Eastern Michigan Vs. Northern Illinois - Basketball

Tonight was the first game of the MAC Tournament for Eastern Michigan.  If they had beat Toledo on Saturday and someone else had lost, they would not need to play this game because they would have had a bye.  But they lost on Saturday, so it did not matter what the other team did.

As luck would have it, they drew Northern Illinois who they already beat twice this season.  If you recall from last season, that is not always a good precedent.  Would Eastern be able to exorcise their demons and beat the villians from DeKalb.

 The Northern Illinois players doing the New Zealand Rugby thing.  I forget what this is called but it's pretty neat.

 Glenn Bryant taking a shot.  He had 10 points tonight.

 Daylen Harrison setting up the play.

 Derek Thompson on defense.  Normally I don't get many pictures of Eastern on defense because I bring the lens for closer shots but with Lightroom, I can crop a bit more and clean up more of the noise.

 Jalen Ross setting up the play.  He only had 4 points tonight, but three of those points would be the most important points of his career so far.

 Jamell Harris taking a shot.

 Derek Thompson sizing up his opponents and getting ready to make his move.

 Austin Harper setting up the play.

 Da'Shonte Riley taking a shot.  He ended up with 13 points tonight and 11 rebounds.  I would have to say he was probably the hero of the game.

 Coach Murphy looking intense.

 Glenn Bryant charging the basket.

J.R. Sims letting a shot go.

 The thrill of victory.....

 ....and the agony of defeat.

And EMU exorcising their demons.  I would like to see them build on this and make a nice run in the MAC Tournament but something tells me that's not happening.  At any rate, it has been a pretty good season especially when you consider that most pundits were calling this a rebuilding season.  I can not wait to cover them next season.