 EASTERN MICHIGAN 41, TOLEDO 38
With the score tied at 36-all with 3:05 left in the game, senior guard Quintin Dailey hit his second consecutive three-point field goal to put the Eagles up by three, 39-36.
EMU junior forward Jamell Harris slammed home a dunk with 2:20 left to boost EMU to a 41-36 advantage.
Toledo's Rian Pearson then cut the lead to three, 41-38, on a layup with 1:56 left and that score served as a final. Toledo had one shot to tie the game with nine seconds left, but it fell short. EMU controlled the rebound and held on to the ball for the victory.
The 4-1 MAC start by Head Coach Rob Murphy's Eagles is the best for an EMU team since the 1996-97 squad posted a 4-1 start. EMU is 9-10 overall.
Eastern did not have a player in double figures as Darrell Lampley had nine points with Harris adding eight. Matt Balkema finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Toledo, now 9-10 overall and 1-4 in MAC action, was led by Rian Pearson with 12.
Eastern finished the game shooting 32.6 percent, making 15-of-46 shots from the field while Toledo made just 30 percent of its attempts (15-of-50). Eastern also held a large, 40-27, rebound advantage.
The two teams suffered through some poor shooting and sloppy ball handling in the first half. Eastern, however, jumped out to a 10-4 lead through the first nine minutes of the game. Toledo responded with a 10-0 run to go up 14-10 with 6:38 left.
Eastern finally broke a seven-minute scoreless streak with two free throws by Lampley to make it 14-12 at the 4:41 mark.
The last scoring of the half came at the 3:41 mark when EMU's Derek Thompson hit a long three to give the Eagles a 15-14 lead going into intermission.
EMU shot just 25 percent in the first half, making 5-of-20 field-goal attempts while Toledo was shooting just 21.7 percent on 5-of-23. Eastern turned it over 11 times while Toledo had eight. The Eagles held a 19-14 rebound edge in the first half.
The offense picked up a touch at the beginning of the second half as Eastern went up by four, 24-20, with 14:07 left on a triple by Lampley.
Toledo answered that surge with five consecutive points of its own for a 25-24 lead at the 13:20 mark.
Eastern built several leads over the next few minutes, but the Rockets continued to have answers and came back to tie the game at 36-all on a triple by Brown with 4:50 remaining.
The Eagles will begin a six-game swing into MAC East Division play with a Tuesday, Jan. 24, game at Buffalo. Toledo is at Miami Wednesday, Jan. 25 ( 7 p.m.).
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