Former five-star recruit and Eastern Michigan wing Emoni Bates showed his scoring pop on Tuesday night, scoring 29 consecutive points for the Eagles in the first half of their game against Toledo. Bates went into the locker room with 29 of Eastern Michigan’s 35 points as the Eagles trailed Toledo 36-35.
Jalen Billingsley scored twice on layups before the first TV timeout, with Yusef Jihad adding a jumper a couple minutes later. That’s when Bates started his remarkable run, scoring Eastern Michigan’s final 29 points of the half.
Here’s the tally, which started with under 14 minutes to go in the half: four 3-point makes, then a jumper, then two more 3s, then a layup, followed by a dunk. He made another 3-pointer, then added two free throws to finish off the scoring.
Eastern Michigan trailed by eight points when Bates started scoring, closing the margin at halftime to one.
Bates didn’t attempt any shots until his scoring streak, going 10-of-14 from the field, including 7-of-9 from the 3-point line. He also made both his free throw attempts. Bates’ teammates took two combined field goal attempts over the more than 13-minute stretch.
If you’re not watching @BatesEmoni front @CBSSportsNetyou need to ?? @EMU_MBB pic.twitter.com/Ad5Wmo8sdZ
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The top-ranked small forward and No. 6 overall player in the 2022 class, Bates started his college career at Memphis, but he played in just 18 games, starting 13, as he battled injuries. Bates averaged 9.7 points and shot 38.6% from the field.
He elected to move closer to home for his second college season, and he’s re-found some of the form that made him a top prospect, though it hasn’t led to much team success.
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Heading into Tuesday night’s game, 247Sports’ top-ranked transfer in the 2022 class is averaging 19.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, improving his shooting percentages across the board.