Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
6-18,3-8MAC
Buffalo
12-12,6-5MAC
Acuff Scores Career-High 35 in Loss at Buffalo
2/7/2023 9:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bates chips in 27 and Farrakhan 19 in offensive shootout
BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) -- Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.-Cass Tech-Duquesne) collected a career-high 35 points and Emoni Bates (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ypsi Prep-Memphis) added 27, but the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to the University at Buffalo, 102-97, on the road Tuesday, Feb. 7, inside Alumni Arena.
The Eagles (6-18, 3-8 Mid-American Conference) had three players score in double figures with Acuff and Bates being joined by Noah Farrakhan (Hillside, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina), who helped out with 19 points.
Eastern Michigan took advantage of fantastic ball movement in Tuesday's game, piling up a season-high-tying 17 assists on 36 made field goals. Individually, Legend Geeter (River Rouge, Mich.-River Rouge-Providence) lent a helping hand the most for the Eagles with four assists and Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale-Siena College) also added four assists of his own, a career-high.
How It Happened
After falling behind, 19-17, Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run with 9:51 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Acuff, to take a 23-19 lead. The Eagles then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 48-44 advantage. Eastern Michigan relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 48 points. However, Buffalo then erased the Eastern Michigan lead in the game's final quarter for a 102-97 comeback victory.
Game Notes
» Tyson Acuff scored a career-high 35 points, going 12-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three, while adding 5-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Acuff, who added five rebounds, joined the 30-point club, marking the second player to reach the marker this year behind Emoni Bates, who has scored 30+ on four occasions. Acuff's previous career high was 29 points that he scored at home against Ohio, Jan. 31.
» Tyson Acuff ended the first half with 14 points, giving him 10+ points in the opening stanza for the third game in a row. Acuff, who ended the game with a career-high 35 points, opened his three-game streak with 10 points before halftime at home against Ohio, Jan. 31, and then tallied 11 in the first half at Ball State, Feb. 3.
» Tyson Acuff reached the 20-point marker for the third time this year and 30+ for the first time after coming to Eastern with a previous career-high 16 points while playing for Duquesne during the 2021-22 season. He hit for 20+ the first time with 25 points against Winthrop, Nov. 23, at the Cancun Challenge before upping his career-best to 29 points at home against Ohio, Jan. 31.
» Both Tyson Acuff and Emoni Bates scored 20+ points in the game, marking the second time two Eagles have scored 20-or-more in the same game this year. Acuff finished with a career-high 30 points, while Bates scored 25. The previous instance came Nov. 30, at Florida International where Bates finished 26 points and Noah Farrakhan with 25.
» Emoni Bates has now scored 488 points this year, which ranks as the sixth-highest total in a sophomore campaign in program history. With his 27 points, he moved past three players, including Earl Boykins (1995-96), who is now seventh with 479 points, James Thompson IV (2016-17), who is now eighth with 474 points, and Brandon Bowdry (2008-09), who is now ninth with 472 points.
» Noah Farrakhan finished the night with 19 points points to bring his career total to 748, which moved him up to No. 59 on the program's all-time scoring ledger and moving him past both Bill Weaver (1974-78) and Rob Marlatt (1964-66) on the list. Farrakhan added three rebounds and three assists in the game.
» With three assists tonight, Noah Farrakhan kept his consecutive games streak intact, a streak he started late last year. Through 24 games played this year, Farrakhan has tallied at least one helper in all 24 contests and has dropped at least one dime in 36 consecutive games dating back to last season. In fact, in his two seasons with the Eagles, Farrakhan has recorded at least one assist in 46-of-49 (93.9) games played for Eastern and, when including his one season with East Carolina (2020-21), he has done so in 53-of-61 (86.9) career games. Additionally, Farrakhan's streak is he fifth-longest at EMU since the 1998-99 season.
» Colin Golson Jr., recorded a career-high four assists in the game, doubling his previous best. His previous career-high was two assists, which he recorded three times in his career, the most recent coming at Illinois State, Dec. 7. Golson Jr., finished the game with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and added five rebounds and one block.
» The Eagles finished the game with a season-high-tying 17 assists. The previous instance came at Oakland, Nov. 19. Eastern also recorded a season-high assist total in a conference game, surpassing the 16 helpers against Ohio, Jan. 31.
» Tyson Acuff hit from distance with 16:42 remaining in the opening half to keep the Eagles' streak going as Eastern has now hit at least one triple in 575 games. Eastern, who finished 8-of-22 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.
» With their 48 points in the first half, the Eagles have tallied at least 40 points in the opening stanza for the fourth game in a row and the sixth time this year. The 48 points also are the most in the opening stanza for the Eagles this year, surpassing the 47 scored at home against Ohio, Jan. 31, and at home against Detroit Mercy, Dec. 18. Eastern is 3-3 in those games.
Historical Notes
» With the loss, the Eagles fell to 14-21 against the Bulls in their all-time series with Buffalo having won four in a row in the series. The last time Eastern was victorious was Feb. 4, 2020, a 66-62 home win in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern also fell to 4-13 when playing in Buffalo with the Bulls winning their 11th in a row in the series when playing host to Eastern. The last time the Eagles had won in Buffalo was Feb. 4, 2004 a 77-66 decision for EMU.
» The 199 points scored between the two teams is the second-most in the series behind the 205 points scored in EMU's 109-96 victory, Feb. 3, 1999, in Buffalo
Up Next
After playing four of its last five games on the road, Eastern returns home Saturday, Feb. 11, when the Eagles play host to the University of Toledo inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Eagles and Rockets will meet in the second half of a women's-men's doubleheader with the EMU women playing host to Western Michigan University at 5 p.m. and the men's game slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The EMU-UT game will be streamed live on ESPN3 with Ryan Wooley (pxp) and Justin Rose (analyst) on the call. Tom Helmer, the Voice of the Eagles, will have the call on the WEMU (89.1 FM) and the Varsity Network app.
