Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Cleveland, Ohio
12 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
18-15
63
vs
65
Akron
25-7
1
2
F
Eastern Michigan
32
31
63
Akron
35
30
65
Photo by: Jonathan Knight Photography
Men's Hoops Drop Heartbreaker to No. 1-Seeded Akron, 65-63
3/10/2016 2:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eastern led for 80 percent of the game, and by as many as 12
Photo Gallery.
Postgame Press Conference Transcript.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - Despite leading for close to 80 percent of game time, the No. 8-seeded Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to the No. 1-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena, Thursday afternoon, March. 10. Eastern (18-15) led by as many as 12, but could not close out the high-powered Akron squad down the stretch. The Zips (25-7) rode the strength of MAC sixth man of the year Isaiah Johnson's 19 points and 16 rebounds to victory.
For EMU, freshman James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) led the way with his 19th double-double of the season, dropping 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) led all scorers with 23 on the day, while junior Willie Mangum IV (Richmond, Va.-Marshall (San Jacinto College)) also finished in double figures, going for 10 points. Meanwhile senior Brandon Nazione (Howell, Mich.-Howell) snagged a career-high 12 rebounds. As a team, EMU went 22-of-58 from the floor, as well as 5-of-14 from deep. Overall they controlled the paint, outscoring UA by a 30-24 margin and edging them out on the glass, 44-38. They contained UA's long-range attack, as the Zips only went 9-of-33 from beyond the arc.
Both offenses needed a couple minutes to get the scoring going, with the first bucket not coming until the 18:35 mark. From there, Thompson went to work, scoring five of EMU's first nine to give Eastern a 9-3 lead five minutes in. Both teams couldn't get much of an advantage from there, with both shooting around 30 percent. Mid-way through the half, Eastern maintained the lead, at just 15-14.
The slim margin held until the four minute mark with Akron grasping its first lead on back-to-back layups from Johnson. Thompson came back with a layup of his own, but Akron splashed a three to snatch a 27-25 down the stretch of the first half. Lee singlehandedly kept EMU in the game through that timeframe, scoring 10 of EMU's points.
In the final three minutes, the teams traded the lead three times, but Akron went into the half with the advantage 35-32. Both teams tried to gain the advantage from beyond the arc in the first half, but were mostly unsuccessful, with both combining to go 7-of-26 from deep.
The second half began with a Mangum three ball and fast break layup, giving EMU the lead back 37-35. From there, EMU went on an 11-3 run, highlighted by another Mangum three ball, extending EMU's lead to its largest to that point, 48-38, at the 13-minute mark of the second half.
Akron chipped away, getting its deficit down to six, but EMU stormed back with a balanced scoring attack, extending their largest lead up to 12, 56-44, with around eight minutes left before the final horn. That's when momentum shifted in the Zips' favor, rattling off the next nine, including back-to-back three pointers, to cut the lead down to three. A Lee jumper stopped the bleeding, setting the table for the stretch run with EMU leading 58-54.
Both teams began the final four minutes by trading three's, leaving EMU's lead at four, 61-57. Akron hit the next five, including a three, to go ahead 62-61 with less than a minute to play. Lee answered back with a pair at the line, putting EMU ahead 63-62 with 42 second to go. Akron laid a tough shot in on the next possession, giving them the lead back. With the shot clock off, Lee tried one last layup attempt, but it came up short, allowing UA to hold on for a 65-63 victory.
The loss closes out the season for Eastern Michigan as the Eagles completed the year 18-15.
Postgame Press Conference Transcript.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - Despite leading for close to 80 percent of game time, the No. 8-seeded Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell to the No. 1-seeded Akron Zips in the quarterfinal round of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena, Thursday afternoon, March. 10. Eastern (18-15) led by as many as 12, but could not close out the high-powered Akron squad down the stretch. The Zips (25-7) rode the strength of MAC sixth man of the year Isaiah Johnson's 19 points and 16 rebounds to victory.
For EMU, freshman James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) led the way with his 19th double-double of the season, dropping 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Raven Lee (Detroit, Mich.-Romulus) led all scorers with 23 on the day, while junior Willie Mangum IV (Richmond, Va.-Marshall (San Jacinto College)) also finished in double figures, going for 10 points. Meanwhile senior Brandon Nazione (Howell, Mich.-Howell) snagged a career-high 12 rebounds. As a team, EMU went 22-of-58 from the floor, as well as 5-of-14 from deep. Overall they controlled the paint, outscoring UA by a 30-24 margin and edging them out on the glass, 44-38. They contained UA's long-range attack, as the Zips only went 9-of-33 from beyond the arc.
Both offenses needed a couple minutes to get the scoring going, with the first bucket not coming until the 18:35 mark. From there, Thompson went to work, scoring five of EMU's first nine to give Eastern a 9-3 lead five minutes in. Both teams couldn't get much of an advantage from there, with both shooting around 30 percent. Mid-way through the half, Eastern maintained the lead, at just 15-14.
The slim margin held until the four minute mark with Akron grasping its first lead on back-to-back layups from Johnson. Thompson came back with a layup of his own, but Akron splashed a three to snatch a 27-25 down the stretch of the first half. Lee singlehandedly kept EMU in the game through that timeframe, scoring 10 of EMU's points.
In the final three minutes, the teams traded the lead three times, but Akron went into the half with the advantage 35-32. Both teams tried to gain the advantage from beyond the arc in the first half, but were mostly unsuccessful, with both combining to go 7-of-26 from deep.
The second half began with a Mangum three ball and fast break layup, giving EMU the lead back 37-35. From there, EMU went on an 11-3 run, highlighted by another Mangum three ball, extending EMU's lead to its largest to that point, 48-38, at the 13-minute mark of the second half.
Akron chipped away, getting its deficit down to six, but EMU stormed back with a balanced scoring attack, extending their largest lead up to 12, 56-44, with around eight minutes left before the final horn. That's when momentum shifted in the Zips' favor, rattling off the next nine, including back-to-back three pointers, to cut the lead down to three. A Lee jumper stopped the bleeding, setting the table for the stretch run with EMU leading 58-54.
Both teams began the final four minutes by trading three's, leaving EMU's lead at four, 61-57. Akron hit the next five, including a three, to go ahead 62-61 with less than a minute to play. Lee answered back with a pair at the line, putting EMU ahead 63-62 with 42 second to go. Akron laid a tough shot in on the next possession, giving them the lead back. With the shot clock off, Lee tried one last layup attempt, but it came up short, allowing UA to hold on for a 65-63 victory.
The loss closes out the season for Eastern Michigan as the Eagles completed the year 18-15.
Team Stats
EMU
UA
FG%
.379
.339
3FG%
.357
.273
FT%
.824
.636
RB
44
38
TO
10
5
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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F
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