (graduation), Luka Savicevic (transfer to Lafayette), Collin Golson Jr. (transfer to Wayne State), and JZ Zaher (transfer to Bowling Green).

WHAT'S GONE??
EMU lost 1,114 of its 2,239 points (49.8%) from the 2022-23 season, most notably being the program's 15th NBA draftee as Emoni Bates was picked in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers (49th overall).

FRESH FACES
EMU added six newcomers to its 2023-24 roster including redshirt juniors John McGriff (Binghamton), Julius Ellerbe (East Central CC), Connor Serven (Illinois), and Micah Schnyders (Wheaton College), sophomore Cyril Martynov (Georgia Tech), and freshman Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia).

HALF MICHIGAN-MADE
Half of the Eastern Michigan 16-player roster hails from Michigan while Illinois (two), Maryland (two), Colorado (one) are represented, as well as a pair of international student-athletes with one from Canada and another from Slovenia. A complete breakdown of the EMU roster can be found on page 10.

DOUBLEHEADER DAY
The Eagles are scheduled to play five double-headers with the EMU women's basketball team in 2023-24 with four of the five double-headers taking place in Ypsilanti. Both the EMU men's and women's teams will play Nov.18 (men vs. Cleveland State, women vs. SIUE), Jan. 6 (men vs. Kent State, women vs. Toledo), Jan. 20 (at Ohio), Jan. 27 (men vs. Buffalo, women vs. Ball State), Feb. 17 (men vs. Bowling Green, women vs. Northern Illinois). The EMU men also hosted a doubleheader with the EMU's volleyball team, Nov. 11.

Men's basketball beat Georgia Southern, 70-60, while volleyball beat Kent State in straight sets, Nov. 11.

Men's basketball beat Cleveland State, 69-62, Nov.18, while women's basketball topped SIUE, 68-65.

EMONI BATES NBA + G-LEAGUE
Former Eagle Emoni Bates played his first significant minutes in the NBA, Oct. 31, for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the New York Knicks as the rookie netted nine points with six rebounds in 23 minutes. Bates later sent shockwaves through the G-League in his first game with the Cleveland Charge, scoring 29 points with seven made three-pointers, Nov. 10, in Cleveland's 119-106 win over the Wisconsin Herd.

NEXT UP
Eastern Michigan is scheduled to host Oakland University in a 7 p.m. contest, Friday, Dec. 8.

FOLLOW US
For the most up-to-date information on the Eagles, visit EMUEagles.com. Fans can also follow the team on social media, including Twitter (@EMU_MBB) and Instagram (@EMUMBB).

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Players Mentioned

Tyson Acuff

Derek Ballard Jr.

Emoni Bates

Jalin Billingsley

Julius Ellerbe

Noah Farrakhan

Legend Geeter

Yusuf Jihad

Prakash Ketterhagen

Orlando Lovejoy

Cyril Martynov

John McGriff

Arne Osojnik

Derik Pranger

Javantae Randle

Kevin-David Rice

Luka Savicevic

Micah Schnyders

Connor Serven

Andrew Wells

JZ Zaher

Eastern Michigan Athletics