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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — It was a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division Wednesday in the Convocation Center, and the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team prevailed with a hard-fought 62-59 overtime thriller.
The two teams combined to put on a show for the fans. In the end, it was some great clutch shooting by both teams and hard-nosed defense and strong foul shooting down the stretch that helped Eastern record the win.
Senior guard Antonio Green hit a long three from the top of the arc with just 4.6 seconds left in regulation to give Eastern a 53-50 lead. Western's Nate Hutcheson then connected on a three from deep in the right corner at the buzzer to tie it at 53-all, forcing the overtime period.
Eastern went up by four, 59-55, with 1:20 left in overtime, but Matt Stainbrook cut it to one, 59-58 with 1:06 left on a three-point play the old-fashioned way, making a layup and adding the foul shot on the play.
Junior forward Jamell Harris made the second of two free throws to put the Eagles up by two, 60-58, with 41.9 seconds remaining in overtime.
Green then got another chance to put it out of reach, making both ends of a two-shot foul with just 17.9 left. Western's Demetrius Ward made two free throws to cut it to three, 62-59, with nine seconds left and the Broncos forced a turnover, giving them one more chance to tie it. This time around Hutcheson's three-point chance at the buzzer was off line, giving Eastern the three-point victory.
Green led the Eagles, now 8-10 overall and 3-1 in the MAC, with 11 points while redshirt sophomore guard J.R. Sims added 10.Sophomore guard Austin Harper had three points with seven assists while celebrating his 21st birthday.
Western, now 8-10 overall and 2-2 in MAC action, was led by Hutcheson with a game-high 23 while Stainbrook added 12.
Hutcheson staked Western to a quick 5-0 lead to start the game on a three from the top of the arc and a two-point bucket.
The Broncos built on that lead and went up seven, 12-5, at the 13:59 mark before the Eagles began to cut into that deficit, pulling within one, 19-18 with 5:39 left in the half on an layup.
Darrell Lampley made both ends of a free throw to make it 24-22 but Western closed out the half on a dunk by Shayne Whittington to give the visitors a 26-22 lead.
Hutcheson torched the nets for 15 first-half points as WMU shot 42.9 percent from the floor, making 9-of-21. Meanwhile, Eastern made just 30.8 percent of its shot, connecting on 8-of-26. Lampley led the way with seven points. Western held a 17-13 edge on the boards in the first half.
The two teams traded buckets out of halftime, with Flenard Whitefield hitting for Western and De'Shonte Riley scoring on a monster dunk to cut the visitor's lead to four, 28-24 at the 19:25 mark.
Western then went on a mini-run, taking a nine-point lead, 35-26, with 15:25 left on a layup by Whitfield.
After two long threes by Dailey cut the Broncos' lead to three, 35-32, Riley hit two big free throws with 9:15 left to make it a two-point game, 37-35.
The teams continued to trade buckets over the next few minutes before Sims came up with a steal, followed by a layup and a foul shot on the play to cut the deficit to one, 46-45, with 3:12 left.
Sims connected on a huge three with 57.9 seconds left to tie the game at 50-all, setting up the overtime session,.
The Eagles will stay at home in MAC West Division play Saturday when they host the University of Toledo in a 2 p.m. game in the Convocation Center.
Courtesy of Eastern Michigan Athletics
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