Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
7-6,1-0MAC
Northern Illinois
4-9,0-1MAC
Nelson’s Career-High 32 Points Leads Eastern to MAC-Opening Win vs. NIU, 75-71
1/4/2025 5:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern trailed at the half, led the final 12:30 to win
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Led by a career-high 32 points and nine rebounds from Da'Sean Nelson, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team opened Mid-American Conference play by defeating Northern Illinois, 75-71, Saturday, Jan. 4, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Nelson (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul) scored 16 in each half as Eastern led the final 12:30 to secure the victory.
How it Happened
After Eastern held an early 11-9 lead, Northern Illinois rallied to take its largest lead at 31-24 with 5:48 in the first half.
The Eagles scored the next seven points, but trailed, 37-33, at halftime.
A quick 8-3 spurt to start the second half put EMU up before NIU held its final lead of the game at 49-48 with 12:31 to play.
Eastern held its largest lead of the game with a 61-53 advantage with 8:28 to go but the Huskies did not go away, coming within one point on four different occasions in the closing minutes.
With a two-point lead, EMU turned the ball over with 18 seconds left, but NIU missed a lay-up and turned it over once before the final buzzer sounded.
Game Notes
» Eastern moved to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in the MAC while Northern Illinois moved to 4-9 and 0-1 in conference action.
» Eastern Michigan was 27-of-60 (45.0%) from the floor and 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three-point range while Northern Illinois was 21-of-53 (39.6%) from the field and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from deep.
» Nelson's 32 points are the most by an Eagle since Tyson Acuff scored 34 points against Bowling Green, Feb. 17, 2024. His 32 points are the most by an Eagle in a conference opener since Ray Lee also netted 32, Jan. 6, 2016, against Central Michigan.
» Nelson's 12 made field goals are a career high.
» Nelson has nine-straight games with at least 10 points for the first time in his career.
» Dillon Tingler (Hurricane, W. Va./Huntington Expression Prep) scored five points, including a clutch three-pointer with 1:22 to play. Tingler posted a career-high three steals and an impressive +17 plus-minus rating in 18:08 of court time.
» Christian Henry (Chicago, Ill./The Skill Factory/Panola College) posted a career-high nine assists, topping his previous mark of six, set against Detroit Mercy, Nov. 30. The nine assists are the most by an Eagle since Paul Jackson had 10 against Western Michigan, Jan. 26, 2019. Henry's nine assists are the most in a MAC opener by an Eagle since at least 2008-09.
» Henry added 13 points, his ninth career game scoring at least 10 points.
» Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio Lutheran East Georgetown) tallied 15 points, his seventh 10-point game of the season and 24th career game scoring double-digit points.
» Eastern out-rebounded NIU, 39-30, moving to 5-1 when out-rebounding its foe.
» The Eagles are 6-0 in games decided by four points or less.
Historical Notes
» EMU moved to 47-59 against NIU, snapping a three-game losing streak against the Huskies. Eastern is 40-26 against Northern Illinois in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern is 20-31 in MAC openers, which includes a 10-14 mark at home. The Eagles won their MAC opener for the first time since Jan. 4, 2022, an 85-79 win at Western Michigan.
» EMU tallied 14 assists, marking its 12th-straight game with at least 10 assists, the Eagles' longest streak since a 13-game streak in 2017-18.
» Eastern, which hit five threes against Northern Illinois, has now hit at least one triple in 626-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 48-straight contests, not having done so most recently in a 1-for-15 performance against Akron, Feb.14, 2023. EMU has 14 consecutive games is the Eagles' longest since a 15-game streak extending from the 2020-21 to the 2021-22 season.
Next Up
Eastern Michigan travels to Toledo for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday, Jan. 7.
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