James Thompson led the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team to another victory Saturday afternoon against the Madonna University Crusaders.
The Eagles played great both offensively and defensive in the 79-63 victory. The Eagles did an impressive job of holding the Crusaders to just 39 percent shooting. The Eagles also did a good job of preventing senseless fouls as the Crusaders only reached the foul line five times.
The first half belonged strictly to the Eagles as they scored 10 points off of second chances and 22 points in the paint. James Thompson had another great outing as he had 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first half. They would also get it done on the defensive end as they would force the Crusaders to commit 14 turnovers in the first half. The Crusaders would shoot only 25 percent in the first half.
“I thought we did a really good job [in the first half] of dominating those guys with our size,” noted EMU coach Rob Murphy. “I thought our defense was swarming the first eight or nine minutes.”
Throughout the second half, the Eagles would expose the Crusader defense by getting to the foul line 18 times. The Crusaders would also only shoot 25 percent again from the field. James Thompson would lead the Eagles with 23 points. He would also have 15 rebounds and a block.
“It felt real good," noted Thompson. “I came in earlier to get some shots up and work on different parts of my game. I just want to get every rebound that I can.”
Brandon Nazione would have another consistent performance with 11 points and seven rebounds. Willie Mangum would finish the game with 14 points and six rebounds despite shooting five-for-fourteen from the floor.
The Eagles were again without guard Ty Toney and guard Raven Lee, but both are expected to play when the EMU Eagles travel to face Nebraska-Omaha on Tuesday Dec. 1, 2015.
