Friday night saw a rivalry matchup between the 5-win teams that came down to the wire. Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan went to battle in Kalamazoo. The rivalry game served as a season finale for both teams.
First half
The Eastern Michigan Eagles got out to a hot start in Friday Night’s contest. They jumped all over the Broncos of Western Michigan. EMU shot 43.3% from the field in the first half and 50% from the three-point line. Another huge asset of the first half for the Eagles was their ability to steal the ball, recording 7 steals in the first half. While the Broncos may have struggled in the first 20 minutes of action, there were bright spots. They were able to out-rebound EMU in the first half, 20-15. As well as recording more assists, 6 compared to EMU’s 4. Eastern Michigan held a 9-point lead at the break, 30-21.
Yeikson Montero led the way for EMU in the first half, scoring 12 points. Ty Groce added 7 points and 7 rebounds in the first half. Titus Wright led WMU in the first half with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and a block.
Second half
After a rough first half, WMU found themselves down 9 at home in their season finale. If they wanted to come back and win, they would have to correct sloppy play from the first half. EMU had to keep doing what they were doing, and they would find themselves as winners on the road.
The second half was a tightly contested one as WMU did correct some of its sloppy play. Down the wire, the game was neck and neck. With 5.8 seconds left, WMU’s Greg Lee hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game at a score of 63-63. WMU needed to make one stop to force overtime but, with just .9 seconds left, WMU’s Rafael Cruz Jr. would foul Noah Morgan, who was attempting a corner three for the win.
The leading score in the game was EMU’s Montero, who finished the contest with 20 points. Ty Groce added a double-double in the win with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Noah Morgan, who made the game-winning free throw with .9 seconds left, had 11 points. WMU had three players finish in double digits; Josiah Freeman with 17, Titus Wright had 12 points, and Greg Lee finished with 14 points. Lee also grabbed 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double in the loss.
Friday night’s contest served as the season finale for both teams as neither team qualified for next week’s Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
