East Michigan News

The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team secured a 68-64 victory over Oakland University at the OU Credit Union O'Rena in Rochester, Michigan. The Eagles overturned an eight-point halftime deficit with a strong second-half performance, including an 18-2 run.

Four players from Eastern Michigan scored in double figures for the first time this season, with Arne Osojnik leading the way with 16 points. The game began with Eastern trailing 15-8 but they managed to tie it at 26-26 before Oakland finished the first half with a 10-2 run, leading 36-28.

In the second half, Jalen Terry contributed significantly with two three-pointers during the Eagles' pivotal run that put them ahead 46-38. Despite Oakland's efforts to close the gap to two points in the final minute, Eastern maintained their lead thanks to Terry's defensive rebound and subsequent free throws.

The win improved Eastern Michigan's record to 3-2 while Oakland fell to 2-3. Eastern shot 38.3% from the floor and 37.5% from beyond the arc compared to Oakland's 48.9% field goal percentage and just 16.7% from three-point range.

Other notable performances included Da'Sean Nelson's season-high of 15 points and seven rebounds, Jalin Billingsley's efficient scoring of 12 points on five-of-six shooting, and Yusuf Jihad's ten points against his former team.

Eastern Michigan demonstrated strong offensive rebounding skills by recording double-digit offensive boards for four consecutive games for the first time since at least the 2002-03 season. They also committed only six turnovers, their lowest since March earlier this year.

Historically, this win marks EMU's first victory over Oakland since December 2017 and represents their largest halftime comeback since January against Kent State.

Next on their schedule is a trip to Houston for the Houston Christian MTE where they will face Houston Christian on November 25 and Northern Arizona on November 26.

For more information about Eastern Michigan Eagles basketball, fans can visit EMUEagles.com or follow them on social media platforms like Twitter (@EMU_MBB) and Instagram (@EMUMBB).