The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team (4-11, 1-1 MAC) hosted Central Michigan University (6-9, 1-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 7, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center to pickup a 62-56 comeback win after a slow start. The win marks the Eagles' first conference win of the season, as they improve to 1-1 in conference play so far.
Sophomore Emoni Bates finished the game with a double-double as he scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as he was the firepower for the Eagles' comeback. Sophomore Noah Farrakhan added eight points as sophomore Tyson Acuff finished with seven points and three steals.
Freshman Javantae Randle made his first collegiate start in the matchup after coming off the bench for the Eagles. Randle finished with four points and added four rebounds and one block.
The Eagles came out the gate promising as Bates finished an and-one layup with the free throw after to go up, 3-0, but quickly started to struggle as CMU went on a 12-0 run to take the lead, 12-3 with 14:51 left. CMU continued their lead as Brian Taylor threw down a dunk to give them a 20-12 advantage with 5:23 left in the first half.
CMU would go into halftime with a 30-18 lead over the Eagles.
The Chippewas would come into the second half, not skipping a beat as they extended to a 32-18 advantage before the Eagles went on an 8-0 run highlighted by Freshman Legend Geeter’s layup to cut the deficit to 32-26 with 16:47 left to play.
After both teams would go back-and-forth trading baskets, the Eagles would come within three points after Bates finished a layup to make it 48-45. Shortlfy after, Bates would come down hit a three-pointer to tie the game, 50-50, with 5:45 left to play. EMU took the lead for good on a Bates free throw with 2:06 left to hold onto a 62-56 comeback victory.
EMU's defense was a huge factor in the game as the Eagles forced the Chippewas to turn the ball over 23 times, 15 of those being steals, which marks the most of the year for EMU. The Eagles would also hold CMU to just 37% shooting from the field and 27% from three-point range.
Next up, the Eagles will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when they travel to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to face MAC rival Western Michigan University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside McGuirk Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN+ and WEMU (89.1 FM).
To hear more information and stay up-to-date on the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team, you can tune in weekly to "TheBlockE" Podcast.
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