The Eastern Michigan University Men's basketball team upset the University of Michigan 45-42 at the Crisler Center Tuesday night, boosting their record to 8-1.
This is the first time the Eagles have won the "Battle of Washtenaw County" since 1997. The victory marks EMU’s second big win against a Big Ten Conference team while having Rob Murphy as coach.
Eastern started slow in the first half, with Michigan going on a 10-0 run early. Eventually, Eastern worked its way back in the game, ending the first half trailing by two points, 21-19.
As the second half began, Eastern clawed its way into the lead, improving off of their first half mistakes. The Eagles found their groove with a 9-0 run in the second half.
Guard Mike Talley sank two free throws to push Eastern to its biggest lead of the night.
Michigan answered back, cutting into Eastern’s 9-0 run and tied the game 40 all. Eastern responded with two big buckets by senior forward Karrington Ward and redshirt sophomore swingman Jodan Price.
Price posted a career high 11 points and lead the game in scoring, shooting 44 percent from the floor by going 4-9 and 3-5 behind the arc.
“This is a good victory,” Price said. “The whole time we just wanted to play good defense. Our whole team did an excellent job with rebounding. We didn’t play our best game, but we made up for our mistakes and capitalized when we needed it.”
Mike Talley (G) scored 9 points in the game with 3 rebounds. Karrington Ward (F) scored 7 points, shooting 25 percent from the floor with 7 rebounds. Raven Lee (G) and Olalekan Ajayi (F) both contributed 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in the game.
Overall as a team, Eastern’s 36 rebounds outweighed Michigan’s 27, which lead to tremendous plays on both defensive and offensive ends. The Eagles outscored the Wolverines behind the three point arch; averaging 31.9 percent to Michigan’s 19 percent.
“I think we did a great job from start to finish and not allowing Michigan to get comfortable,” Murphy said. “We did a great job with closing out and we did a great job with keeping the ball out of the interior.
As their journey continues, the Eagles will face another road game playing against the nationally-ranked Michigan State Spartans.
“We have to follow the game plan,” stated EMU’s guard Mike Talley. “They [Michigan State] will be on the alert that we can beat high caliber teams and will be ready for them because we know what State is capable of.”
The game will be held Wednesday, Dec. 17 in East Lansing, Michigan. Tip off begins a 9 p.m.
