Eagles fall short despite rally

MONROE, La. (EMUEagles.com/MRO Edit) – After qualifying for postseason play for the second-straight season, the Eastern Michigan Eagles saw their 2014-15 campaign end Wednesday at the hands of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, 71-67, in the first round of the 2015 College Basketball Invitational. 

The Eagles (21-13) trailed by as many as 16 in the second half before roaring back to take the lead with just over eight minutes remaining. Eastern, however, could not hang on and the Warhawks (22-12) used free throws to ice the game.
 
Raven Lee led the Green and White in scoring with 17 points, on his way to becoming the first EMU player to notch 1,000 points in his career since Brandon Bowdry (2010). Tim Bond put on a show as the "true" freshman went for 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the Eagles' season finale. Trent Perry went a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, including a pair of triples to record a career-high 10 points in the loss. Karrington Ward  led the Green and White in rebounding with seven, while the Eagles shot a solid 14-of-15 from the charity stripe.

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Tylor Ongwae was the catalyst for ULM, scoring 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting while dishing out six assists. In addition, Jamaal Samuels added 15 points and Majok Deng posted 14. The Warhawks out-rebounded EMU, 40-27, in the game, while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor.
 
UL Monroe opened the scoring in the first half as Samuel knocked down a jumper but Anali Okoloji gave the Eagles the lead on their next possession finishing an old fashioned three-point play on the other end. Following the Okoloji finish, it was a back-and-forth game until the Warhawks scored five-straight to take a 14-8 lead, including three-points from Deng and a layup from Justin Roberson.
 
The Eagles responded with a 6-0 run of their own knotting things up at 14 apiece. Some bucket-trading occurred until Eastern Michigan scored four in a row to take their largest lead of the first half, 27-23.
 
ULM fired off a 13-0 run from the 5:55 mark until Lee knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:26 to break the nearly five minute scoring drought. An easy transition layup gave Monroe a lead of nine, 38-29, before Lee hit a runner to bring EMU within seven, 38-31. It also brought Lee into the 1,000-point club.
 
Lee led the offense for EMU with eight points, but the Eagles spread the scoring as seven EMU playersw scored in the half.  Eastern Michigan shot 32.3 percent from the field, while knocking down 28.6 percent of their shots from downtown. EMU went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
 
For ULM, Ongwae led the Warhawk offense with 13 points, while Deng added eight of his own. In addition, Samuel added seven points. Monroe shot at a 44.1 percent clip in the first half, while out-rebounding the Green and White, 22-18.
 
It was all Warhawks out of the break as they went on a 9-1 run to start the second half, giving them a 47-32 lead with 17 minutes left in the game.
 
At the 12:41 point in the second half is when Perry made his mark. The Franklin, Tenn. native went registered five quick points to spark a 19-0 run that put the Eagles back on top for the first time since the 5:38 mark in the first half. During that stretch, the Green and White went 7-for-7 from the floor with three triples and a pair of free throws. The quick turnaround took five minutes off the clock before four points in a row by the Warhawks gave ULM a lead again.
 
Both squads traded buckets before Perry knocked down his second triple of the game to put EMU up three, 63-60, with 3:45 left in the contest. The Warhawks responded with a 4-0 run to jump back on top by two. Lee knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the game at 65 in the next possession.

Ongwae hit down a triple in ULM's next possession to give the Warhawks the advantage and they used free throws to ice the game down the stretch as EMU's season came to an end with a 71-67 setback.