Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
6-19,3-9MAC
Toledo
19-6,10-2MAC
Eagles Fall to Toledo, 70-63, Behind Acuff's Career Night
2/11/2023 9:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Acuff scored a career-high 36 points one game after scoring 35
Postgame Press Conference | Photo Gallery | Video Highlights.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Technical-Duquesne) recorded a career-high point total for the second game in a row, this time scoring 36 points, as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell, 70-63, to the University of Toledo inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, Feb. 11.
Acuff led the Eagles (6-19, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) with 36 points one game after scoring 35 at the University at Buffalo, Feb. 7, while Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit, Mich.-Summit Academy North) tacked on eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis) chipped in four points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.
The Eagles defense forced 14 Toledo turnovers while committing 13. Those takeaways turned into five points on the offensive end of the floor. Lovejoy's career-high-tying three steals led the way individually for EMU.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 23-17, Eastern went on a 7-0 run with 9:31 left in the first half to take a 24-23 lead. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down, 34-31.
After intermission, the Green and White came back to even it up at 48-48 before going on a 5-0 run to seize a 53-48 lead with 8:46 to go in the contest. Toledo then asserted control, outscoring the Eagles 22-10 the rest of the way to hand Eastern Michigan the 70-63 loss.
Game Notes
» Tyson Acuff led the way on offense as he recorded a career-high 36 points, bettering his then-career-best 35 points he scored one game prior at Buffalo, Feb. 7. His career night against the Rockets saw him set career-highs with 14 made field goals, 22 shot attempts, seven made triples, and 10 attempts from three. His previous highs saw him connect on 6-of-8 three-point attempts against Ohio, Jan. 31, his 13 field goals made at Buffalo, and 20 attempts from the floor against Winthrop, Nov. 23, at the Cancun Challenge.
» Tyson Acuff continued his hot scoring as the sophomore finished the game with another career-high, this time tallying 36 points that included 12 points in the first half. With his scoring in the first 20 minutes of play, Acuff reached double-digit points by halftime for the fourth game in a row. On his current streak, he scored 10 points at home against Ohio, Jan. 31, added 11 points at Ball State, Feb. 3, and then tallied 14 in the opening half of play at Buffalo, Feb. 7.
» Tyson Acuff came to Eastern after playing two seasons at Duquesne where his career-high was 16 points. In 24 games with the Eagles, Acuff has scored over 20 points four times, including three of the last four games that saw him score 29 against Ohio (Jan. 31), 18 at Ball State (Feb. 3), 35 at Buffalo (Feb. 7), and 36 against Toledo. Combined, Acuff has tallied 118 points in his last four games, which ranks the highest total for an Eastern player, surpassing the 113 scored by John Bowler over the course of the final four games of the 2006 season. Earlier this season, teammate Emoni Bates scored 112 points in a four-game stretch, which ranks third.
» Tyson Acuff's 36 points ranks tied for the sixth-most in a game played inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Additionally, his 14 field goals stand second, sitting just behind the record 16 scored by Maurice Carter of Robert Morris, Nov. 26, 2002, while his 22 attempts tie for 10th most. His seven made triples tied for the seventh-most in a single game inside the facility as well.
» Orlando Lovejoy recorded a career-high seven rounds, surpassing the six he pulled down at Ball State, Feb. 3. Lovejoy, who finished eight points, his highest output since also scoring eight at Akron, Jan. 13, also recorded a trio of steals for the third time this year with the most recent career-high coming at Illinois State, Dec. 7.
» Noah Farrakhan finished the night with six points points to bring his career total to 754, which moved him up to No. 58 on the program's all-time scoring ledger and moving him past Ellery Morgan, who scored 752 points from 1992-94. Farrakhan added two rebounds, three assists, and one block on the night.
» With three assists tonight, Noah Farrakhan kept his consecutive games streak intact, a streak he started late last year. Through 25 games played this year, Farrakhan has tallied at least one helper in all 25 contests and has dropped at least one dime in 37 consecutive games dating back to last season. In fact, in his two seasons with the Eagles, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 47-of-50 (94.0) games played for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 54-of-62 (87.1) career games. Additionally, Farrakhan's streak is he fifth-longest at EMU since the 1998-99 season.
» Tyson Acuff hit a three-pointer with 10:37 remaining in the opening half to keep the Eagles' streak going as Eastern has now hit at least one triple in 576 games. Eastern, who finished 8-of-21 in three-point attempts in the game with Acuff accounting for seven of those makes, last failed to score from downtown Jan. 24, 2004, when Miami held the Eagles to 0-of-7 from behind the arc.
» Eastern earned just three trips to the free throw line, draining all three attempts, including two by Orlando Lovejoy and one by Tyson Acuff. The last time the Eagles were limited to so few attempts came Nov. 14, 2018, when Eastern finished 1-of-3 at Duke. The previous low this year came Dec. 11 at Niagara when EMU finished 5-of-6.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 52-62 in their all-time series with the Rockets and have dropped six in a row overall to Toledo. The last time the Eagles defeated the Rockets was Feb. 1, 2020, a 61-57 decision for Eastern at home.
» Eastern fell to 32-23 when playing host to Toledo and have lost three in a row to the Rockets in Ypsilanti.
» The Eagles and Rockets played in front of 5,390 fans, the third-largest men's basketball crowd in the history of the George Gervin GameAbove Center (since the 1998-99 season) and the second-largest to see a Mid-American Conference game. The attendance, which is the largest of the year, sits behind the 7,647 fans on hand, Dec. 9, 1998, against Michigan and the 5,423 fans that came out to see Eastern defeat Central Michigan, 79-72, Feb. 12, 2005.
» The contest started at 7:43 p.m. against the Rockets, marking the first time Eastern hosted a game on a Saturday night that started at 7 p.m. or later since Nov. 22, 2014, when the Eagles defeated UNC Greensboro, 70-62. That game started at 7 p.m.
Up Next
Eastern returns to action at home Tuesday, Feb. 14, with the University of Akron Zips visiting the George Gervin GameAbove Center for a 7 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Ryan Wooley (pxp) and Justin Rose (analyst) on the call and Dannie Rogers reporting from the sideline. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, will have the call on the WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
