 EASTERN MICHIGAN 47, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 40 Holding a slim 41-40 lead with 2:23 left in the game, the EMU defense held the Huskies scoreless the rest of the way. NIU, forced to foul Lampley to get the ball back, saw the 5-foot-10 Eagles' point guard make all six of his charity tosses on the way to a 16-point performance.
Head coach Rob Murphy's Eagles, now 6-9 overall and 1-0 in league action, shot just 36.1 percent from the field, making 13-of-36 attempts, but coverted a blistering 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the free throw line.
NIU, now 1-12 overall and 0-1 in the MAC, was held to just 29.2 percent shooting from the field on 14-of-48 attempts and the Eagles turned the Huskies over 18 times. NIU did win the battle of the boards, 31-29. The Huskies were led in scoring by Tim Toler with 11.
Da'Shonte Riley opened the game with two quick buckets, and the Eagles made eight of their first 12 field goal attempts to forge a 19-10 lead in the first nine minutes of the game.
The EMU offense cooled at that point and Northern was able to out-score the Eagles, 12-0, over the next six minutes to take their first lead of the game, 20-19, with 5:13 left on two free tosses by Toler.
The Eagles finally broke a seven-minute scoring drought on two free throws by Lampley to take a 21-20 lead with 4:46 left in the half.
Zach Miller hit his second three-point field goal of the half to boost NIU to a 26-22 lead with 1:01 left, and the Huskies headed to intermission with a 26-23 lead.
After scoring 19 points in the first nine minutes the Eagles scored just four more the remainder of the half, making 8-of-19 field goals.
Lampley led the Eagles with seven while Toler had eight for the Huskies in the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles came out of halftime fired up, out-scoring the Huskies by an 11-3 count in the first five minutes to go up by five, 34-29.
NIU sent to the long ball at that point, with Toler and Tony Nixon firing home triples to put NIU back on top, 35-34, with 13:22 left.
The action then slowed considerably over the next several minutes, with Eastern holding a two-point lead, 37-35, with 8:58 left.
The Eagles did not relinquish that lead the rest of the way and Lampley finishing things off by making all six of his free throws during that final 1:34.
EMU ends a 45 day streak on the road Wednesday, Jan. 11, with a MAC contest against in-state rival Central Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. Northern Illinois will be at Western Michigan Wednesday (7 p.m.).
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