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Well, the scary part of Eastern Michigan's schedule is now over after losing by 22 to the Orange.
Two teams with very similar defensive playing styles, running the 2-3 zone, it was expected for the Eagles to try to attack it by taking advantage of their 3-point shots. After the first half, the Eagles were 3-for-14 in 3-pointers and didn't get much better in the second half. Raven Lee, however, made three of his four 3-point shots in the second half, finishing the day with 12 points (4-for-8 in all field goals).
Glenn Bryant was really EMU's player of the game, who was really their spark plug towards the end of the first half, had 19 points (an early season-high), including a pair of alley-oop dunks in the second half. He also grabbed eight boards with a steal, but had a trio of turnovers and personal fouls.
Da'Shonte Riley, who had 3 points against Syracuse last year, had no points in this go-round, only playing for 15 minutes.
EMU's defense was just plain bad, letting up way too many points in the paint. Four Syracuse players also had double-digit point totals to end the day as well. Jerami Grant, who had nine points in the first four minutes of the game, finished with 15 points and eight rebounds with two assists. Rakeem Christmas also had 15 points for the Orange, was 7-for-8 from the floor with three rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Thankfully for the Eagles, this is the end of the scary part of their schedule. Four of their five losses came against ranked opponents, three of which were top-10 teams. They fall to a 7-5 record after starting off 5-0 and will look to play Rochester College on January 4 at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti.
