Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Stuns MAC-Leading Akron on Last-Second Dunk
3/5/2024 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jalin Billingsley slammed home putback dunk with 1.9 seconds to go in 61-60 win
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team stunned the Mid-American Conference-leading University of Akron on a putback dunk by junior Jalin Billingsley with 1.9 seconds left to play, Tuesday, March 5, inside James A. Rhodes Arena in the Eagles' 61-60 win.
Billingsley's (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/Georgetown) slam helped the Eagles snap Akron's 16-game home winning streak.
How It Happened
After a slow-paced, defensive first-half, the Eagles settled for a 27-25 deficit at halftime.
EMU came out of the break hot, building its largest lead of the contest at 41-33 with 15:34 left to play as freshman Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian) drilled a triple.
The Zips battled back, using an 11-0 run to lead 51-47 with 8:59 remaining. Eastern retook the lead at 57-56 after Osojnik put in a pair of free throws at the 3:52 mark.
With EMU trailing by one with 8.4 seconds left coming out of a timeout, Osojnik launched a three-pointer from the wing that clanked off the iron before Billingsley soared in and threw down a putback, left-handed jam with 1.9 seconds left.
A last-ditch effort by Akron resulted in a turnover and Eagles win.
Game Notes
» Eastern moved to 13-17 overall and 6-11 in MAC play while Akron moved to 21-9 overall and 13-4 in the MAC.
» Eastern Michigan was 26-of-60 (43.3%) from the floor and 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point range while Akron was 22-of-46 (47.8%) from the field and 4-of-20 (20.0%) from deep.
» Akron's previous season low for three-pointers made was five - coming against Drake University, Utah State University, University at Buffalo, and James Madison University. Additionally, UA's season low for three-point percentage was .172 (5-for-29) at JMU.
» Billingsley scored 14 points and hauled in eight rebounds. He has scored 13-plus points in four-straight games.
» Redshirt sophomore Legend Geeter (River Rouge, Mich./River Rouge/Providence) tallied nine points, knocking in his third three-pointer of the season.
» Redshirt junior Connor Serven (Prairie City, Ill./St. Rita/Illinois) netted 11 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. Serven has three games with double-digit points this season.
» Osojnik recorded a career-high three steals. He has seven games with two steals this season.
» Osojnik played a career-high 40 minutes, playing the entirety of the game for the first time in his career.
» Redshirt junior Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington/Oakland) tallied a career-high eight rebounds, topping his previous mark of seven set against Bowling Green State University, Jan. 3, 2023. Jihad's five offensive rebounds were also a career high.
» Redshirt junior Micah Schnyders (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville Christian/Eastern Illinois/Wheaton) dished out a season-high two assists.
» Eastern outrebounded Akron, 34-29, moving to 11-4 when outrebounding its opponent. Conversely, Akron is now 5-6 when losing the battle on the glass.
» EMU, which tallied 15 offensive rebounds, has recorded double-digit offensive boards in eight of the last nine games.
» Tuesday's contest marked just the second time Akron had lost when leading at the halftime intermission.
» EMU improved to 12-2 when holding its opponent to 71 points or less.
» Eastern, which hit four threes against Akron, has now hit at least one triple in 612-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 34-straight contests, not having done so most recently in a 1-for-15 performance against Akron, Feb.14, 2023.
Historical Notes
» Tuesday's meeting was the 61st all-time between Eastern Michigan and Akron. EMU trails in the series, 37-24.
» The Eagles snapped Akron's 16-game home-court winning streak inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips' streak was tied for the seventh-longest mark among teams in the NCAA Division I ranks.
» EMU's last victory in Akron occurred Feb. 1, 2010, a streak of 10 consecutive losses at Akron before tonight's win.
Next Up
Eastern Michigan is scheduled to travel to Central Michigan, March 8, for a 7 p.m. meeting. The game is EMU's final of the 2023-24 season.
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