The Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team continued its home success over the holiday break by defeating Coppin State University 87-64 Dec. 23 and Concordia University 100-42 Dec. 28 at the Convocation Center.
EMU improved to 11-2 on the season and Coppin State and Concordia fell to 1-11 and 8-4 respectively.
Eastern Michigan will begin conference play with its best non-conference record in school history.
“The MAC season is coming up, and we’re focused on winning the MAC Championship and I think we are in position, if we stay humble and hungry, and keep taking necessary steps to get better. We will be right there to stay in contention at the end of the season,” head coach Rob Murphy said.
Versus Coppin State University:
Eastern Michigan forward Karrington Ward led the way with 23 points and a career high of six blocks.
Murphy started a slightly different group of guys with Jodan Price and Olalekan Ajayi getting the starts while Ray Lee and Mike Samuels came off the bench.
Eastern Michigan started slow as Coppin State had a seven-point lead in the first half. Ray Lee and Mike Talley gave the Eagles the energy they needed off the bench with Lee scoring 21 points and having a career high of six steals and Talley having nine points and seven assists.
“We got better when we went smaller,” Murphy said.
Eastern Michigan was able to continue shooting well in the second half and pushed their lead up to 28 points.
Coppin State guard Sterling Smith pulled in a double-double for the Eagles with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Mike Samuels returned to action after missing the Missouri State game due to illness. Samuels saw 12 minutes of action and scored five points and pulled in six rebounds.
Versus Concordia:
EMU went 33-of-60 from the field, shooting a season high of 55 percent from the floor. Karrington Ward led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds. Mike Samuels scored a career high of 12 points and guards Raven Lee and Mike Talley each contributed 10 points in the Eagle victory.
EMU went 11-14 from the free throw line and held Concordia to 23.1 percent shooting from the floor, going 5-of-26. This is the seventh time this season EMU has held an opponent under 30 percent from the floor.
Up Next:
EMU will begin conference play Jan. 7 against Ball State University at the Convocation Center at 7 p.m.
Social Media: Follow Andrew Mascharka on Twitter @amascharka
