YPSILANTI — Eastern Michigan University first year basketball coach Rob Murphy might be concern about finding some points from the floor.
Murphy and the Eagles have welcomed to the nest, Da`Shonte Riley, he received an NCAA eligibility wavier that makes him available for the Eagles immediately, he put on the green uniform Saturday night in Radford, Virginia inside the Donald N. Dedmon Center the home of Radford University Highlanders.
Riley scored eight points and played 31 minutes in his Eagle debut, he worked hard and hulled down four rebounds.
The Eagles defeated Radford University 52-48 in front of a gathering of 618 Highlander basketball fans Tuesday evening December 20, 2011.
“We are thankful to the NCAA for granting Da`Shonte the waiver for him to become eligible for competition right away,” Murphy said about Riley’s joining the Eagles. “Da`Shonte transferred to EMU so he could be closer to his family in a difficult situation. I am happy that he is able to give his family the support they need.”
The Eagles shot 41 percent from the floor against the Highlanders including six of seven in the second half behind the three point line.
Eastern Michigan University made the short trip from Radford, Virginia to the campus of Virginia Tech University located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia, with expectation of playing a game worth remembering and for the 9,563 Hokie fans that sat in side Cassell Coliseum watch Virginia Tech make a 71-21 victory enjoyable to witness, Thursday night December 22, 2011.
The Hokies ended the first half with a 16-0 and ended any kind of hope that the Eagles entertained at making their visit entreating and enjoyable.
Eastern Michigan University only scored nine points in the entire first half against the Hokies and that is the second-worst first half by a Division 1 men’s team this season.
Kennesaw State scored eight points in a game against the University of Wisconsin.
The Eagles shot 14.3 percent from the field making just three baskets while taking 21 shots and holding onto the ball is now have become another concern for Murphy, the Eagles turn the ball over nine time in the first half.
“They did a great job of running us off screens, forcing us into contested shots,” Murphy said. “We also missed eight lay-ups in the half.”
“The first nine minutes were painful but once we got into transition,” Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg said after the game. “We challenged this team early on, but we’re very much a work in progress. I think we need to be more consistent offensively, I think we have some pieces.”
The Eagles offense managed to get 57 shots up during the game but finished the game with a shooting percentage of 28.1 and in the second half by scoring 41 points, the drought ended with 17:55 left in the game by making a pair of free throws by Darrell Lampley.
So far this season, the Eagles have shot an unimpressive 36.9 percent from the floor and only averaging 54.7 points after 12 games.
Murphy said he is looking for a player to be that go-to-guy and he feels that point guard Lampley is the natural leader on the floor. Murphy believes Lampley just needs to let the game unfold and feel the flow like he did that against Colgate University by scoring 37 points.
Lampley and Antonio Green scored 13 points against Virginia Tech and Jamell Harris led the Eagles under the boards with six rebounds.
Eastern Michigan University will take a couple of days off away from the court what Murphy describes as a well deserve rest for the players and for the coaches and a chance for everybody a chance to spend some time with friends and family while celebrating the holiday.
The time away will only give the Eagles a chance to do some laundry and repack the suitcases because the road trip continues with a trip to the sunny state of California.
Eastern Michigan University will play in the Cable Car Classic Basketball Tournament Dec. 28-29, hosted by the University of Santa Clara.
The last game of the brutal nine-game road trip finally comes to an end Saturday January 7, 2012 with a stop were cornfield surround the city of DeKalb, Illinois.
The Eagles will open the 2012 portion of the Mid-American Conference game against Northern Illinois University.
Murphy is hoping that his Christmas wish of finding a shooter with skills to score some points will be left by Santa Clause under the Christmas Tree at the friendliest basketball arena in the Mid-American Conference and the home of the Eastern Michigan University basketball program – the Convocation Center.
About the Author
Subscribe to author's RSS feed
Written by Mel Suiter
Graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 2002 and have been working as a beat writer for The Ypsilanti Courier covering Eastern Michigan University football and men's basketball during my school career and after graduation.
I like the Mid-American Conference and the rest of the mid-major conferences.
