The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team traveled north to take on Central Michigan, where they fell by a score of 82-63.
The loss puts Eastern Michigan two games below .500. The team now has a 7-9 record on the season and a 1-3 record in MAC play. It is their third consecutive loss and their third straight loss to Central Michigan, a streak that dates back to January 2023.
Despite the loss, the game started with Eastern Michigan getting the lead early. The Eagles led by five in the first two and a half minutes, 7-2, and held the lead over eight minutes into the game. That was where things started to flip, and the Chippewas got the lead. The closest Eastern Michigan cut it for the rest of the game was down to one when they trailed 34-33 with just over one minute to go in the first half.
On offense, the Eagles had a joyous sight from three different players scoring over 10 points, including De’Sean Nelson (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul), Christian Henry (Chicago, Illinois/The Skill Factory/Panola College) and Jalen Terry (Flint, Michigan Beecher/Oregon/DePaul) who had 15, 14, and 13 points for Eastern Michigan. The trio combined for 42 of the Green and White’s 68 points.
Furthermore, every player that scored for the Eagles accrued at least five points, which included four other players: Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio/Lutheran East/Georgetown), Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian), Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington/Oakland), and Godslove Nwabude (Anambra State, Nigeria/Mt. Zion Prep), with Billingsley scoring six and the latter three having five.
Eastern Michigan struggled as a team regarding their performances on the field. They were 6-for-24 as a team for a 25% mark, starting with beyond the arc. Henry and Terry each made two three-pointers for the team and were the only players to make multiple threes.
The other area that Eastern struggled in regarding offense was free-throw shooting. The Eagles were 13 for 21 as a team, although Nelson was on the spot in this category. Going 9 for 10, the rest of the team was 4 for 11 at the charity strike. The average percentage would still not be enough, but it is an area throughout the game where the Eagles struggled, and that is worth noting.
Other statistical performances that Eastern Michigan players notched throughout the game include Nwabude’s nine rebounds and two blocks and Nelson’s two blocks.
As a team, the Eagles won the battle regarding offensive rebounding, outrebounding the Chippewas 13-12.
Up Next, Now sitting at 1-3 in the conference, Eastern Michigan is in a tie for seventh place in the Mid-American Conference. They have a win over Northern Illinois, and the Eagles end their last stop of this two-game road trip at Bowling Green, who is also 7-9 overall but 2-2 in the conference. The Eagles have a tough road ahead as Ohio follows after the Bowling Green game.
The contest against Bowling Green will tip off at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 18. It will be streamed on ESPN+ and listened to on WEMU 89.1 FM.
For more information on the Eastern Michigan men’s basketball program, you can visit the Echo’s website.
