Eagles soar past CMU men's basketball
Central Michigan University senior guard/forward Jakobi Heady takes the free throw line while honoring his late sister by wearing her basketball number from when she played at Eastern on Tuesday, Jan. 14 in McGuirk Arena. (CM Life | Jasmine Brookins)
With 9:42 left to play in the game, CMU men's basketball trailed Eastern Michigan by seven when an Ugnius Jarusevicius layup cut the deficit to five with the momentum on the side of the Chippewas.
However, that is as close as it got for the rest of the night as a Jalen Terry three put EMU back in the driver's seat, giving the Eagles the push it needed to win 84-73.
The loss sets CMU back to 13-16 on the season and 6-10 in Mid-American Conference play. With the loss to EMU, Central Michigan has been knocked to tenth in the MAC, two spots shy of a conference playoff bid.
The Eagles controlled the pace in the first half, going 7-15 from beyond the arc, shooting 50% from the field in the process. The Chippewas were not able to get it going from three, shooting 1-7 from beyond the arc in the first half as Eastern Michigan pulled ahead 44-36 at halftime.
Jarusevicius was the star of the first half, going 8-12 from the field and finishing the first 20 minutes with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The second half started with a heated back and forth as both teams traded baskets. A quick 11-4 run for CMU cut the deficit to four with Eastern Michigan in control 54-50 with 13 minutes left to play.
The three-point offense that helped the Eagles in the first half was nowhere to be found in the second as the team from Ypsilanti struggled to find consistent looks.
However, EMU shook off the struggle and quickly went on a 5-0 run of its own, extending the lead to nine with 11:30 remaining in the game.
The squad from Mount Pleasant wasted no time cutting the deficit to five, trailing 61-56 with 9:42 left to play in the game. But the Eagles immediately drilled a three, stomping out the Chippewas momentum.
Central Michigan struggled down the stretch, making only one field goal in the final five minutes as the Chippewas failed to get anything going on offense outside of the free throw line.
Eastern Michigan was able to close out the game and secure the 84-73 victory.
Jarusevicius led CMU in scoring with 23 points and 11 rebounds, with guard Jakobi Heady not far behind finishing with 21 points.
The Chippewas were outrebounded on the night 39-32 allowing 17 second chance points for the Eagles.
CMU men's basketball is back on the road to Muncie, Indiana to play Ball State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
