Glenn Bryant

Courtesy of the WCSO

The suspended Eastern Michigan University basketball player accused of choking his girlfriend had his preliminary hearing adjourned Tuesday in 14A-1 District Court because the 19-year-old woman was too ill to appear.

Glenn Bryant, 22, appeared briefly in the courtroom where the prosecution requested and was granted the motion to adjourn the case until next Tuesday.

Bryant is charged with assault by strangulation, a felony, and aggravated domestic violence, a misdemeanor, for allegedly choking the 19-year-old woman last month at an apartment in Ypsilanti's Peninsular Place, in the 900 block of Railroad Street.

The woman told police the argument was about “nothing in particular” and the couple, who had been dating for one year, argues frequently, according to previous reports from AnnArbor.com.

"I'm trying to get (the judge) to dismiss the case," said Bryant's attorney Leland Schmidt after Tuesday's hearing was adjourned. "There's much reason to believe the allegations are not truthful."

Schmidt did not what to elaborate on specifics, but said the woman's claims to police were suspicious.

In the meantime, Bryant has been suspended from the team and has lost his scholarship, Schmidt said. The charges came one week before scholarships are awarded for the year and university officials were duty-bound not to renew it, the attorney added.

At the time of the arrest, university officials released a statement that said Bryant will be suspended from the basketball team “until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved."

The transfer from Arkansas played in the 2012-13 season for the Eagles, averaging 10.6 points per game. He started 30 of the team’s 34 games and averaged 27.4 minutes per game, good for second on the team.

Bryant sat out the 2011-12 season after coming to Eastern in the summer of 2011, per NCAA transfer policy.

He remains free on an unspecified bond, court records indicate.

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Eastern Michigan football coach Ron English, bottom, will skydive with any donors who pledge $5,000 or more to the football team.

Photo courtesy of Army Golden Knights

As part of the buildup to the Eastern Michigan football team’s 10th Annual Golf Outing fundraiser on June 8, coach Ron English is offering to jump out of a plane with the highest bidders. The program has set a goal of raising $60,000 for upgrades to the football facilities upgrades and English will skydive with any donor who pledges $5,000 or more. Anyone who pledges $2,500 or more has the choice of skydiving with one of four assistant coaches, including former Michigan football running back Mike Hart.

Other incentives for high-end donors include individual and foursome spots in the golf outing at Eagle Crest Resort in Ypsilanti and dinner or golf with English. There are also incentives for donors who pledge as little as $5.

Let’s get physical

The 2012-13 school sports season year is almost over, so it’s time to start preparing for next year and that means physicals for athletes. Student athletes in need of physicals for the 2013-14 school year can have them done for $30 at Saline High School on Wednesday, May 29 from 6-8 p.m. No appointment is necessary and all proceeds will go toward medical supplies for Saline Athletics. For information, call 734-429-8000, extension 2336.

Pioneer alumnus powers GVSU to Division II softball College World Series

Former Pioneer High School softball standout Katie Martin and the Grand Valley State softball team are heading to the Super-Regional round of the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament. Martin was 2-for-4 with a home run in the Laker’s 3-2 win over top-ranked Indianapolis on Saturday in the winner-take-all third game of the Midwest Super Regional in Indianapolis.

Martin, the GLIAC Player of the Year, hit a game-tying solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the score 2-2. The Lakers scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth and advanced to the College World Series round for just the second time in program history.

Saline and Pioneer crew teams compete at state regatta

Saline's lightweight four boat of, from left to right, Sean Hutfles, Ben Friman, Travis Krause, coxswain Victoria Wellings and Graham Fox, won the state title over the weekend.

Photo courtesy of Pete Pfeiffer

Saline’s Liz Walsh and Alexis Wolff won the women’s varsity double and while Sean Hutfles, Travis Krause, Ben Friman, Graham Fox and coxswain Victoria Wellings won the men’s lightweight four race. Pioneer won state titles in the women’s lightweight four and men’s junior eight races.

Pioneer finished runner-up in the overall competition, third in the male competition and second in the female. Saline was fifth in all three competitions.

Pioneer girls track hosting “Dash 4 Cash” fundraiser

The Pioneer High School girls track and field team is hosting a run/walk fundraiser on Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. at the Pioneer Westfield/Sleeman track. Participants can pay $5 to participate in a run/walk with members of the Pioneer girls track team with all proceeds going toward the team. There will be music and free hot dogs during the event and there will be T-shirts for sale.

Have a local sports brief to tell us about? Contact us at sports@annarbor.com.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Glenn Bryant

Courtesy of the WCSO

Bryant, 22, was arrested after the 19-year-old woman reported the assault at 2 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Railroad Street in the Peninsular Place apartments, Ypsilanti Police Detective Sgt. Tom Eberts said Thursday. Bryant was arraigned on a felony charge of assault by strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated domestic violence, Eberts said.

The 19-year-old woman called police and met investigators at the Peninsular Place manager’s office Monday afternoon after the alleged assault. Eberts said the woman told police the argument was about “nothing in particular” and the couple, who had been dating for one year, argues frequently.

“During the argument, the victim claims the suspect choked her,” Eberts said.

Bryant has bonded out of the Washtenaw County Jail, records show. There was no information in court records about what bond he received. He’s been suspended from the EMU basketball team “until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved,” university officials said.

The transfer from Arkansas played in the 2012-13 season for the Eagles, averaging 10.6 points per game. He started 30 of the team’s 34 games and averaged 27.4 minutes per game, good for second on the team.

Bryant sat out the 2011-12 season after coming to Eastern in the summer of 2011, per NCAA transfer policy.

Eberts said police met with the victim and got her statement before she was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

After the woman was taken to the hospital, officers met with Bryant and arrested him, Eberts said.

Bryant will return to court at 8:30 a.m. May 7 for a preliminary examination, court records show.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Glenn Bryant

Glenn Bryant has been suspended from the Eastern Michigan University basketball team after being arraigned on assault and domestic violence charges Wednesday, according to a news release from the university.

The charges stem from an incident that happened Monday afternoon in the 1000 block of Huron River Drive, the address for the Peninsular Place apartments.

Ypsilanti police were not immediately available for comment about the nature of the incident.

Jail records indicated 22-year-old Bryant was not being held Wednesday night. He will however be automatically suspended "until the charges are dropped, dismissed or otherwise resolved," per EMU's student athlete policy.

"Eastern Michigan University Athletics takes this matter very seriously and is continuing to gather information about the incident from the police and the prosecutor's office," Interim Athletic Director Melody Reifel Werner stated in the release. "The conduct of our student-athletes is of the utmost importance to Eastern Michigan."

According to the release, Bryant joined the EMU program in the summer of 2011 as a transfer from the University of Arkansas. He sat out the 2011-12 season as a transfer. He played last season and has one year of eligibility remaining.

Bryant was second on the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game. He started 30 of 34 games and was second on the team in minutes at 27.4 per game.

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John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Melody Reifel Werner

Courtesy of Eastern Michigan athletics

Eastern's vice president of communication, Walter Kraft, will lead the search committee and a website has been set up dedicated to the search.

Gragg spent seven years as the athletic director during which Eastern totaled 24 Mid-American Conference team championships, 32 MAC Coach of the Year Awards, 38 MAC Player of the Year honors and 164 individual MAC champions. EMU’s women's basketball program also was sanctioned for exceeding practice time and other NCAA violations and the football and men's basketball teams struggled mightily in going 18-66 and 91-133, respectively.

Reifel Werner has served as the associate athletic director and senior woman administrator with the school for the past 17 years.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at AnnArbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Four-star quarterback Brogan Roback smiles on the field after the EMU spring practice on Sunday, April 14.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

Because there isn’t much distance between Toledo and Ypsilanti, Roback has been able to watch some of the team’s spring practices while waiting to officially join the team in the summer. While he can’t work directly with the team, being able to watch from the sidelines has helped him get a better feel for what he might be in for once he arrives on campus.

“The offense looked good, which obviously I was looking towards that. But it’s just a flash of what it could be in the next season,” Roback said. “Coming up here and learning the plays and formations kind of gets me ahead of the game.

“Meeting the guys and the receivers and the running backs and the lineman…you know I couldn’t ask for anything else but to be up here. It definitely gives me an edge.”

Billed as a pro-style quarterback, Roback ran a pass-first version of the spread offense in high school and was clocked with a 4.6 second 40-yard dash time.

At one point, Roback received offers from other Mid-American Conference teams such as Akron, Bowling Green and Toledo. He also received interest from Michigan and Penn State when he was a junior. Roback said the decision to come to Ypsilanti was easy once he met coach Ron English and his staff.

“I like coach ‘E’ a lot and we got coach Parrish now, who I didn’t know when I committed, but when he came over, he sold me,” Roback said. “Especially because of his history, being over at Michigan and being with the (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) when he won the Super Bowl and being with coach (Jon) Gruden, who is one of the most well-respected coaches.

Four-star quarterback Brogan Roback watches the EMU spring practice on Sunday, April 14.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

While watching the game Sunday, Roback looked comfortable with his future teammates. Being comfortable will be a key point in Roback’s development whether or not he starts for the Eagles this fall.

If he lives up to expectations, he shouldn’t be on the sidelines long, but he has some work ahead of him. Tyler Benz won the starting job four games into his redshirt sophomore season last year and surely won’t step aside for the highly touted blue chip recruit.

But a little competition never hurt anyone.

“I’m itching to get out here. It’s kind of a tease, we’ve been out of the game for a while now. We’re anxious, but it was good to see all these guys out here working,” Roback said.

Matt Durr is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.

“We’re healthy, nobody went down so it was a good thing,” English said. “We were far ahead of where we thought we would be. We feel good about where we are right now and today we just kind of wanted to be vanilla and get out of here healthy."

With new offensive coordinator, Stan Parrish and new special teams coach, Ryan Oshnock among his five new assistant coaches, English said he was happy with the way his team practiced over the last couple of weeks considering all the turnover. English did however admit the team still had much to work on for the fall.

Junior quarterback Tyler Benz was efficient in the “vanilla” offense completing more than 70 percent of his passes and engineering two scoring drives. Without giving away too much, Benz said he likes the way the new offense is shaping up.”

Eastern Michigan players attempt to tackle a ball carrier during their spring scrimmage.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

Benz is looking forward to working with new offensive coordinator Stan Parrish, whose coaching pedigree includes working as the quarterbacks coach for the University of Michigan from 1997-2001.

“I’ve seen the biggest improvement in my footwork, whether its run footwork or passing footwork,” Benz said. “He’s taught he me a lot on my stride length when I throw the ball I’ve shortened it a lot so I get more touch on the ball and I’m more accurate.”

With spring practice over, Benz and the rest of the offense have already begun talking about working together over the summer.

“Summer is always fun, we got a lot of time with the receivers to get timing down and we work with the defensive backs as well,” Benz said. “And when we’re out there the lineman are out there as well. It’s fun, we’re out there like a team without coaches, so it’s always a fun time.”

Parrish unveiled some smaller elements of his spread offense, but as expected, the Eagles ran the ball the majority of the time.

Junior Bronson Hill carried the ball a handful of times before yielding the rest of the carries to sophomore Derrick Jackson and junior Ryan Brumfield who opened the scoring with a short touchdown run. After being stopped at the line, Brumfield bounced it the outside and broke contain for the score.

It was a one of the few glaring defensive mistakes on the day as the Eagles defense was stout during Sunday’s game, highlighted by a goal-line stand against the second team offense. English took over as defensive coordinator for the Eagles in the offseason and has already seen a change in his team.

“They’re doing some good things. I don’t think today we played as well as we have been, but we didn’t pressure at all and we just played base defense. We’ve got some good players and we’re doing some good things and I expect us to really grow as we head into the season.

Much like last season, the special teams struggled Sunday allowing a blocked punt as well as a fumbled snap on the first punt of the game. English said he expects the special teams to improve once the incoming class arrives on campus.

“We really don’t have a snapper here yet. We signed a long snapper who is going to be our snapper, so we’ve kind of been moving guys around in there. We’re still a work in progress in there with the punt team. We got a long way to go in that area.”

Although spring practice is over, English said being down on the sidelines has made him even more optimistic about his team’s future.

“I certainly do have a lot of pep in my step and I’m excited about this team. We’ve got good players and we’ve got some speed. We’re going to be a good football team, we’re going to be a good defensive team.”

Matt Durr is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com.

Dr. Melody Reifel Werner will serve as the interim athletic director, the university announced on Tuesday. Reifel Werner has served as the associate athletic director and senior woman administrator with the school for the past 17 years.

Reifel Werner will assume her new responsibilities on Wednesday, April 17.

Melody Reifel Werner

Courtesy of Eastern Michigan athletics

Gragg spent seven years at Eastern totalling 24 Mid-American Conference team championships, 32 MAC Coach of the Year Awards, 38 MAC Player of the Year honors and 164 individual MAC champions.

Eastern also was sanctioned for exceeding practice time and other NCAA violations during his tenure. The football and men's basketball teams struggled mightily in Gragg's tenure going 18-66 and 91-133, respectively.

“I'm excited and honored that (Eastern Michigan) president (Susan) Martin has asked me to serve as interim athletics director,” Reifel Werner said in a news release. “EMU is a place that has meant so much to me and I strongly believe in the foundation we have created. My task, along with our coaches, staff, student-athletes and supporters is to continue the momentum we have established.”

Reifel Werner, 56, earned her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Eastern and is the author of Protecting University Integrity: Managing Risks in Intercollegiate Athletics.

A national search will soon commence to fill the position on a permanent basis, the university said in a release.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Derrick Gragg

Gragg, who spent seven years as EMU’s athletic director, will be introduced to the public at Tulsa on Friday.

"I am very excited to accept the position of director of athletics at TU. It is a wonderful opportunity to lead a program of this caliber," Gragg said in a release issued by Tulsa. "The university's combination of academic and athletic success dovetails perfectly with my own personal and professional core values. My family and I are eager to become an integral part the Tulsa community and the TU family."

Gragg’s departure was first reported by the Tulsa World Wednesday and later confirmed in news releases from both schools. According to the paper, Gragg met with his staff at Eastern Michigan Wednesday afternoon.

In seven years under Gragg, Eastern totaled 24 Mid-American Conference team championships, 32 MAC Coach of the Year Awards, 38 MAC Player of the Year honors and 164 individual MAC champions.

"Dr. Gragg has had an outstanding impact at Eastern Michigan since arriving in 2006," EMU President Susan Martin said in a release. "He has led student-athlete success on the playing field and in the classroom.

During his tenure, EMU’s women's basketball program was also sanctioned for exceeding practice time and other NCAA violations.

Gragg came to Eastern Michigan in February, 2006, after spending six years as an assistant athletic director at the University of Arkansas. He also spent time at Columbia and Michigan.

Eastern Michigan athletic director Derrick Gragg, pictured above during a 2011 press conference, is rumored to be the next athletic director at Tulsa University.

Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com.

Derrick Gragg

Photo courtesy of Eastern Michigan Athletics.

The report, published Wednesday afternoon, does not cite a source, but said Gragg was “believed to have met with his Eastern Michigan staff Wednesday afternoon.”

Tulsa University has not announced his hiring. An EMU athletic department spokesperson declined to comment on the report when reached by AnnArbor.com.

Gragg came to Eastern Michigan in February, 2006, after spending six years as an assistant athletic director at the University of Arkansas. He also spent time at Columbia and Michigan.

• Read the entire Tulsa World report here

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com.

What about non-revenue sports? Should athletes who don't create revenue be given an equal "piece of the pie?"

These are some of the issues New York Times columnist Joe Nocera will discuss in an appearance at Eastern Michigan University's Student Center Auditorium on Tuesday, March 19, at 5:30 p.m. In his speech, entitled "How To Fix Big-Time College Sports," Nocera plans to discuss current issues surrounding college athletics.

According to a release, there will be a question and answer period that follows the speech. The discussion is free and open to the public.

Nocera has been an Opinion-Editorial columnist for the Times since April 2011 and has written numerous pieces on the topic of college athletics. In past columns he's proposed plans to pay football and men's basketball players at major schools, using a salary cap formulation. He's also called to give players and coaches more due process rights, and has called for athletes at big-time schools to be treated like any other student on campus.

Nocera's appearance is being paid for by the EMU Student Government.

Freshman center Miracle Woods had 29 points and 10 rebounds to lead Western Michigan to an 80-72 win over the Eagles in a first-round tournament game Saturday at the Convocation Center.

The Eagles advanced to the title game of the tournament each of the past two seasons, winning the league’s automatic NCAA berth last March. The WMU win also snaps a nine-game losing streak to the Eagles, who beat their cross-state rivals twice during the regular season.

WMU (11-19) started the game on a 9-2 run and never trailed. EMU (8-22) closed a 13-point halftime deficit to six, 51-45, on a Desyree Thomas jumper with 11:21 left to play.

The Broncos’ Julia Henson answered with a 3-pointer and EMU wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the game. Henson finished with 21 points. Thomas (10 assists) and Natachia Watkins (six steals) each scored 19 points for EMU.

WMU advances to the second round of the tournament and will face Bowling Green Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Toledo tops EMU men
In the first game of a doubleheader at the Convocation Center, Toledo beat Eastern Michigan 78-67 in the regular season finale for both teams.

Dominique Buckley scored 21 points and Julius Brown contributed 19 points and 12 assists for the Rockets (15-13, 10-6). Derek Thompson led EMU (14-17, 7-9) with 25 points, including five 3-pointers.

Eastern Michigan led 18-6 early on but allowed Toledo to battle back and tie the score at 26-26 late in the first half. The Eagles shot 52.2 percent as a team and 7-of-7 from the free throw line to lead 35-31 at halftime.

Toledo opened the second half on a 25-6 run to blow open a four-point halftime lead.

Ron English and the Eastern Michigan football team will face Rutgers and Penn State in 2013.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

Eastern Michigan will play its 2013 non-conference games against Penn State, Rutgers, Army and Howard, along with an eight-game Mid-American conference schedule, the school announced Friday.

The Eagles announced their 12-game schedule Friday, including five home dates at Rynearson Stadium. That starts Saturday, Aug. 31 with a season-opening game against Howard.

All games will be played on Saturdays, with the exception of the Friday, Nov. 29 regular season finale at Central Michigan, which will be televised on ESPNU or ESPN3. Kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Following its game against Howard, Eastern Michigan will travel to Penn State and Rutgers in back-to-back weeks, before starting its home slate against Ball State Sept. 21.

Eastern Michigan went 2-10 last year.

Eastern and Penn State have played twice before, last in 2011 when the Nittany Lions won 34-6. The Eagles are 1-4 all-time against Army, including a 48-38 win last season, 2-0 against Howard with wins in 2007 and 2011, and have never faced Rutgers.

2013 Eastern Michigan University Football Schedule

Date		Opponent
Aug. 31		Howard
Sept. 7		At Penn Sate
Sept. 14		At Rutgers
Sept. 21		Ball State
Oct. 5		At Buffalo
Oct. 12		At Army
Oct. 19		Ohio
Oct. 26		At Northern Illinois
Nov. 2		At Toledo
Nov. 9		Western Michigan
Nov. 23		Bowling Green
Nov. 29		At Central Michigan

Eastern Michigan athletics received its highest cumulative GPA in school history for the fall semester.

Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com file photo

Eastern Michigan University’s athletic department has been certified as in compliance in with the principles of the NCAA, the school announced Thursday.

NCAA Division I institutions must be certified every 10 years. The certification follows a year-long self-study that involved more than 50 people and focused on five areas: governance and commitment to rules and compliance, academic integrity, gender equity, diversity and student athlete well-being.

“We are gratified and proud to receive this certification from the NCAA,” said Eastern Michigan president Susan Martin. “The process was extremely rigorous, and spotlighted the many strengths of Eastern's athletics program, including our attention to rules compliance, academics and the well-being of our athletes.”

The university also announced that its 21 varsity teams had a cumulative grade point average of 3.201 during the fall 2012 semester, the highest in school history.

Eastern’s certification process was the final one initiated before the NCAA placed a moratorium on the certification process.

The certification process is separate from the NCAA enforcement process. The EMU women’s basketball program is currently on NCAA probation for four major violations.

EMU recently highlighted one of its new compliance initiatives: having interns observe practices and games to help maintain compliance.

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.

Eastern Michigan Assistant Director of Compliance Monitoring Lorne Robertson, left, and graduate student Marc Koorstra keep an eye on an early morning volleyball practice in an auxiliary gym at the Convocation Center on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

Compliance is a time-consuming effort: officials need to have a grasp of the NCAA's labyrinth of rules and they must fill out stacks of paperwork for each sport. Monitoring a full practice is a three- to four-hour commitment.

Yet constant vigilance can save schools from a lot of trouble.

A cloud hangs over an otherwise successful 2009-10 season for EMU's women's basketball team because the program was found in violation of four NCAA rules, including exceeding allowed practice times. As a penalty, coaching officials were suspended, pay was frozen and the NCAA levied additional sanctions against the team. Coach AnnMarie Gilbert resigned following the 2012 season and was replaced by Tory Verdi.

The incident helped the school realize that while its compliance team might be thin, something would have to change to avoid future infractions.

"We needed more eyes, ears and time," said Chris Hoppe, associate athletic director for compliance at EMU.

"No one has enough staff or enough time," he offered. "We find a way."

Hoppe's "way" includes something relatively rare in the world of college compliance: having interns attend practices and record what they observe.

For the past year the school has used between five and seven interns a semester to attend practices and games and fill out a compliance form. The interns, including sports management and business majors, are schooled in basic NCAA rules but are not, officials say, asked to make judgement calls.

"The forms are really designed to be as efficient as possible, where you wouldn't have to have an in-depth understanding or professional knowledge of the rules to answer the questions," said Lorne Robertson, assistant director of compliance at EMU.

Added Hoppe: "They're not meant to enforce the rules."

Interns are also not permitted to monitor men's football or basketball and women's basketball practices and games, where NCAA rules are notoriously complicated.

The change has allowed the compliance office to monitor each active sport once a week, attending full home games and practices and at least one away game per sport each season — something few schools with similar resources accomplish, Hoppe said. Women's basketball is monitored twice a week.

Officials say the increased presence not only helps the compliance office catch more mistakes, but it helps players and coaches become more familiar and comfortable with the office.

"We want to get to the small problems, keep them small. By that I mean just discovering an issue before it happens again and again," Hoppe said.

Robertson, a former intern, says the for-credit internships give students a "foot in the door" to a competitive business. Compliance workers constantly get employment inquiries, he said.

"I got tons of exposure very quickly," said Robertson, a lawyer who switched careers, first interning for the compliance office in 2011.

The internships are unpaid, and Robertson and his wife each took a second job to soften the financial blow. Eventually, however, Robertson became a graduate assistant and received a stipend, roughly $7,000 a year, and free tuition for EMU classes. Then, in 2012, he was hired in the compliance office full time.

Other interns have gone on to work at major universities in Denver, Hawaii and Florida.

Meanwhile, the compliance office has made other operational changes in recent years, including using electronic databases to log practice times and requiring that student athletes watch educational webcasts each month.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.

But Eastern had led the game since 4:30 into the game, and with the Eagles stretching every possession to the very end of the shot clock, that 4:30 seemed like barely any time at all.

So Missouri State coach Paul Lusk called for the Bears to let the ball roll to halfcourt on the inbounds in order to milk every second out of the clock he could.

Nathan Scheer hit a 3-pointer on the possession, and so started a 14-0 run that would lead to a 57-54 loss for Eastern Michigan at the Convocation Center on Saturday. The Mid-American Conference vs. Missouri Valley Conference matchup was part of the 2013 Ramada WorldWide Bracket Busters event.

Eastern (12-15) scored just seven points in the final six minutes of the game, all of which came in the final 39 seconds.

"We needed all the time we could get because they make you have such long posessions with their zone," Lusk said. "And then on the other end, we’re trying to guard them, but they’re running their shot clock all the way down.

"So every second matters when you’re on the road, every second matters especially when you’re down."

Despite the extended scoring drought, after Thompson's 3-pointer Eastern was only down three with 39 seconds remaining. But needing to foul on Missouri State's next possession, it happened to be Thompson who did the fouling to stop the clock.

It was Thompson's fifth foul, which left the Eagles without their leading scorer down the stretch. Thompson finished with 19 points and was 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

"Derek to his credit, made the play. Big team play. We had to stop the clock and put someone on the line," said Eastern Michigan assistant coach Kevin Mundro. Head coach Rob Murphy was not available after the game due to a family emergency according to an Eastern Michigan representative. "(Thompson) played a whale of a game."

Eastern Michigan's Anthony Strickland attempts to console Antoine Chandler after Chandler missed a pair of free throws in a 57-54 loss to Missouri State at the Convocation Center Saturday, February 24.

Joseph Tobianski | AnnArbor.com

Chandler missed the front end of the one-and-one, ending Eastern's chance at a comeback in the final seconds.

"We were fouling whoever got it when we were up by three," Lusk said. "We weren’t going to let it get to overtime."

Chandler had missed the front end of another one-and-one with Eastern down four with 21 seconds remaining. The two high-pressure situations happened to fall on the shoulders of the sophomore guard who played less than a minute in the game.

"You never know when your number’s going to be called," Mundro said. "He probably went to bed last night dreaming of a situation like this. I mean it’s not the end of the world, next time he’s gotta make ‘em, and I think he knows that. But he didn’t lose this game."

Lusk said fouling Chandler specifically -- who played least of any player to enter the game -- wasn't part of his team's end-of-game strategy.

"It just happened that way," Lusk said. "Whoever got it we were fouling on the catch."

Eastern started the game hot from the outside, making its first four 3-pointers of the game and leading by as much as nine in the first half. The Eagles took a 29-21 lead into halftime.

The Bears (9-20) started the second half on a 7-0 run, but after back-to-back buckets from Thompson, including a four-point play after he was fouled on a 3-pointer, Eastern appeared in control.

That is until they went completely cold with six minutes to go in the game. Eastern finished the game 8-of-16 (50 percent) from 3-point range.

Anthony Downing gave Missouri State the lead for good with a spinning jumper in the lane with 2:45 remaining in the game. Downing finished with a team-high 16 points.

Austin Harper had nine points and six assists off the bench for Eastern.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

The university announced the hiring of Ryan Oshnock as a special teams coach and Brad Wilson as the team's new offensive line coach. Oshncock and Wilson are the fourth and fifth new assistant coaches added to head coach Ron English's staff so far this offseason.

Wilson has spent the past three seasons as the run game coordinator/offensive line coach at Division II Fort Lewis College and prior to that was a graduate assistant under current Michigan coach Brady Hoke at San Diego State and Ball State.

Eastern Michigan head coach Ron English, above, has hired five new assistant coaches so far this offseason.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com file photo

Oshnock spent last season as the defensive coordinator for Division II Ferris State University and previously worked at Central Michigan and Cincinnati under current Tennessee coach Butch Jones.

English is entering the final year of his five-year contract with Eastern Michigan. The hiring of five new assistants so far this offseason -- most notably offensive coordinator Stan Parrish -- is as drastic a shakeup of his staff since after his first season with the Eagles, 2009, when the team went 0-12.

Eastern is 10-38 under English with six of those wins coming in the 2011 season when Eastern went 6-6 and English was named Mid-American Conference coach of the year. Eastern went 2-10 last season.

Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at petercunningham@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.

Eastern Michigan University asked to sever ties with Adidas following alleged worker violations.

Associated Press

An Eastern Michigan University student organization, Students for an Ethical and Participatory Education, is urging the university to consider severing its contract with Adidas due to allegations of workers rights violations, the Eastern Echo reported.

Two workers from a closed-down factory in Indonesia visited the school Wednesday and said Adidas has repeatedly refused to recognize their rights and pay severance pay.

The university has sent a letter to Adidas inquiring about its practices and expects to hear a response by the end of the month, according to the Echo. EMU’s contract with Adidas began in June 2010 and is valid until May 2015.

This isn't the first time a local university has looked into the allegations.

University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman complained to Adidas in October and urged the company to ensure that its former workers received severance pay after the contractor, P.T. Kizone, closed in 2011. More than 2,700 individuals did not receive severance payments. U-M has a $60 million sports apparel contract with Adidas.

• Read the Eastern Echo article.