YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Eastern Michigan erased a 12-point first half deficit to knock off Mid-American Conference West leader Toledo 85-79 Tuesday at the Convocation Center.
Winners in five of their last six outings, the Eagles (17-11, 8-7 MAC) grounded . . .
Winners in five of their last six outings, the Eagles (17-11, 8-7 MAC) grounded . . .
. . . the high-flying Rockets (19-9, 11-4 MAC) and moved into fifth place in the MAC standings.
Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie recorded 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He added six rebounds and was one of three Eagles with two steals.
Junior and reigning MAC West Division Player of the Week James Thompson IV also tallied 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven boards, four of which came on the offensive glass.
Redshirt Junior Paul Jackson added 18 points and a season-best 10 assists for his first career double-double, and senior Tim Bond logged a season-high 17 points to go with five boards and a pair of swipes. Bond is now just two steals shy of breaking Earl Boykins' all-time record (220), and seven points away from becoming the 31st Eagle in program history to join the 1,000-point club.
EMU had its best field goal percentage in MAC play this season, finishing at 55.7 percent from the floor on 34-of-61 shooting, including 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. The Eagles went 12-of-15 from the charity stripe and dominated the battle in the post, scoring 52 points in the paint compared to the Rockets' total of 38.
Senior forward Tre’Shaun Fletcher led five Rockets in double figures with 21 points. He made 8 of 13 shots from the floor overall.
Jaelen Sanford connected on 4 of 8 triples on the way to 16 points. Luke Knapke provided 14 points, while Nate Navigato and Willie Jackson chipped in 11 apiece.
After falling behind 10-5 in the early stages, Thompson nailed a hook shot before Minnie connected on his first triple of the night to even the score at 10 with 16:01 to play in the opening half.
Toledo led by as many as 12 in the opening half, but the Eagles clawed their way back into the contest with a 7-0 run to cut UT’s advantage to 28-23 with 8:20 remaining in the first frame.
A Bond three-point basket trimmed the Rockets' edge to 41-39 with 2:09 left in the opening stanza, and UT took a 46-41 lead into the locker room.
Trailing 48-41, back-to-back buckets from Thompson capped a 9-1 EMU run and gave the Eagles their first lead of the night, 50-49, with 17:29 left in the second half. The Rockets briefly recaptured the lead, but Bond's no-look, behind-the-back pass reached Minnie for a one-handed slam to knot the score at 56 with 13:26 to go in the final frame.
Tied at 62, Jackson set up Thompson on an alley-oop to put the Eagles back in front, 64-62, with 8:25 left in the second half. In total, the Green and White used an 8-0 run to build their largest lead to that point, 70-62, with 6:40 remaining in the final stanza.
EMU continued to add to its lead, with Minnie's long-range triple giving the Eagles a commanding 77-66 lead. That prompted the Rockets to burn a timeout with 2:52 to go in the second stanza.
Minnie, however, subsequently assisted Thompson on another alley-oop to put the Eagles ahead, 79-69, with 2:22 left in the contest and the Eagles used free throws the rest of the way to hold off Toledo by a final six-point margin.
NEXT:
Eastern Michigan hosts Northern Illinois at noon Saturday. Toledo is back in action Friday night (6:30 p.m.) when Central Michigan visits
Redshirt junior Elijah Minnie recorded 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He added six rebounds and was one of three Eagles with two steals.
Junior and reigning MAC West Division Player of the Week James Thompson IV also tallied 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and pulled down a team-high seven boards, four of which came on the offensive glass.
Redshirt Junior Paul Jackson added 18 points and a season-best 10 assists for his first career double-double, and senior Tim Bond logged a season-high 17 points to go with five boards and a pair of swipes. Bond is now just two steals shy of breaking Earl Boykins' all-time record (220), and seven points away from becoming the 31st Eagle in program history to join the 1,000-point club.
EMU had its best field goal percentage in MAC play this season, finishing at 55.7 percent from the floor on 34-of-61 shooting, including 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. The Eagles went 12-of-15 from the charity stripe and dominated the battle in the post, scoring 52 points in the paint compared to the Rockets' total of 38.
Senior forward Tre’Shaun Fletcher led five Rockets in double figures with 21 points. He made 8 of 13 shots from the floor overall.
Jaelen Sanford connected on 4 of 8 triples on the way to 16 points. Luke Knapke provided 14 points, while Nate Navigato and Willie Jackson chipped in 11 apiece.
After falling behind 10-5 in the early stages, Thompson nailed a hook shot before Minnie connected on his first triple of the night to even the score at 10 with 16:01 to play in the opening half.
Toledo led by as many as 12 in the opening half, but the Eagles clawed their way back into the contest with a 7-0 run to cut UT’s advantage to 28-23 with 8:20 remaining in the first frame.
A Bond three-point basket trimmed the Rockets' edge to 41-39 with 2:09 left in the opening stanza, and UT took a 46-41 lead into the locker room.
Trailing 48-41, back-to-back buckets from Thompson capped a 9-1 EMU run and gave the Eagles their first lead of the night, 50-49, with 17:29 left in the second half. The Rockets briefly recaptured the lead, but Bond's no-look, behind-the-back pass reached Minnie for a one-handed slam to knot the score at 56 with 13:26 to go in the final frame.
Tied at 62, Jackson set up Thompson on an alley-oop to put the Eagles back in front, 64-62, with 8:25 left in the second half. In total, the Green and White used an 8-0 run to build their largest lead to that point, 70-62, with 6:40 remaining in the final stanza.
EMU continued to add to its lead, with Minnie's long-range triple giving the Eagles a commanding 77-66 lead. That prompted the Rockets to burn a timeout with 2:52 to go in the second stanza.
Minnie, however, subsequently assisted Thompson on another alley-oop to put the Eagles ahead, 79-69, with 2:22 left in the contest and the Eagles used free throws the rest of the way to hold off Toledo by a final six-point margin.
NEXT:
Eastern Michigan hosts Northern Illinois at noon Saturday. Toledo is back in action Friday night (6:30 p.m.) when Central Michigan visits
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