East Michigan News

Jalin Billingsley led the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team to a victory over Siena Heights University with a career-high 32 points and 10 rebounds. The game, held at the George Gervin GameAbove Center, marked EMU's home opener and ended with an 83-58 win.

Billingsley, hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, also equaled his personal best with three blocks. Jalen Terry contributed significantly with 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles secured a halftime lead of 40-33, largely due to Billingsley's 17 first-half points. An early second-half run extended their advantage to 54-37 after a dunk by Terry. Eastern Michigan maintained at least a 15-point lead for the rest of the game, ultimately reaching a maximum margin of 25 points.

The team's overall record improved to 1-1 while Siena Heights fell to 0-3. Eastern Michigan achieved a shooting accuracy of 54.5% from the floor compared to Siena Heights' 35.4%. From beyond the arc, EMU made six out of eighteen attempts.

Billingsley's performance stood out as it surpassed his previous career high of 17 points set against Ball State earlier this year. His double-double was his second career achievement in this regard.

Terry's nine rebounds were notable as they were just shy of his personal best of fifteen against Villanova in March.

Godslove Nwabude added eight rebounds along with four points and two blocks, showcasing strong offensive rebounding particularly in the first half.

Dillon Tingler led the Eagles with five assists contributing to their total of twenty-one assists during the game—a figure not seen since December 2018 against Central State.

Eastern Michigan's dominance on offensive boards continued as they recorded fifteen offensive rebounds against Siena Heights following fourteen at Texas State previously.

Historically, EMU remains undefeated against Siena Heights with six victories each by at least eighteen points margin. Billingsley's scoring is only exceeded by Tyson Acuff's thirty-four point effort earlier this year.

Next on schedule for Eastern Michigan is an away game against IU-Indianapolis on November 14th.

For more updates on Eastern Michigan University's basketball team visit EMUEagles.com or follow them on Twitter (@EMU_MBB) and Instagram (@EMUMBB).