| Not all the "important" games played by Eastern Michigan basketball teams have turned out to be victories. In fact, the 1987-88 dream team lost two of its five most memorable contests--to Missouri and Pittsburgh. It is fun, though, to savor the glory of that first championship season. Close your eyes for a moment and the image you see is that of Grant Long, the enduring symbol of Eastern Michigan's first truly successful Division I team. There is Long, making a baseline move to beat Michigan State; Long ripping down 18 rebounds against Detroit; Long dropping in a shot at the buzzer to beat Ohio, 102-101; Long scoring 61 points in two Mid-American Conference tournament games; and Long, grinning and wearing a basketball net after being awarded the tournament and league MVP awards. The final, fleeting image of the '87-88 campaign, however, is of one Brad Soucie, floating in one of his eight three-point field goals in the NCAA tournament game against Pitt. And what a game that was. The Hurons entered their first Division I tournament seeded a lowly #15 in the Midwest Regional. The opposing Panthers--seeded #2--were ranked eighth in the country after winning the Big East regular season title. Proud, talented, and confident, Pitt was aiming for something more than just a first-round victory...they were looking to go all the way to the Final Four in Kansas City. Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, and Demeteus Gore comprised the most dominating front line in America. Big East "Freshman of the Year" Sean Miller, a tremendous playmaker well-suited to assist the forwards, anchored the backcourt. The game began on an ominous note for the Hurons when Long picked up his first foul just 15 seconds into the game. A bad sign for Head Coach Ben Braun: if Long couldn't neutralize much of Pittsburgh's advantage up front, how could the Hurons compete? Braun's answer was simple: ball movement, Brad Soucie, and the three-point line. Lightning-quick freshman guard Lorenzo Neeley handled the rock; unsurprisingly, he was unable to find Long inside very often. While the big Panthers collapsed on Long, Neeley simply dished to the team's sharpshooter. Soucie put EMU on the board with a three-pointer from the right wing. He hit another triple from the left baseline. And the Soucie cannon found the mark one more time moments later, giving Eastern a 17-12 lead and the Panthers an instant appreciation of the word "upset." The contest settled into a duel between two very different teams--whose strengths easily exploited the other's weaknesses. Early on Eastern's pesky guards, Neeley and Howard Chambers, forced the tempo, creating turnovers and running the fastbreak. At the other end of the court, Pittsburgh's big men converted several easy three-point plays as EMU defenders desperately hacked away. First Long, then forward |
| Isaac Henderson sat down with their third fouls. Then, big reserve center Brian Nolan committed his third--in utter, flailing frustration--as Charles Smith slammed home two more points in a late 11-1 Panther run. Pitt took a 52-49 lead at the intermission. Despite relinquishing the lead late in the first half, Braun's gameplan had kept the Hurons close. Eastern hit eight of 17 three-point attempts, and a pressure defense wrought havoc with the Panther backcourt. Soucie already had 17 points--all but two from behind the 19'9" stripe. Neeley had 16, but Long was having a frustrating day, scoring only four. If Braun could only find a way to get Long involved on offense... Henderson opened the second half by ripping down a Miller miss, and Long drew a foul from Smith in the lane. Long sank one of two freebies, stole an errant pass, drew another foul and scored on a deft move past Smith to tie the game. Braun could breathe easier--for awhile, anyways. Eastern's guards and Pittsburgh's forwards continued to dominate the offensive tempo of the game. But talent began to tell, however, and a Jerome Lane power move in the paint gave Pitt a 75-66 lead midway through the half. Long would say after the game that there was no "victory" in "moral victory," and the Hurons weren't playing just to keep the score close. They could have given up at that point and considered their appearance in March Madness justified. To the surprise of the Panthers, however, there would be not quitting this day. Soucie and freshman Carl Thomas rejuvenated the offense with a pair of three-pointers. Eastern's defensive intensity picked up. A few moments later Soucie rang the bell again, sinking his eighth triple--an NCAA First Round record. And when Neeley scored on a fast break layup with 6:45 left, the Hurons pulled to within three, 85-82. But that was the high-water mark of the Huron insurgency. With a 91-85 lead and time running out, Lane made a power move along the right baseline, was fouled by two Eastern defenders, and managed to score on an underhanded scoop. He made the ensuing free throw and suddenly, irretrievably, the lead was nine points. The final three-and-a-half minutes were a sad blur of Pittsburgh dunks, Eastern fouls, and dejected Huron fans. Pitt ended up with a 108-90 victory, but the final margin truly failed to tell the story of how an unheralded college basketball team from little-known Ypsilanti, Michigan took a major stride forward toward even greater successes. As such, the Pittsburgh defeat could be called the one of the most important losses in Huron Hardwood History. Return to: Huron Hardwood History Dave's Attic |
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| Ben Braun |
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| Lorenzo Neeley |
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| March 18, 1988 Lincoln, NE Pittsburgh 108 Eastern Michigan 90 |