Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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Detroit Mercy
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Eastern Edged by Detroit Mercy in Overtime
11/30/2024 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles came back from 13 down in second half
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team was edged by the University of Detroit Mercy in overtime, 98-89, Saturday, Nov. 30, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Eastern trailed by 13 with 11:35 to play before taking a two-point lead with 21 seconds left, but ultimately fell in overtime.
Christian Henry (Chicago, Ill./The Skill Factory/Panola College) had a career-high 28 points to lead the way while Da'Sean Nelson (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul) equaled his career high with 24 points.
How it Happened
Detroit Mercy scored the game's first five points before the Titans expanded their lead to 22-12, later settling for a 33-25 lead at halftime.
UDM's lead blossomed to 55-42 with 11:35 remaining, its largest lead of the contest.
A 15-5 EMU run drew the Eagles within three before Eastern eventually took its first lead of the game at the 3:03 mark on a Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/Georgetown) jumper.
After Detroit Mercy retook the lead, Henry knocked in a three-pointer with 21 seconds to put Eastern up two at 77-75.
UDM tied the game with six seconds to play and outscored EMU, 21-12, in the overtime period.
Game Notes
» Eastern moved to 5-3 overall while Detroit Mercy moved to 4-5 on the season.
» Eastern Michigan was 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the floor and 11-of-28 (39.3%) from three-point range while Detroit Mercy was 34-of-62 (54.8%) from the field and 9-of-14 (64.3%) from deep.
» With Henry's career-high 28 points, he also set career high marks in made field goals (9), made free throws (6), and made three-pointers (4).
» Nelson equaled his career high with 24 points, matching his output for DePaul against Villanova, Jan. 20, 2023.
» Nelson converted a career-high nine free throws, topping his previous mark of eight, set against Northern Arizona, Nov. 26.
» Nelson made his first three-pointer as an Eagle.
» Arne Osojnik's (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian) scored 13 points, making three three-pointers. Osojnik has 11 games with at least three triples in his career.
» Every Eastern starter recorded at least four rebounds for the second time this season with the other coming at IU Indianapolis, Nov. 14.
» The Titans out-rebounded the Eagles, 33-31. EMU moves to 1-2 when being out-rebounded this season.
» UDM's bench outscored EMU's, 40-9.
Historical Notes
» EMU moved 23-63 against UDM, winning five of the last seven games.
» With Henry (28) and Nelson (24) both scoring at least 20 points, Eastern had two players with 20-plus points for the first time since Feb. 10, 2024, when Tyson Acuff (29) and Osojnik (22) did so at Louisiana-Monroe.
» The Eagles' 89 points are their most since scoring 90 at Bowling Green, Jan. 2, 2024.
» Eastern Michigan moves to 42-48 all-time in overtime, including a 3-4 mark under Stan Heath. Eastern's last overtime game was a 71-69 win over Kent State, Jan. 6, 2024.
» EMU's 11 made three-pointers are its most since making 13 at Louisiana-Monroe, Feb. 10, 2024.
» Eastern, which hit 11 threes against Detroit Mercy, has now hit at least one triple in 621-straight games. EMU last failed to score from downtown Jan. 24, 2004, when Miami University held the Eagles to 0-of-7 from behind the arc. The Eagles have converted multiple three-pointers in 43-straight contests, not having done so most recently in a 1-for-15 performance against Akron, Feb.14, 2023.
Next Up
Eastern Michigan travels to Chicago, Ill. to face traditional mid-major power Loyola Chicago Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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