Emoni Bates has historic performance for Eastern Michigan against Toledo

© Joel Bissell/mlive.com/TNS Eastern Michigan Eagles forward Emoni Bates (21) attempts a shot against Western Michigan at Read Field House on the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.

TOLEDO – It didn’t take long for Emoni Bates to rebound offensively in an historic way on Tuesday.

After scoring just seven points in a loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday, the Ypsilanti native bounced back with an emphatic performance for Eastern Michigan’s basketball team against Toledo.

The 6-foot-9 wing scored a career-high 43 points, 29 of which came in the first half, though EMU was unable to come out with the win, falling 84-79.

Bates’ 43 points were the most by an EMU player since Ray Lee scored a school record 50 points in 2017 and it was the third most points scored in a single game in school history.

Bates seemingly could not miss in the first half as he scored the last 29 points of the first frame for EMU and was 10-of-14 from the field with seven 3-pointers.

Despite missing the game-tying 3-point shot with 15 seconds left in regulation, Bates still came up big when EMU needed him to in the second half.

After EMU surrendered an 11-point lead with six minutes remaining, Bates knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 72-71 lead with 3:35 left in the game and he hit two free throws late to keep EMU within striking distance.

Bates got some help in the second half as Noah Farrakhan scored all of his 14 points in the second half, though Farrakhan fouled out late in the contest. Bates also had seven rebounds and hit a season high nine 3-pointers. Yusuf Jihad added eight points for EMU.

Toledo’s JT Shumate finished with a team-high 20 points, followed by 19 from Dante Maddox Jr. and 17 from Ray J Dennis.

Tuesday’s showing was another performance this season where Bates showed flashes of why he could be an offensive weapon at the NBA level as it was the ninth time this year he scored 20 or more points, the third time he eclipsed 30 points in a game and his first-ever 40-point game.

The Memphis transfer and former No. 1 overall recruit is averaging 20.5 points per game, which ranks first in the Mid-American Conference and first among sophomores in the nation.

Still, Eastern Michigan suffered its fifth straight loss on the year and fell to 4-16 overall and 1-6 in the MAC. Bates and the Eagles will be back in the action Saturday at Miami (OH).

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