Minnie's 22 leads Eastern Michigan past Kent State 95-61
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Elijah Minnie scored 22 points, making five 3-pointers, and led five players into double-figure scoring as Eastern Michigan blew past Kent State in the second half for a 95-61 victory on Saturday.
The Eagles (8-8, 2-1 Mid-American) scored 56 points with 67 percent shooting after halftime, 18 of 27, including making 5 of 7 from beyond the arc, 71 percent.
James Thompson IV opened the second half with a block, leading to a Minnie 3-pointer on the other end and Eastern Michigan was off on a 28-7 tear. At the midpoint of the second half, the Eagles pushed their lead to 67-39.
Eastern Michigan made 10 of 12 field goals in the surge, including 4 for 4 from distance and had three steals. Kent State was 2-of-16 shooting and 1 of 7 from 3 during that span.
Minnie, a redshirt senior, averaged 8.3 points in the first eight games this season, 17.7 in the last eight. Thompson scored 18 and blocked four shots, Paul Jackson added 17 points, Boubacar Toure 15 and Kevin McAdoo 14.
Jaylin Walker led the Golden Flashes (12-4, 1-2) with 14 points.
