Saturday, January 7
Ypsilanti, Mich.
2 p.m.
Central Michigan University
6-9,1-1MAC
56
at
62
Eastern Michigan
4-11,1-1MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
30
26
56
Eastern Mich.
18
44
62
Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw
Eastern Michigan Comes Back to Defeat Men's Basketball, 62-56
1/7/2023 5:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles overcome 12-point halftime deficit and outscore Chippewas 8-2 over game’s final 2:22 to register win; Markus Harding scores 15 points for Central Michigan, Brian Taylor adds 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Reggie Bass tallies 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.
YPSILANTI, Mich.—Emoni Bates scored a game-high 26 points as Eastern Michigan took advantage of 23 turnovers and overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Central Michigan 62-56 in men's basketball Saturday afternoon at the George Gervin Game/Above Center.
It was a game of lost opportunities for Central Michigan, which held a commanding 12-point halftime lead (30-18), outrebounded Eastern Michigan by 14 boards (45-31), and limited the host Eagles to 37 percent (20-54) shooting and 13.6 percent (3-22) 3-point shooting.
With the score tied at 54-54, Eastern Michigan used two CMU turnovers to outscore the Chippewas 8-2 over the final 2:22. Bates converted 1-2 free throws, then following two missed free throws by CMU, Bates grabbed an offensive rebound, and finished off a layup for a 57-54 lead with 1:20 to play. After a CMU turnover, Legend Geeter was fouled and made two free throws for a 59-54 advantage with 43 seconds. Another CMU turnover off several long passes led to two more free throws by EMU's Tyson Acuff and a seven-point lead (61-54) with 26 seconds to go.
Central Michigan (6-9, 1-1 MAC) was playing without two of its top scorer—All-MAC sophomore point guard Kevin Miller and junior Jesse Zarzuela (14.7 points per game). Miller missed his ninth consecutive game.
"We didn't find a way to win today; we had a lot of adversity and we played this game offensively challenged without Jesse Zarzuela," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "Our guys had an opportunity to step up and we didn't get it done. We did some good things defensively and we played well-enough on defense to win this game today, but we didn't shoot it well enough in the first half. We never really got in a rhythm offensively and we had lot of opportunities to score in the first half and we didn't capitalize. I told our guys at halftime that we gave them hope because we couldn't score. We missed so many layups and easy shots today."
"We just didn't have it today. When we have guys missing, other players have to find a way to step up. Overall, we did some great things on defense that we can build on."
Sophomore forward Markus Harding led Central Michigan with 15 points, senior forward Brian Taylor registered his first double-double of the year and second of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Reggie Bass finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. With Zarzuela out, freshman Max Majerle played a career-high 38 minutes and scored six points on two 3-point field goals.
Central Michigan dominated the first half as the Chippewas built a 12-point (30-18) halftime lead despite shooting just 40.7 percent (11-27). In the first half, the Chippewas outrebounded EMU 28-12 and held the Eagles to 25.9 percent shooting (7-27). CMU's 28 rebounds in the first half ranked tied for the fifth-most single-half rebounds in George Gervin GameAbove Center facility history.
But the lead should have been larger and the Chippewas didn't capitalize enough on their offensive opportunities. That gave Eastern Michigan hope that it was still in the game.
After Eastern Michigan opened the game with a 3-pointer, Central Michigan took control with a 12-0 run. After Bass hit a 3-pointer, the Chippewas went to work in the low post as Ola Ajiboye scored on a dunk, Harding followed with a 3-pointer and then scored on second chance layup. Taylor added a jumper and the Chippewas led 12-3.
The Chippewas used a 6-0 run to go up 14 points (30-16) with one minute left in the first half. Junior Carrington McCaskill scored on a jumper, Harding converted two free throws and Taylor scored on a layup. But Eastern Michigan gained the momentum before the half with a jumper by Acuff.
Early in the second half, Eastern Michigan got back into the game and cut CMU's lead down to 32-26 with a key 8-0 run. Acuff hit a jumper, Bates followed with two free throws, Geeter scored on a second-chance basket after a CMU turnover, and then hit a layup with 16:47 to play.
From there, Central Michigan held EMU at bay until Bates hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:45 to play.
"We outrebounded them by 14 but we finished the game with 23 turnovers," Barbee said. "It's just so disappointing, but we've got to build off the positives: the defense, the rebounding. This is the first game this season that we've had more than 36 rebounds and lost. That was a goal of ours. If we get a minimum of 36 rebounds, we should win."
Eastern Michigan improved to 4-11 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
Central Michigan is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Dekalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois for its third conference game. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET.
It was a game of lost opportunities for Central Michigan, which held a commanding 12-point halftime lead (30-18), outrebounded Eastern Michigan by 14 boards (45-31), and limited the host Eagles to 37 percent (20-54) shooting and 13.6 percent (3-22) 3-point shooting.
With the score tied at 54-54, Eastern Michigan used two CMU turnovers to outscore the Chippewas 8-2 over the final 2:22. Bates converted 1-2 free throws, then following two missed free throws by CMU, Bates grabbed an offensive rebound, and finished off a layup for a 57-54 lead with 1:20 to play. After a CMU turnover, Legend Geeter was fouled and made two free throws for a 59-54 advantage with 43 seconds. Another CMU turnover off several long passes led to two more free throws by EMU's Tyson Acuff and a seven-point lead (61-54) with 26 seconds to go.
Central Michigan (6-9, 1-1 MAC) was playing without two of its top scorer—All-MAC sophomore point guard Kevin Miller and junior Jesse Zarzuela (14.7 points per game). Miller missed his ninth consecutive game.
"We didn't find a way to win today; we had a lot of adversity and we played this game offensively challenged without Jesse Zarzuela," Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee said. "Our guys had an opportunity to step up and we didn't get it done. We did some good things defensively and we played well-enough on defense to win this game today, but we didn't shoot it well enough in the first half. We never really got in a rhythm offensively and we had lot of opportunities to score in the first half and we didn't capitalize. I told our guys at halftime that we gave them hope because we couldn't score. We missed so many layups and easy shots today."
"We just didn't have it today. When we have guys missing, other players have to find a way to step up. Overall, we did some great things on defense that we can build on."
Sophomore forward Markus Harding led Central Michigan with 15 points, senior forward Brian Taylor registered his first double-double of the year and second of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds and freshman guard Reggie Bass finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. With Zarzuela out, freshman Max Majerle played a career-high 38 minutes and scored six points on two 3-point field goals.
Central Michigan dominated the first half as the Chippewas built a 12-point (30-18) halftime lead despite shooting just 40.7 percent (11-27). In the first half, the Chippewas outrebounded EMU 28-12 and held the Eagles to 25.9 percent shooting (7-27). CMU's 28 rebounds in the first half ranked tied for the fifth-most single-half rebounds in George Gervin GameAbove Center facility history.
But the lead should have been larger and the Chippewas didn't capitalize enough on their offensive opportunities. That gave Eastern Michigan hope that it was still in the game.
After Eastern Michigan opened the game with a 3-pointer, Central Michigan took control with a 12-0 run. After Bass hit a 3-pointer, the Chippewas went to work in the low post as Ola Ajiboye scored on a dunk, Harding followed with a 3-pointer and then scored on second chance layup. Taylor added a jumper and the Chippewas led 12-3.
The Chippewas used a 6-0 run to go up 14 points (30-16) with one minute left in the first half. Junior Carrington McCaskill scored on a jumper, Harding converted two free throws and Taylor scored on a layup. But Eastern Michigan gained the momentum before the half with a jumper by Acuff.
Early in the second half, Eastern Michigan got back into the game and cut CMU's lead down to 32-26 with a key 8-0 run. Acuff hit a jumper, Bates followed with two free throws, Geeter scored on a second-chance basket after a CMU turnover, and then hit a layup with 16:47 to play.
From there, Central Michigan held EMU at bay until Bates hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 50-50 with 5:45 to play.
"We outrebounded them by 14 but we finished the game with 23 turnovers," Barbee said. "It's just so disappointing, but we've got to build off the positives: the defense, the rebounding. This is the first game this season that we've had more than 36 rebounds and lost. That was a goal of ours. If we get a minimum of 36 rebounds, we should win."
Eastern Michigan improved to 4-11 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
Central Michigan is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Dekalb, Ill. to take on Northern Illinois for its third conference game. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET.
—CMU—
Team Stats
CMU
EMU
FG%
.373
.370
3FG%
.278
.136
FT%
.650
.731
RB
45
31
TO
23
12
STL
4
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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