4,677 fans filed into the George Gervin GameAbove Center on Monday, Nov. 7, to watch the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team make their regular season debut. Monday nights attendance was the fourth highest in the buildings history and the highest in nearly five years. 

The large attendance, which is expected to keep climbing, is in part due to the excitement that continues to build around Ypsilanti native Emoni Bates. This was made evident when chants of “We want Emoni” was heard several times throughout the game, as Bates did not participate in Monday’s contest due to a coach’s decision by EMU coach Stan Heath.

Nevertheless, Bates was in attendance to support his team and was the loudest on the bench anytime his teammates scored. 

Regardless of Bates’ absence from the hardwood, the Eagles didn’t let fans down, as they soared past the Wayne State University Warriors, 75-66.

The Eagles made it clear they have no issues spreading out the contribution. Detroit native and true freshman Orlando Lovejoy led five Eagles scorers who posted double digits with 18 points.

Sophomore Georgetown transfer Jalin Billingsley added 16 in his EMU debut while returning sophomores Noah Farrakhan and Colin Golson Jr., both added 12, and redshirt freshman Legend Geeter scored 10. 

Coach Stan Heath referred to the Warriors as “gritty” in his post-game interview with ESPN analyst Justin Rose. That grit was on full display in the first ten minutes of play as Wayne State got out in front by a score of 16-12 and were plaguing the Eagles defensively. 

Nonetheless, EMU then woke up and clicked on both offense and defense as the team would begin a 23-4 scoring run that would help the Eagles take a 35-20 lead into the break. The defense was able to force 18 turnovers in the first segment of play, and Farrakhan couldn’t miss on offense, scoring 9 of his 12 points in the opening half.

The gap between the teams continued to grow as the second half progressed. Lovejoy caught fire and poured in 14 points, converting 6 of his 7 shots from the floor and adding a couple from the charity stripe. The true freshman was a constant for the Eagles’ offense and played a team-high 31 minutes. 

Billingsley showed just how lethal he can be with the ball in his hands as the 6’7" forward hit a deep three, hammered home a fastbreak dunk, and converted a jumper in the paint, all in just over a minute to score seven consecutive points for EMU and put the lead up to 70-45 in favor of the Eagles with 4:55 remaining to play. 

With the victory all but locked up, the EMU bench players got plenty of run in the last minutes of the game, and Wayne State’s grit made an appearance with a 21-5 run of their own to end the game, making the final score of 75-66 look more competitive than it was. 

Next up, the EMU men’s basketball team will head to Detroit on Friday, Nov. 11 to take on the 22nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines inside Little Caesars Arena. The in-state matchup that pits the two schools who sit roughly six miles apart against one another will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU. 

For more information on the Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team, you can visit EMUeagles.com.

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