Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
8-21,5-11MAC
Ball State
20-9,11-5MAC
Eastern Grabs 75-68 Win over Ball State on Senior Day
2/25/2023 6:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bates scored 24 while Acuff add 20 as the Eagles win for the second game in a row
Photo Gallery | Video Highlights
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team went into halftime trailing Ball State University, 37-27, but rallied from the deficit to beat the Cardinals, 75-68, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Saturday, Feb. 25, to help send graduate senior Derek Ballard Jr. (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield Lathrup) out with a victory on his Senior Day.
The Eagles (8-21, 5-11 MAC) had three players score in double figures, led by Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis), who posted a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Technical-Duquesne) added 20 points and two steals while Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale-Siena) helped out with 12 points off the bench.
Eastern out-rebounded BSU, 41-34, in Saturday's game, led by Bates' 11 boards. The Eagles also collected 11 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second chance points. The Green and White's defense held Ball State to only 37.7 percent shooting from the field, including 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. EMU also limited the Cardinals' Jarron Coleman to 3-of-12 shooting and nine points in the game.
How It Happened
The Eagles struggled out of the gate, falling behind, 37-27, heading into halftime. Eastern Michigan narrowed its deficit to 43-34 before going on an 8-0 run to shrink BSU's lead to 43-42 with 14:45 to go in the contest. EMU kept the rally going and took the lead for good on a Golson free throw with 04:31 left for a 75-68 comeback victory.
Game Notes
» Emoni Bates recorded his fourth double-double of the year – and his second in his last three games – as he tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds in the Eagles' win over Ball State. Over the last three games, Bates scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds at Kent State, Feb. 17, before scoring 17 and adding seven rebounds in the win over Western Michigan, Feb. 21.
» With his 24 points, Emoni Bates recorded his 12th game with 20+ points this season and his first since scoring 27 at Buffalo, Feb. 7. Bates' 12 games move him into a tie with John Bowler (2005-06) for the fifth-most 20-point games in season at Eastern (since 1998-99) and leaves him one shy of tying both Elijah Minnie (2017-18) and Raven Lee (2016-17) for third with 13. Brandon Bowdry (2010-11) and Ricky Cottrill (2001-02) lead the way with 14 games.
» Emoni Bates continues to climb several scoring ledgers at Eastern and now has 561 points, which ranks fifth on the program's sophomore scoring list, leaving him 21 points shy of Ricky Cottrill (2001-02), who is fourth with 582. Bates' point total also ranks him 97th on the program's all-time career scoring list.
» Emoni Bates drained five three pointers in the game to mark the 12th time he has hit three or more in a single contest and the first since he splashed home three at Buffalo, Feb. 7. Overall, Bates has scored 74 triples this season, which ties him for the 10th-most in a single season in program history with Brian Tolbert (1995-96). Carlos Medlock (2009-10) and Ellery Morgan (1992-93) are next on the list in eighth with 75.
» Emoni Bates and Tyson Acuff both finished the game with more than 20 points each as the duo tallied 24 and 20, respectively. Together, it marked the second time this year the two have both scored 20+ in the same game with the first instance coming at Buffalo, Feb. 7. That night, Acuff scored a then-career-high 35 points while Bates tallied 27.
» Tyson Acuff was strong on the offensive side of the ball, scoring 20 points to mark the 20th time this season he has scored 10 points or more in a game and the first game he has been over 10 since Feb. 11, against Toledo. Moreover, it is the fifth time he has been over 20 points this year after entering the season with a career-high of 16 points.
» Noah Farrakhan scored eight points on the night to continue his climb up the all-time scoring ledger as he now has 792 points to his credit at Eastern Michigan. That total ranks 55th all-time at EMU and moves him just past Gary Clark (1960-64), who tallied 791 points during his tenure. Farrakhan is now eighth points from reaching 800 at Eastern.
» For the second game in a row, Colin Golson Jr. finished with double-figure scoring as he tallied a season-high-tying 12 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. After scoring 10 points against Western Michigan, Feb. 21, Golson Jr., now has tallied double-figure points in back-to-back games since scoring 15 at Miami, March 4, 2022, last year and opening the year, Nov. 7, 2022, with 12 points against Wayne State. The last time he scored 10+ points in back-to-back games in the same season came at Akron, Jan. 22, 2022, and at Bowling Green, Jan. 25, 2022, when he scored 14 and 16, respectively.
» Emoni Bates was 5-of-11 from deep against Ball State, Feb. 25, with his first coming at 15:39 remaining in the opening stanza to keep the Eagles' streak going as Eastern has now hit at least one triple in 580 games. Eastern, who finished 6-of-16 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.
» As a team, Eastern Michigan outr-ebounded Ball State, 41-34, including 30 defensive rebounds, the second-most the Eagle have had in a game this season. The 41 total board are the most rebounds Eastern has had in a game this season and the most since Jan. 29, 2022, in a home win over Miami.
» The Eagles trailed Ball State by 10, marking the fifth time overall and second game in a row in which Eastern had trailed by double-digits before coming back to win. Eastern came back from 10 down to Western Michigan, Feb. 21, 11 at Miami, Jan. 28, 14 down to Central Michigan, Jan. 7 and at Florida International, Nov. 30.
Historical Notes
» With the victory, Eastern improved to 45-70 all-time against Ball State and 21-32 when hosting the game in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern defeated Ball State for the first time in seven tries and for the first time in the last three meeting on the Eagles' home court. Prior to the win today, the last time the Eagles were victorious over the Cardinals was March 5, 2019, in a 68-61 home win.
» In the earlier meeting this year, Feb. 3, in Muncie, Ind., the Cardinals escaped with a 91-90 overtime victory. In the history of the series, the two teams have played 12 overtime contests with the Eagles standing 8-3 in the following game.
Up Next
Eastern will play the first of its two final regular season road games Tuesday, Feb. 28, when the Eagles travel south to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on the Bowling Green State University Falcons inside Stroh Center at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Brad Woznicki (pxp) and Brent Klassen (color) on the call. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, and Greg Steiner will have the call on the WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
