With Eagles leading scorer Mo Habhab in street clothes, the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team was forced to look elsewhere for offensive production.
That production came in the form of Godslove Nwabude, the Nigerian sophomore who dominated both ends of the court just as he has done all season long — leading the home team to an 86-48 win over Clearly University.
The Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team made its return home to Ypsilanti on Friday, Dec. 5, looking to get back on track after a tough road defeat against the Butler University Bulldogs on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Their opponents, a struggling Cougars team, were looking to gain some momentum of their own after a win against the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Dec. 3.
With Habhab and Jon Sanders II out due to injury, it pushed Mak Manciel and Mehki Ellison into the starting lineup alongside Addison Patterson, Nwabude, and Carlos Hart.
First Half
A clear size advantage for the Eagles allowed them to attack the paint almost immediately with Nwabude scoring a quick eight points. The size advantage allowed the Eagles to do hockey rotations with a five in, five out mentality. Fresh legs gave the Eagles every opportunity to run the floor and outpace the Cougars.
Aggressive defense quickly turned into fouls for the Cougars as they put the Eagles on the charity stripe 15 times in the first half. However, the Eagles struggled at the free throw line, going 8-of-15 during this early stretch.
Defense is where Eastern made its mark, forcing multiple shot clock violations and causing 10 turnovers. This quickly led to more offense as the Eagles raced up the floor looking to outrun the Cougars.
Ellison lofted a beautiful lob to a cutting Nwabude who threw down a monster slam dunk that got the fans on their feet. Nwabude was all over the court for the Eagles in the first half, scoring eight points and pulling down six rebounds. On the other end, he “volleyball spiked” three shots out of bounds during the first half, giving Eastern a chance to reset and adjust their defense.
Addison Patterson led all scorers with 11 first half points, soaring in for multiple offensive rebounds and putback opportunities. The effort by him and his team gave the Eagles a 21-point lead and plenty of momentum.
With Eastern dominating on both sides of the court they quickly jumped out to a double digit lead that they maintained throughout the half. The team headed to the locker rooms with a 44-23 lead over the Cougars looking to double it in the second half.
Second Half
Coming back from halftime, Patterson and Nwabude continued to put on the show that they had started in the first half. Nwabude had another lob dunk from Ellison eerily similar to the one he had in the first half, while Patterson hammered home a breakaway dunk after another Ellison steal.
While the first half was back to the basics turning effort into offense, it was just the opposite in the second. Turnovers and mistakes allowed the Cougars to gain some easy buckets, forcing head coach Stan Heath to put the starters back into the game.
The starters did their job, getting the lead back to 35 before Heath chose to return them to their seats in favor of getting his less experienced guys some more playing time. Every player except one that stepped onto the floor for the Eastern Michigan Eagles scored at least one bucket during the game ensuring a commanding Eastern victory.
The pace of the game slowed considerably after the starters were taken out, leading to more methodical possessions and more scoring opportunities. The Eagles bench had more size and physicality than the Cleary team, leading to plenty of offensive rebounds.
The highlight of the second half was Mbaye N’Diaye throwing down a monster breakaway jam, getting the Eastern bench on their feet with fans cheering echoing around the arena.
That dunk was the finisher, putting a cap on a 38-point victory that pushed the Eagles record to 6-4 and prepared them for MACtion in just two weeks' time.
Stats & What’s Next
Nwabude and Patterson led the way in scoring with 14 points and 13 points respectively. Nwabude pulled down nine rebounds and blocked five shots, a team high in just 20 minutes of gameplay. Ellison and Patterson led the team in assists with four each, and Hart led the team with three steals.
The Eagles defense stole the ball 12 times and forced 19 turnovers against the Cougars. The Eagles shot 49% from the floor while only allowing the visitors to shoot 35%. Eastern outrebounded the Cougars 49-32 and won the turnover battle 11-19. Every component of the game was won by the Eagles and they were rewarded with a dominant victory.
The men’s team will travel to Fort Wayne for a matchup with the Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. The game can be viewed on ESPN+ or listened to on the WEMU radio network.
