The Eastern Michigan University Men’s Basketball team fell at home to the Detroit Mercy Titans by a score of 98-89 after taking the Titans to overtime.
Eastern Michigan scored 89 points despite the loss, which is the most the Eagles have scored this season. Two different halves highlighted the game: a defensive-minded first half and an offensive-minded second half.
Detroit Mercy won the first half 33-25 but lost the second half 52-44, with the score 77-77 heading into overtime. In overtime, Detroit Mercy defeated the Eagles 21-12 to improve to 4-5 on the season.
The Titans controlled much of the first half, never relinquishing their lead after scoring a three-pointer on their opening possession. They extended their advantage to as many as 10 points, with Eastern Michigan struggling to find an offensive rhythm. The Eagles cut the deficit to four late in the half, but the Titans regained momentum to take an eight-point lead into halftime.
The second half marked a significant turnaround for Eastern Michigan as they began to chip away at Detroit Mercy's lead. Head Coach Stan Heath credited better ball movement and offensive execution for the shift: "Well, we moved the ball a lot better in the second half. We got better looks. We attacked... So offensively, I thought we did a lot of positive second half. The defense just never, just never got our strangle."
The Eagles rallied despite trailing by as many as 13 points with just under 12 minutes to play. Over the next several minutes, Eastern Michigan outscored Detroit Mercy 35-22, eventually tying the game at 67 with under five minutes remaining. The Eagles took their first lead of the night when Jaylin Billingsley sank a three-pointer, making it 72-71 with just over three minutes left.
The Eagles found key contributions from Christian Henry and Da’Sean Nelson during their comeback. Henry led the team with 28 points, nine field goals, four rebounds, and five assists, while Nelson added 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Coach Heath acknowledged their impact: "Christian Henry and Da’Sean had a few shots here that helped us as well, too, but those were probably the main guys that carried [us], obviously, with 24 and 20 points."
Eastern Michigan had another brief lead late in regulation when Henry hit a three-pointer to make it 77-75, but Detroit Mercy answered with a layup to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Titans opened with a decisive 10-0 run, putting the Eagles on their heels. Eastern Michigan managed to cut the deficit to five points at 89-84 but couldn’t recover. Detroit Mercy closed the game on a 9-5 run to secure the victory.
The Eagles' loss was their first overtime game of the season and their first since March 2023, when they lost to Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant.
Other notable performances included Arne Osojnik, who scored 13 points and added five rebounds. Detroit Mercy also saw strong contributions from two former Eastern Michigan players, Legend Geeter and Orlando Lovejoy, who combined for 32 points.
With the loss, Eastern Michigan dropped to 5-3 on the season. The Eagles have four non-conference games, including two home matchups against Purdue Fort-Wayne and Wright State and two road games at Davidson and Loyola Chicago.
Eastern Michigan will play Loyola Chicago in the Windy City on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
