Senior Day on Saturday afternoon was spoiled for the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team as the Redhawks of Miami (OH) University flew inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center and handed the Eagles their 17th loss of the season, 52-37.
EMU honored Andrew Wells (East Lansing, Mich.) and Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich.) along with student managers Evan Johnson, Sam Malcolm, and Bryson Wiliams for their contributions to the program as part of the Senior Day Ceremony.
Junior forward Jalin Billingsley (Cleveland, Ohio) led the way for the Eagles, finishing the game with a double-double as he notched 13 points and 10 rebounds, which marked the first double-double of the Ohio native's career.
It was a game of catchup for the Eagles from the jump as the Redhawks produced a 15-4 lead after a 10-0 run with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Eagles would then go on a run of their own and cut the deficit, 17-13, but Miami would continue to ball and enter the half with a 22-17 advantage.
The Redhawks would come out of the break on a mission as they went on a 15-4 run to extend the lead to 37-21 with a little over 12 minutes left to play. The Eagles would struggle to fight back as it was all Miami the rest of the way to force an EMU loss, 52-37.
Entering the matchup, EMU compiled an 11-1 record when holding its opponent to 71 points or less. It marks the first loss while doing so since the Eagles' 71-54 loss to no other than Miami, on Jan. 13.
Both teams would struggle shooting throughout the matchup as EMU went 16-for-50 (32%) from the field and 3-for-19 (15.8%) from three-point range, meanwhile the Redhawks would go 21-for-57 (36.8%) from the field and 5-for-24 (20.8%) from beyond-the-arc.
The difference maker would be the defensive presence from Miami as they forced the Eagles to turn the ball over 17 times, totaling 13 steals.
The Eagles now fall to 12-17 overall on the season and 5-11 in Mid-American Conference play while Miami improved to 15-14 overall and 9-7 throughout the conference.
With the loss and a win from Kent State University against Central Michigan University, the Eagles have officially been eliminated from MAC Tournament contention.
Next up, the Eagles will travel to Akron, Ohio, for a matchup with the MAC's top-ranked University of Akron on Tuesday, March 5. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.