Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
6-21,3-11MAC
Kent State
22-5,12-2MAC
Eastern Michigan Falls, 81-54, at Kent State
2/17/2023 8:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bates tallies his third career double-double in the loss
KENT, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis) recorded his third career double-double with all 15 of his points coming in the second half as the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped an 81-54 decision on the road to Kent State University, Feb. 17.
Bates secured a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Eagles (6-21, 3-11 MAC) while Orlando Lovejoy (Detroit, Mich.-Summit Academy North) added seven points and Kevin-David Rice (Flint, Mich.-Grand Blanc-Delta College) chipped in as well with nine points off the bench.
Led by Lovejoy's two offensive rebounds, Eastern Michigan did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 12 second chance points. EMU also outrebounded the Golden Flashes, 35-32, in the game.
The Eastern Michigan defense caused its share of mistakes in Friday's game, forcing 15 Kent State turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 15 points on the offensive end of the floor. Derek Ballard Jr. (Southfield, Mich.-Lathrup) led the way individually for the Eagles with one steal.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 41-25 heading into halftime. Kent State kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 79-48 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 79-54 with 51 seconds to go in the contest. Kent State responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 81-54. Eastern Michigan got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for nine of its 29 total points.
Game Notes
» Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Emoni Bates finished the game with 15 points and added 11 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season and the fourth of the year by any member of the team. Bates' first career double-double came Nov. 27 at home against UC San Diego when he scored 17 points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds before picking up his second with a 26-point, 10-rebound game at home against Central Michigan, Jan. 7.
» Emoni Bates finished the game with 15 points, bringing his season total to 520, the fifth-highest total for a sophomore in program history. With his scoring tonight, Bates moved past Brian Tolbert, who scored 509 points during the 1993-94 season. Next on the list is Ricky Cottrill, who scored 582 points during the 2001-02 season.
» Kevin-David Rice finished the game with nine points, including a team-best 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Along with his six free throws made standing as a career-high, surpassing the five he hit at Illinois State, Dec. 7, Rice's nine total points ranks as the most he has scored on the road this year and his third-highest total of the year behind a pair of 11-point games, including home tilts with Florida Atlantic, Dec. 4, and Ohio, Jan. 28.
» Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina) scored six points on the night, bringing his EMU career total to 771 points. That total ranks No. 57 on the program's all-time scoring ledger, three points behind Walt Jones, who scored 774 points from 1972-76.
» Noah Farrakhan was held without an assist in the game, ending his consecutive games streak he started late last year. Prior to tonight, Farrakhan had recorded at least one helper in 27 games played and had dropped at least one dime in 39 consecutive games dating back to last season. For his career, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 49-of-53 games played for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 56-of-65 career games. Additionally, Farrakhan's streak stands as the fifth-longest at EMU since the 1998-99 season.
» Kevin-David Rice connected on a three-point shot with 8:26 remaining in the opening stanza to keep the Eagles' streak going as Eastern has now hit at least one triple in 578 games. Eastern, who finished 2-of-20 in three-point attempts in the game, last failed to score from downtown Jan. 24, 2004, when Miami held the Eagles to 0-of-7 from behind the arc.
» Eastern won the rebound battle for just the eighth time this season, 35-32. Despite the better tally, the Eagles are 1-7 in those games this year.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 35-49 in their all-time series with Kent State and have dropped six in a row in the series overall. Eastern was last victorious in the series, Jan. 9, 2021, with its 71-59 win in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern fell to 9-33 when the series is hosted by KSU with the Eagles' losing streak now at 10 games when play at KSU. The previous win for the Eagles in Kent, Ohio, came Feb. 1, 2010, with a 62-59 decision.
Up Next
Eastern returns to action, Feb. 21, for the first of its two final home games of the 2022-23 season with rival Western Michigan coming to town for a 7 p.m. tip inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Greg Steiner (pxp) and Justin Rose (color) 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.
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