Freshman Kevin McAdoo led the way for Eastern with a career-high 23-point effort. Nobles knocked down four threes for a season-high 12 points, while fellow redshirt junior Paul Jackson scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Junior James Thompson IV led all players with 13 rebounds.
Sam Houston State dictated play throughout the game's entirety, winning the rebounding battle 45-36, outscoring Eastern in the paint 34-12, and holding the Eagles to 37-percent (14-of-38) from the floor for the game. EMU committed 11 turnovers and forced SHSU into 10, while shooting just 33-percent (4-of-12) from the charity stripe compared to Sam Houston's 77-percent (10-of-13).