Antonio Green scored 17 points and Jamell Harris added 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead Eastern Michigan over Madonna 79-70 on Wednesday.
The Eagles (1-1) had to hold off Madonna (1-3), an NAIA school that got 22 points from Bryant Slaughter on 8 of 17 shooting - including 6 of 11 from 3-point range.
EMU led 44-27 at the break, but Madonna hit four 3s in the first four minutes of the second half, two each from Bobby Naubert and Slaughter. The Crusaders couldn't keep EMU off the glass and trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before Slaughter's 3 with 3:01 remaining trimmed the deficit to 72-65.
Kevin Henry's free throw drew Madonna within 72-66 before a steal by EMU's Jay Higgins led to a tip-in by Harris, giving the Eagles a 74-66 lead with 35 seconds left. Geoff Gaylor hit a basket 7 seconds later to cut the margin to 6, but EMU hit five free throws to seal the win.
Slaughter also had seven rebounds and four steals.
