Eastern Hosts Long Beach State to Close Out 2016

Men's Basketball vs. Long Beach State
Date	Thursday, Dec. 29 \| 2 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center (7,784)
Game Notes	EMU Game Notes \| LBSU Game Notes
Live Stats	Fan Stats \| Media Stats
Watch	ESPN 3
Listen	89.1 FM WEMU
Twitter	@EMUHoops \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Coming off of a dominant 101-48 victory over Marygrove College, Dec. 22, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Thursday, Dec. 29, for its final non-conference tilt of the 2016-17 campaign. The Eagles (7-5) host Long Beach State University at the Convocation Center for a 2 p.m. contest. For the 49ers (5-10), it will be their first true road game since Dec. 10, when it fell at Texas in Austin, 71-65.

The Green and White will close out the 2016 calendar year following its decisive performance over Marygrove. With that victory, the Eagles remained undefeated at the Convocation Center and will put its perfect home record on the line for the final time in non-conference action. On the flip side, the 49ers travel to Ypsilanti following a tight, 56-55, win over Mountain West Conference foe, Colorado State, Dec. 22.

FINDING THE GAME AT HOME: The Eastern Michigan versus Long Beach State matchup will have both audio and video on Thursday. Fans can dial into 89.1 FM or listen over the internet at WEMU.org to hear the smooth sounds of veteran play-by-play voice, Chad Bush. Coverage on 89.1 WEMU will begin 10 minutes prior to the tip of each game this year.

In addition to the WEMU broadcast, EMU basketball fans can catch all of this season's action on ESPN3. Greg Steiner will handle the play-by-play duties for the Eastern Michigan versus LBSU contest, while Sean Hostetter will step away from his normal radio duties and join Steiner on the call for the Thursday matinee.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE 49ERS: Thursday afternoon's 2 p.m. contest will be just the second time that EMU and Long Beach State meet on the hardwood. Eastern Michigan dropped its only previous contest versus the 49ers. That game took place during the 1970-71 season, but LBSU got the best of the Green and White. It was a 99-63 decision in favor of Long Beach State, Jan. 5, 2016 in Long Beach, Calif.

LIKELY LOOK FOR THE 49ers...

#	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	ppg	rpg	apg	Hometown-Previous School
0	Gabe Levin	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-7	185	12.1	6.3	1.1	Oak Park, Ill.-Loyola Marymount
1	Evan Payne	G	Jr.-Jr.	6-1	190	14.5	3.3	0.7	Arkon, Ohio-Loyola Marymount
4	Temidayo Yussuf	F	Jr.-Jr.	6-7	255	5.5	2.9	0.8	Oakland, Calif.-St. Joseph
20	Anson Moye	G	Sr.-Sr.	6-0	185	0.5	0.5	0.5	Thousand Oaks, Calif.-Oaks Christian
21	Justin Bibbins	G	Jr.-Jr.	5-8	150	10.5	3.8	4.0	Carson, Calif.-Bishop Montgomery

EASTERN MICHIGAN AND THE BIG WEST: Eastern Michigan men's basketball has a short history with the Big West Conference, playing just four games versus universities from the Irvine, Calif.-based conference. The Green and White has taken on four separate opponents. EMU has squared off with Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Riverside. The only win for Eastern came against Cal Poly when the Green and White came away with an 85-79 win, Dec. 14, 1971. Other than that, Eastern has not defeated a team from the Big West, holding a 1-3 record all-time.

LAST TIME OUT: Eastern Michigan snapped a quick two-game losing skid Thursday, Dec. 22, when it hosted Marygrove at the Convocation Center. The Eagles dispatched the Mustangs with ease, 101-48, grabbing its second 100-point offensive output of the season.

Ray Lee paced the EMU attack, scoring 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Joining Lee with 20 or more points was Willie Mangum IV, posting 24 points, including four triples. Two more Eagles also finished in double digits, as junior Tim Bond kicked in 16 points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocks, while redshirt senior Quaran Jones notched the first double-double of his career with 13 points and 13 boards.

WELCOME TO THE BLOCK PARTY: Eastern Michigan put together quite the defensive effort versus Marygrove, Dec. 22. The Eagles stuffed the Mustangs on 13 different occasions, including blocks from eight EMU student-athletes. Those 13 blocks ranked as the most in a single game by a team in Eastern Michigan dating back to the 1998-99 campaign.

CLEANING UP THE GLASS: The Green and White recorded 60 rebounds in its victory over Marygrove, Dec. 22. That number ranks as the third-most in a single game in Eastern Michigan history. In addition, to make that feat more impressive, the Eagles managed that number with its top rebounder, James Thompson IV, on the bench due to injury. Heading into the game with Marygrove, Thompson was averaging 11.5 rebounds per contest.

NOBLES KNOCKING IT OUT: Redshirt sophomore Jordan Nobles has put together four-straight games with impressive numbers. The Canton, Mich. native has averaged 11.3 points per game, while grabbing 6.5 rebounds per contest over that span. He has notched double-digit scoring performances in three of those four games, while adding 10-or-mpore rebounds in a pair of contests during that stretch. Additionally, the 6-foot-9 forward has shot 58.1 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc in that four-game span.

JONES DOUBLING UP: Senior Quaran Jones was dominant in Eastern's performance over Marygrove, Dec. 22. Not only was he one of five Eagles in double figures for scoring with 13 points, but the Fargo, N.D. native grabbed 13 rebounds to record his first career double-double in Jones' first season playing at EMU.

BEST IN SHOW: Eastern Michigan has become one of the dominant teams in the Mid-American Conference in multiple categories. For rankings, see page 4 of EMU's game notes.

THOMPSON TAKES CHARGE ON THE GLASS: EMU sophomore James Thompson IV put together the best rebounding performance by an Eagle since Kareem Carpenter grabbed 27 rebounds versus Western Michigan, Feb. 8, 1995, by grabbing 21 rebounds in Eastern's 82-74 loss at Vermont, Dec. 17. Of Thompson's 21 rebounds, 11 of them came on the offensive end.

HIGHWAY ROBBERY: Eastern Michigan has become known as one of the most active teams defensively and the numbers back up that claim. The Eagles have racked up a total of 141 steals this season, which ranks as the third-most in the NCAA as of Dec. 27. Additionally, their average of 11.8 steals per game are the second-best in the nation.

Individually, the Green and White boast four student-athletes who average one-or-more steal per contest, including Tim Bond, Ray Lee, Willie Mangum IV, and Ty Toney. Bond, Lee, Mangum and Toney make up four of the top-six spots in the Mid-American Conference. Bond leads the MAC with 2.3 steals per game while Toney takes second in the league (2.2 spg), Mangum is tied for third (2.1 spg) and Lee is in sixth with 1.8 swipes per contest.

WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: This season, Eastern Michigan has won the turnover battle in all but three contests. Additionally, the Green and White have forced more than 15 turnovers in nine of the Eagles' 12 games this season. In total, EMU owns a +6.4 turnover margin, good for the fifth-best in the NCAA. As a team, Eastern Michigan turns the ball over just 12.5 times per contest, while forcing the opposition into 18.9 per game.

PLENTY OF OPTIONS: EMU has proven to have plenty of options on the offensive end of the floor this season. In fact, the Eagles are the only team in the Mid-American Conference with three student-athletes averaging 14-or-more points per contest. Willie Mangum IV leads the Green and White with 17.4 points per contest, good for seventh in the MAC, while Ray Lee's 16.7 points per game is ninth in the conference and James Thompson IV's 14.5 is 15th-best in the league.

CHARITY CHAMPIONS: A season ago, EMU converted 72.1 percent of its free throw attempts, marking the third-best free throw percentage as a team in Eastern Michigan history. To this point of the season, the 2016-17 Eagles are hitting their free throws at an 73.2 percent clip, which would tie the EMU all-time record.

In addition, EMU's Ray Lee has continued to show his worth at the free throw line in the early goings of this year. The Detroit, Mich. native ranks eighth overall in EMU history for free throws made (394), while also being tied for 10th in career free throw percentage (.783).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: EMU sophomore James Thomspon IV has proven to be one of the premier frontcourt players in the Mid-American Conference and country through his short time at Eastern Michigan. The Baton Rouge, La. native has racked up 26 double-doubles in just 43 games donning the Green and White. That number ranks as the seventh-most double-doubles recorded in EMU history. The 6-foot-10 forward needs just one more to jump up to sixth in the all-time rankings.

EAGLES OFFENSE SOARING: Despite being known for their defensive activity, the Green and White's offense should not be overlooked. Eastern Michigan ranks 30th in the NCAA and third in the MAC with 83.8 points per game.

ON THE HORIZON: Following their Thursday afternoon contest with Long Beach State, the Eagles remain at home to begin Mid-American Conference action Tuesday, Jan. 3. Eastern Michigan is set to host Central Michigan at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

STREAKING AT THE CONVO: In the metaphorical sense, the Eagles have been streaking at the Convo, winning its last 12 contests in their home building. Eastern's home win streak dates back to Feb. 2, 2016, when it posted a 25-point, 94-69, win over Miami. Since that win, the Eagles have a perfect record at home. That number is tied as the NCAA's 23rd-best winning streak inside a team's home building, while Kansas leads that category with 49-straight victories at Allen Fieldhouse. Akron is the only Mid-American Conference member that has a longer home winning streak with 23 victories in a row at James A. Rhodes Arena, good for fifth nationally.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Tim Bond

Quaran Jones

Ray Lee

Willie Mangum IV

Jordan Nobles

James Thompson IV

Ty Toney

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