Eastern Falls at Western After Late Bronco Run

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell at Western Michigan University, 79-62, Saturday, Jan. 10, inside University Arena, despite holding a six-point halftime lead.

The game was tied at 56-56 as Eastern led for more than 16 minutes before a 15-0 Western run put the game out of reach.

Addison Patterson (Mississauga, Ontario/Bella Vista College Prep/ Northwestern State) led Eastern with 17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks, while Mohammad Habhab (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn/Central Michigan) produced 20 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

How It Happened
Eastern started slowly, surrendering an early 4-0 lead that expanded into Western's largest lead of the contest at 20-12 with 12:34 to go in the first half.

EMU scored the game's next 12 points to take a 24-20 advantage as the Eagles made 10-straight shots from the field from the 14:38 mark through the 5:23 mark, but settled for a 36-30 halftime lead, despite the strong shooting.

Western scored the second half's first five points in 57 seconds, but Eastern responded by pushing the lead back to six at 43-37.

The Broncos netted seven three-pointers in the second half as the hosts rallied to take a 55-49 lead before a 7-1 Eastern run leveled the score.

After the game was tied at 56-56 with 8:15 to go, WMU netted the following 15 points, putting the contest out of reach as the Broncos won, 79-62.

Game Notes
» Eastern moves to 8-9 overall and 2-3 in the MAC, while Western Michigan improves to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
» Eastern was 25-of-56 (44.6%) from the field and 6-of-26 (23.1%) from the three-point line, while Western Michigan was 26-of-51 (51.0%) from the floor and 7-of-16 (43.8%) from three-point range.
» Eastern had out-shot its opponent from three-point range in 10-straight games before Saturday's contest, which served as its longest such streak since at least the 2008-09 season.
» Mohammad Habhab scored 20 points, his fourth game with at least 20 points and a team-high 13th game with at least 10 points. His nine rebounds put him one board short of his sixth double-double.
» Mohammad Habhab's three assists mark his ninth game with at least three dimes.
» Addison Patterson scored 17 points, his fifth-straight game with at least 12 points. Patterson has 12 games with at least 10 points this season, with eight of those coming in the last nine games.
» Addison Patterson recorded eight assists, matching his career high he set against Louisiana Monroe, Nov. 22, 2024, while playing for Northwestern State. He has eight games with at least a trio of assists this season.
» John Shanu II (Houston, Texas/Sam Houston/UTRGV) registered his first start of the season.

Historical Notes
» Western Michigan leads the all-time series, 67-56.
» Eastern is 8-6 in the last 14 meetings and has dropped four in a row in Kalamazoo.

Up Next
» Eastern hosts Northern Illinois University for a Tuesday game, Jan. 13, at 6:30 p.m. The game is on ESPN+ and will be held in Ypsilanti, Mich., inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

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Team Stats

Mohammad Habhab

Addison Patterson

Braelon Green

Carlos Hart

Players Mentioned

Mohammad Habhab

Addison Patterson

John Shanu II

Players Mentioned

Mohammad Habhab

Addison Patterson

John Shanu II

Eastern Michigan Athletics