Njie Records Double-Double in Eastern Michigan’s Season Finale at Miami

OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – Despite a double-double double from freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville-DME Sports Academy) and a 12-rebound edge on the glass, the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team could not recover from an early deficit in the regular season finale at Miami University, March 4. Eastern trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half, but cut it to within five late, as the RedHawks punched their ticket to Cleveland, Ohio for the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament with the 76-63 victory.

The Eagles (10-21, 5-15 MAC) had three players score in double figures, led by Njie, who had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale-Siena) tacked on 15 points and Kevin-David Rice (Flint, Mich.-Grand Blanc-Delta College) chipped in as well with 14 points.

Redshirt freshman Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich.-North Farmington-Oakland) pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace the Eastern Michigan offense, which grabbed 15 boards and turned them into 13 second chance points.

How It Happened

Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 46-29 heading into halftime.

The Green and White narrowed the deficit to 65-51 before going on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 65-57 with 4:25 to go in the contest. Miami responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 76-63.

Eastern Michigan took care of business in the paint, recording 22 of its 34 points in the lane.

Game Notes

» Njie notched a double-double for the Eagles with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It was the second double-double for Njie, who previously accomplished the feat in the four overtime thriller against Florida International, Dec. 11.

» Njie tied his career-best in points (16) and field goals made in his return to southwest Ohio. A native of Centerville, Ohio, he was playing just 29 miles way from his hometown.

» Eastern Michigan lost despite a 39-27 rebounding advantage. It was just the ninth time in 2021-22 that EMU finished the game with a plus-rebounding margin.

» EMU’s +12 advantage on the glass was the team’s biggest this season, bettering  +11 edge against Bowling Green, Jan. 25.

» Eastern Michigan cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive boards in the game.

» The game marked the final time in an EMU uniform for seniors Thomas Binelli (Bologna, Italy-Bergen Catholic-Monroe), Axel Okongo (Saacy-sur-Marne, France-Thetford Prep Academy (Quebec)-Missouri), Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedict’s Prep-Portland State), Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley-Northern Illinois), and Darion Spottsville (Phoenix, Ariz.-Shadow Mountain-South Mountain C.C.).

» EMU played without leading scorer Noah Farrakhan (Newark, N.J.-The Patrick School-East Carolina), who missed the game after suffering an injury in the first half of the game against Western Michigan earlier this week, March 1.

Up Next

The regular season has concluded for Head Coach Stan Heath and company, who will now await the postseason awards that the league office will release next week.