 EASTERN MICHIGAN 60, AKRON 56 The EMU offense was led once again by leading scorer, senior forward Brandon Bowdry, who turned in the 34th double-double of his career with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore Derek Thompson added nine points and junior guard Darrell Lampley added eight points, including three free throws over the last 40 seconds to help the Eagles hold off a late Akron rally.
Eastern, now 6-15 overall and 3-5 in the Mid-American Conference, shot 40.8 percent from the field, hitting 20-of-49 shots and also connected on 8-of-21 three-point field goals for 38.1 percent.
The Eagles held the Zips, now 12-10 overall and 3-5 in league play, to just 30.6 percent from the field on 19-of-62 shots and just 23.8 percent from three-point land, making 5-of-21.
Akron had three players in double figure scoring, paced by Zeke Marshall with 15, Nikola Cvetinovic with 13 and Darryl Roberts with 11.
Bowdry opened the game with a layup followed by three straight Akron points. Jamell Harris then scored on a layup followed by a three-point field goal from the right baseline by Jay Higgins to boost the Eagles to a 7-3 lead with 12:56 on the clock.
After a slow start by both teams, the action picked up over the next six minutes, with Eastern building a 15-11 lead with 6:39 showing on the clock.
The Eagles would build the lead to eight at halftime, 27-19. Bowdry leading the way with nine points and five rebounds. Marshall paced the Zips with eight first-half points.
Eastern would shoot 38.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, making 10-of-26 attempts, but the Green and White was 5-of-12 from beyond the arc for 41.7 percent. Akron shot just 28.1 percent from the field, making 6-of-23 field-goal attempts and only 1-of-6 triple tries.
Akron came out of halftime with a flurry, scoring 11 unanswered points to take a 30-27 lead with 16:38 left in the game.
Bowdry finally get the Eagles untracked, scoring six consecutive points to put the home team back on top, 33-30, with 15:14 left.
The Eagles kept the offensive pressure on, increasing their lead back to seven, 39-32, on a triple by Thompson with 12:59 remaining.
Eastern continued to press the action on the offensive end, making a 10-3 run to go up by 14, 49-35, with 8:29 left with Bowdry scoring four straight points.
The Zips made a late charge from that point , cutting the deficit to six, 51-45, with 1:39 left on a long triple from the top of the circle. Cvetinovic then added one free throw to make it 51-46.
Lampley added a jumper for the Eagles to make it 53-46, but Akron's Darryl Roberts netted a long three to cut it to four, 53-49, with 1:09 left.
Bowdry hit two free throws to make it a five-point lead, but Akron came right back to pull within two, 55-53. Eastern, however, held off the Zips down the stretch for the four-point win.
Eastern will stay home in the Convocation Center Saturday, Feb. 5, when the Miami University RedHawks come to town for a 4:30 p.m. game as part of a men's-women's doubleheader. The EMU women are slated to host Buffalo in a 2 p.m. tip.
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