| It was a mistake. McClain capped a 10-2 Eastern run with a 20-foot jumper that ignited the crowd and cut the deficit to seven, 53-46. The teams traded baskets but then Grubbs took a pass and slammed it home. In his attempt to put a flashy exclamation point on his jam, however, Grubbs was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. With a 57-49 lead and 1:32 left in the game, Grubbs' exclamation point soon turned into a question mark: DePaul would not score again. Brusewitz sank the technical foul shot and at the 1:15 mark Greg Floyd tipped in a miss to make the score 57-51. After the Demon four-corner delay coughed up the ball again, Boyce called time out. Zatkoff, the rail-thin sophomore from Warren, got behind the Demon defense and scored on a right-side lay-in. Following another Huron timeout, DePaul was called for an offensive foul. Bowen was roaring in a way it hadn't since the Gervin era. Eastern went to work again. Floyd took a pass at the top of the key. His shot fell through with 26 seconds left, reducing the lead to two. Could lightning strike one more time? Desperate to avoid the upset and under heavy pressure from the Huron defense, Bradshaw was called for traveling. Another turnover! The Hurons had 17 seconds to set up the offense and send the game into overtime. Carefully moving the ball, White sent it upcourt to McClain, who passed to Floyd. DePaul's interior defense prevented anything inside for Zatkoff and Brusewitz. Finally, with the clock expiring and Bowen fans going bonkers, Anthony White accepted a final pass. A freshman playing only his seventh NCAA contest, White had already won a game for the Hurons earlier in the season with a last-second 20-footer against Cleveland State. But this night, the stakes were infinitely higher. Later, Boyce related that White was supposed to penetrate and dish, but, perhaps thinking of those early-season heroics, White took the shot. It was the kind of situation every kid on every playground dreams of; a 30-foot desperation shot with three seconds left. It fell short. A disappointing loss? You bet. A moral victory? Absolutely. It marked the first time EMU proved it belonged in Division I and could play against the very best in the country. Nothing would come easy, as Boyce would discover in future years. But the impressive comeback and narrow defeat to DePaul gave Eastern its first measure of D1 respectability in Huron Hardwood History. Return to: Huron Hardwood History Dave's Attic |
| Three seconds left: Anthony White took the shot. It was a prayer; a 30-foot desperation heave with three seconds left on the Bowen Field House game clock. It was incredible, really, that White even had the opportunity to take his Eastern Michigan basketball team into overtime against a team the stature of nationally-ranked DePaul. The Hurons were down only by two points with time expiring, and Anthony White took the shot... The Eastern Michigan basketball program had grown up pretty quickly in the early 1970's. EMU jumped from NAIA status to the NCAA's College Division in 1971. During a run deep into the College Division tournament, everything came apart. Star George Gervin and three other starters were suspended after an on-court fight with Roanoke College. Gervin, only a sophomore, turned pro. Head Coach Jim Dutcher resigned. Suddenly the bright glow of a promising future morphed into the sharp glare of disappointing reality. Finally, the program's competitveness was challenged further by a quick transition to NCAA "Division I" status a couple of years later. Clearly, the program needed a head coach with a sense of purpose and direction, someone experienced yet hungry, someone who could win a few recruting wars and return the Hurons to respectability. In April, 1979, EMU turned to Jim Boyce to fill that role. At EMU, Boyce set to work immediately, signing seven prospects to national letters of intent. Indeed, newcomers would play a vital role on the 1979-80 Huron squad. Freshmen Anthony White and Marlow McClain ran the backcourt, sophomore transfer Jeff Zatkoff filled one forward spot and Jack Brusewitz--who sat out the previous season with a knee injury--started at center. Zatkoff and Brusewitz became known as the "Twin Towers." They could rebound and Zatkoff could shoot...but there wasn't much help from the perimeter. The inexperienced Hurons were tested early and often by a schedule that included Big Ten teams Minnesota and Wisconsin, and three other teams that played in the NCAA Tournament the year before: Detroit, Toledo, and the DePaul University Blue Demons. This was the DePaul of legendary head coach Ray Meyer, a team ranked sixth in the nation, that had made it to the Sweet 16 the year before. The Demons had just thrashed UCLA on national television in a game that showcased 6'7" All American forward Mark Aguirre and future NBA all-star Terry Cummings. Guard Clyde Bradshaw ran the offense and center James Mitchem dominated the boards. The undefeated Demons invaded Ypsilanti to take on the 3-3 Hurons. Aguirre led an early DePaul run, showing the Bowen Field House crowd of 4,600 the Blue Demons weren't overlooking their lightly-regarded opponents. The athletic and acrobatic Aguirre was everywhere, pulling down rebounds and consistently beating the Hurons inside. Boyce didn't want a blowout on his home floor. He installed a patient, passing offense designed to take the best shot possible. It began to work and when forward Kelvin Blakely nailed three jumpers late in the half, EMU inched to within 11 points, 37-26. Before anyone could think "upset" DePaul, led by Aguirre and forward Teddy Grubbs, came out flying after intermission. The Blue Demons were determined to put away Eastern early. When Aguirre scored to give DePaul a 51-36 lead with 13:20 remaining Meyer called for a four-corner stall. |
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| Anthony White sets the play |
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| December 19, 1979 Ypsilanti, MI DePaul 57 Eastern Michigan 55 |