YPSILANTI, Mich. – Eastern Michigan shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field, and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from three-point range, as the Eagles topped the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 91-57, on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 27) at the EMU Convocation Center. NIU led by one with 5:30 left in the first half but the Eagles closed the half on a 17-3 run and never looked back. 

Sophomore Tyler Cochran (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) scored a team-high 20 points, his third game in the last four with 20-plus points, junior Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) added 18 points and junior Zool Kueth (Gallatin, Tenn./Pratt CC) chipped in 10 points. 

"Coach Murphy (Eastern Michigan head coach) told me in the handshake, 'we hit some unbelievable shots, shots that we haven't made all year,'" said NIU interim head coach Lamar Chapman. "So, they hit some tough shots and we had another scoring drought. We did a good job with turnovers early, then we had four or five of them late (in the first half) that turned into points. We missed a lot of layups and that stuff deflates you."

Seven-straight points from Eastern Michigan gave the Eagles an 11-5 advantage in the early going, but NIU answered with its own 7-0 run to take a 12-11 lead with 13:27 left in the opening half. Hankerson connected on a triple to open the run before he added a bucket inside the arc and Cochran scored to close the run. 

The Eagles went back in front by five before Kueth scored five straight for NIU to pull the Huskies even at 17. 

Trailing 23-19, Hankerson ignited a 7-2 Huskie spurt with his third triple of the half. After a bucket by the Eagles, Cochran and Kueth each added a pair to close the burst and give NIU a 26-25 lead with just under six minutes left in the half. 

Eastern Michigan finished the opening stanza on a 17-3 run as the Eagles took a 42-29 lead into the intermission. Ty Groce led all scorers with 12 points in the first half for EMU, Noah Morgan added 11 for the Eagles and Hankerson scored 11 to pace the Huskies. 

The Eagles raced out with a 12-3 run in the opening three minutes to start half, taking a 54-32 lead, and forcing a NIU timeout. 

Eastern Michigan continued to be red-hot in the second half, going 10-of-13 from the field, and 6-of-7 from three-point range, in the first eight minutes after the break as the Eagles went on to the 34-point victory. 

Morgan finished with a game-high 22 points, Yeikson Montero added 20 points, Groce posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Bryce McBride scored 14 points. 

NIU will return home on Tuesday, March 2 for the home finale against Western Michigan. Tipoff against the Broncos is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.