The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team snapped its five game losing streak on Tuesday with a decisive 94- 69 victory over Miami University.
But the game can only be described with two words: Raven Lee.
Lee broke his previous career high of 38 points with the second greatest shooting display ever seen at Eastern Michigan. In addition to being only two points shy of breaking the school record for most points in a game, Lee knocked down nine three-pointers and went 15-16 from the free throw line to give the Eagles its 94-69 victory.
“It feels good to go out there and shoot the ball like that," Lee said. “I just wanted more so to focus on a complete game [and] blocking out all negativity and just playing my game.”
Willie Mangum made the first basket of the contest and EMU immediately took control from there. Miami then collected eight fouls in a matter of seven minutes, including a technical, to put EMU in the bonus and give it a 13-4 lead with thirteen minutes left in the half.
The Eagles then got hot from beyond the arc, making nine three-pointers to put it up by 21 going into halftime. Raven Lee tallied six three-pointers and scored 27 total points in the first half.
“I thought Ray Lee did an unbelievable job coming in and being focused on defense to start," noted Eastern Michigan coach Rob Murphy. “He hit some unbelievable shots and attacked the rim.”
The Eagles kept the shooting streak going with a three by Mangum to start the second half. Lee continued his shooting streak, making another three triples and extending the lead to 28 with fewer than eight minutes left in the game.
Lee went to the bench with less than four minutes left in the game, leaving the floor with a standing ovation. The Eagles held off the Red Hawks to cruise to a 25-point victory.
“It was definitely a must win,” Murphy said. “Anytime you dig yourself a huge hole, as we’ve done here, you have to start somewhere to climb your way out. I thought tonight was a pretty good step in the right direction in this climb.”
