College Basketball

Thompson IV, Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan 71-56

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) James Thompson IV hit 7 of 13 field goals and finished with 19 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Brandon Nazione added 16 and 11 to help Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan 71-56 Tuesday night.

Ty Toney scored 11 and Tim Bond added 10 points with five assists for Eastern Michigan.

Nazione made a layup, then hit a 3-pointer to cap a 13-2 run to open the game and the Eagles (12-12, 4-7 Mid-American Conference) never trailed.

Central Michigan (13-11, 6-5) scored 12 of the next 14 points to pull within one with nine minutes left in the first half, but Eastern Michigan responded with a 20-4 spurt that pushed its lead to 17 before going into halftime up 38-23.

Chris Fowler converted a 3-point play that cut the Chippewas' deficit to seven with five minutes left, but they would get no closer.

Fowler led CMU with 16 points.