For the third time . . .
Eastern was also the superior team at the free throw line, finishing 23-for-29 from the charity stripe, while the Bison were successful on 14-of-22 attempts.
Trailing by four in the early stages, Thompson helped spark the EMU offense, connecting on a hook shot before sinking a pair of free throws to level the score at 7-7 with 16:23 to go in the opening half. After the Bison scored the next four points, the Eagles responded with an 11-0 run lasting nearly four minutes to take an 18-11 lead with 11:51 left in the first period.
Leading by five, the Green and White used a 9-0 run to grab a 27-13 edge with just over eight minutes to play in the opening frame. In total, the Eagles used a 26-4 run lasting over nine minutes to take a convincing 33-15 lead with five minutes left in the opening stanza.
EMU wowed the home crowd with some entertaining dunks to wrap up the opening half, with Bond's alley-oop bookended by a pair of Minnie slams as the Green and White led 41-26 after 20 minutes.
The Eagles took advantage of the Bison's early foul trouble, as the visitors picked up nine team fouls in the opening 8:09 of play. EMU finished a perfect 11-for-11 from the line in the opening half.
The Bison were once again plagued by early foul trouble, collecting seven team fouls less than five minutes into the second half. The Eagles capitalized, hitting six free throws as part of a 10-0 run to take a 52-32 lead with 13:57 remaining in the contest.
Howard slowly cut the deficit to 13, but the Eagles fought back with a 7-0 run to capture a 70-50 lead with 7:10 left in the final half. Minnie split a pair of free throws before he and Harris connected on back-to-back triples to restore the Eagles' 20-point cushion.
A trio of late three-pointers from the Bison briefly cut the EMU's advantage to single-digits, but the lead was never in doubt as the Eagles defeated Howard, 76-66 to give head coach Rob Murphy his third career 4-0 start and first since the 2014-15 campaign. The result was also the Bison's 10th consecutive regular season road loss, dating back to last season.
Eastern Michigan concludes the Hoosier Classic with its first road games of the season, traveling to Bloomington, Ind. to face Indiana Friday, Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m., before heading to Tampa, Fla. Sunday, Nov. 26 for a 4 p.m. tilt against South Florida.