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YPSILANTI, MI – Despite poor first half shooting, and trailing by as many as eight points in the second half, Eastern Michigan bounced back for a 57-53 win against the Ball State Cardinals in a Mid-American Conference West Division game Saturday at the Convocation Center.
With the win EMU improves to 10-8 (2-3 MAC) while BSU drops to 8-9 (2-3 MAC).
EMU senior center Justin Dobbinsled all scorers with 18 points, while senior point guard Carlos Medlock added 12. Junior forward Brandon Bowdry just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Junior forward Malik Perry led the Cardinals with 17 points while freshman guard Jauwan Scaife added 13.
The Eagles made 22-of-50 field goal attempts for 44 percent, but they connected on just 9-of-23 free throws for 39.1 percent. Ball State hit 20-of-50 shots from the field for 40 percent, four-of-eight triple tries and 9-of-12 free throws for 75 percent.
Dobbins and Quintin Dailey got the scoring started for the Eagles, as each threw down a two-handed dunk following steals. From there, EMU went cold from the field, connecting on just two more field goals over the next 7:20 of action.
Tough defense kept the Eagles in the contest, however, as Ball State also only connected on two baskets during that same time span, leaving the score knotted at 10-10 with 8:53 left in the first half.
The Cardinals used a 9-1 run to pull ahead 19-11, but back-to-back scores by Medlock, a three-pointer and layup, pulled EMU to within five, 21-16, at the half. Eastern shot 7-22 (31.8 percent) and held BSU to 8-26 (30.8) in the opening stanza.
After falling behind by eight, 24-16, the Eagles stormed back, outscoring Ball State 31-14 over a 14 minute span of the second half, to take a 47-38 advantage. During the run, an Antonio Green three pointer cut the Cardinal lead to one, 26-25.
The Eagles took their first lead of the second half, 34-33, after a Dobbins layup tied the game and a Will Cooper free throw.
Another Medlock long bomb would push the Eastern lead to four, 39-35, with just over 10 minutes remaining, and Dobbins scored two baskets in the paint to help add to the Eagle lead.
Eastern’s advantage swelled to as much as 11 over the last three minutes, but Ball State made a contest out of it in the waning moments after Jauwan Scaife nailed two threes and brought the Cardinals to within two, 55-53. A Medlock free throw proved to be the nail in the Cardinals’ coffin, as the final buzzer sounded and the Eagles walked away with the victory.
EMU will hit the hard court again on Jan. 27 when they take on Bowling Green State University at the Convocation Center. Ball State is home against Miami. Tip time for both games is 7 p.m.
Courtesy of EMU Athletics. |
