The Eastern Michigan Eagles hosted the the Buffalo Bills in a conference matchup late Friday night at the Convocation Center. The final score of the game was 58-74 with the Eagle’s losing by double digits. Their record fell to 6-8, and became Eastern’s third loss at home.
The game started slow for both teams. Neither capitalized until redshirt senior Elijah Minnie opened up the scoring with a 3-pointer to the right of the basket. As a whole, team struggled from deep throughout the game. The Eagles attempted 26 3-pointers and only seven of those attempts were made. Overall, the Eagles shot 33 percent from the floor.
EMU had the advantage in rebounds with the help of redshirt junior Boubacar Toure and senior James Thompson IV. The Eagles pulled down 42 rebounds, 20 of those in the offensive end. EMU was able to capitalize on the offensive rebounds by scoring 18 second-chance points. Buffalo remained close in rebounding and second chance points, putting down down 39 rebounds with 16 second-chance points.
Elijah Minnie had a game-high of 21 points and he grabbed 7 rebounds. Redshirt senior Paul Jackson was next on the scoring list for the Eagles. He put up 13 points with 3 rebounds and 4 assists. James Thompson IV had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure finished with 10 rebounds.
Head coach Rob Murphy was impressed with the second-chance opportunities from his big men, speaking to the press after the game.
“They did a good job creating second-chance opportunities for us,” said Rob Murphy. Toure and Thompson IV crashed the glass with a combined 22 rebounds.
The Eagles will be on the road for another conference matchup against Ball State University on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.
