EMU basketball drops regular season finale at Toledo, gets No. 5 seed in MAC Tournament
There was no consequence to the Eastern Michigan basketball team’s loss at Toledo on Saturday. Except, of course, the indignity of a 25-point blowout.
Toledo’s Rian Pearson had 27 points and 11 rebounds in the Rockets’ 76-51 senior day win in front of 4,764 at Savage Arena in Toledo.
The regular season finale loss snapped Eastern Michigan’s three-game winning streak, which is about all the Eagles (14-17, 9-7 Mid-American Conference West Division) had on the line.
EMU clinched its first MAC West title on Wednesday and lost a chance at a first-round bye in the MAC Tournament when Ohio beat Miami (Ohio), 63-54, before the Eagles and Rockets tipped off.
EMU will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament and host No. 12 Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. Monday at the Convocation Center.
Toledo (16-15, 7-9) opened the second half with a 9-2 run to stretch its 10-point halftime lead to 44-27. The Eagles wouldn’t get back within 14 points and the Rockets led by as many as 28.
Curtis Dennis (21 points) and Dominique Buckley (11 points) combined to make 8 of 15 3-pointers for the Rockets.
Senior point guard Darrell Lampley was the only EMU player to reach double-figure scoring totals, but was 1-of-7 on 3-point attempts. He finished with 13 points and five assists.
In the first half, EMU trimmed a nine-point Toledo lead to 25-22 after a Lampley's lone 3-pointer with 5:11 remaining before halftime. The Rockets closed the half on a 10-3 run, however, to lead 35-25 at the break.