The Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament door remains open for the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team after they defeated Ball State University, 58-56, in Muncie, Ind., on Saturday, after a go-ahead three-pointer from freshman Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia) propelled the Eagles past the Cardinals.
With the win, a potential trip to Cleveland, Ohio, is still alive for EMU as they currently sit in 10th place in the MAC rankings and just two games behind Kent State University, as they sit in the eighth and final spot of the MAC tournament.
The Eagles were led by junior guard Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.) who finished with 19 points. Junior forward Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio) would add 17 points off the bench to earn a new career-high in points.
Acuff now sits at 28 straight games of scoring at least 10 points, which is the most by any EMU player since 2000.
EMU would get things going early as they jumped out to a 10-4 advantage highlighted by an Acuff three-pointer. Ball State would then turn things around towards the end of the first half as they entered halftime with a 27-26 lead on the Eagles.
The Cardinals would continue to roll into the second half as they expanded their lead, 47-41, as they sunk multiple three-pointers to sustain the momentum. EMU continued to fight back as they reclaimed their lead after an Orlando Lovejoy jumper put the Eagles back on top, 54-53, with 3:45 left to play.
Both teams wouldn't see a basket until 25 seconds remaining when EMU's Osojnik drilled a go-ahead three-pointer to put the Eagles on top, 57-54. Ball State would fight back in the end second as they made it a two-point game, but it wasn't enough as EMU held onto win, 58-56.
It marked the 117th all-time meeting between the Eagles and Cardinals as EMU trails in the series, 71-46. It also marks the first win for the Eagles in Muncie since 2015 as they were on a four-game losing skid inside Worthen Arena entering the matchup.
The Eagles now improve to 11-16 on the year as they sit with a 4-10 conference record while Ball State falls to 13-14 overall on the season, and 5-9 in conference play.
Next up, EMU will host intrastate rival Western Michigan University on Tuesday, Feb. 27, inside the George Gerin GameAbove Center. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
