With a seven-point halftime deficit, Eastern Michigan was unable to come back and defeat the Northern Illinois Huskies as the Eagles fell 81-69 on the road on Saturday.
Coming off a loss to Kent State, the Eagles (13-10, 5-5)| could not afford to lose a game to Northern Illinois (14-9, 6-4) who the team was tied with for second-place in the Mid-American Conference West Division. But a 21-point game from Aaric Armstead helped the Huskies defeat the Eagles.
Guards Tim Bond and Ray Lee combined were 2-12 from the floor as EMU failed to keep up with the Huskies. The Eagles also only hit 60 percent of the free throws the team took compared to 83 percent by NIU. The Eagles and Huskies actually hit he same amount of points from the floor, but the Huskies made 12 more free throws.
Both James Thompson and Willie Mangum hit 38 percent of their 26 combined shot attempts. Baylee Steele led the team with his nine rebounds in the 81-69 loss.
The Eagles will stay on the road for the next matchup as they travel to Toledo to face the Rockets on Feb. 7. Tip-off is set for 7 pm.
