WINTHROP 101, EASTERN MICHIGAN 87
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 82, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 66
NEVADA 62, AKRON 58
CHARLESTON 74, KENT STATE 72
TOLEDO 82, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 69
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Keshawn Williams scored a game-high 28 points as the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team shot 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the field, and 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from three, in an 86-61 victory over Long Island on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 23) in the third-place game at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.
David Coit scored 17 points and Zarique Nutter added 10 points. Oluwasegun Durosinmi grabbed a game-high, and career-best, 11 rebounds, to go along with a career-high seven points, while Kaleb Thornton ( also had seven points, along with a career-best 11 assists.
The 11 assists for Thornton marked the first time a Huskie had 10-or-more assists in a game since Laytwan Porter recorded 10 against Eureka on Nov. 21, 2015.
Back-to-back trifectas from Thornton and Coit ignited a 14-2 Huskie run to close the first half. Coit added two more triples during the run and Williams finished at the rim as NIU took a 50-27 lead into the intermission.
Williams led all scorers with 16 points in the opening 20 minutes, Coit added 14 while Thornton had five points and six assists in the first half.
The Huskies opened the second half by scoring six of the first eight, forcing an early Sharks timeout.
After Long Island scored the next three, NIU answered with five as Nutter finished as the rim and Coit hit another triple, giving NIU a 61-32 lead. NIU continued to control the contest and built a lead as large as 32, 84-52, before Long Island closed the game on a 9-2 run to cut the final deficit to 25.
R.J. Greene led Long Island with 14 points, Quion Burns and Marko Maletic each added 12 while Jacob Johnson chipped in 11 points.
CANCÚN, Mexico (EMUEagles.com) -- All five starters scored in double figures, including a career-high 25 points from Tyson Acuff, but it was not enough as Eastern Michigan suffered a 101-87 defeat to Winthrop University Wednesday in the final game of the 2022 Cancun Challenge.
The Eagles (1-5) saw Legend Geeter record his first double-double as he tallied career-highs points (12) and rebounds (10) inside the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico.
Acuff had a career day on the floor as the sophomore's 25 points not only marked the first time he scored more than 20 in his career. It also tied him with Ricky Cottrill for the most points scored by an Eagle in a game played internationally as Cottrill scored 25 against both the University of Miami (Fla.) and the University of Alabama-Birmingham at the 2001 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, The Virgin Islands.
Acuff was not done there as his 11-of-19 shooting from the floor saw him surpass Lorenzo Neely's EMU record for made baskets in an international game after he drained 10 against the University of Alabama at the 1989 San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.
Geeter recorded the first double-double of his career and the first for an Eagle since Mo Njie finished with 16 points and 10 boards at Miami University, March 4, 2022. Geeter, who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, becomes just the eighth Eastern player to record a double-double in an international game. Geeter led the team with three steals on the day as well as adding two assists, both of which tie career-highs for the big man.
Emoni Bates continued to hit long-range shots as the sophomore was 4-of-9 from behind the arc to give him four makes in back-to-back games and raise his season total to 19 made. Scoring at least 15 points in all five games he has played this season, Bates finished with 15 points and six rebounds while adding one steal and the team's lone blocked shot.
Noah Farrakhan finished the game with 17 points and joined Bates by knocking down four treys. Colin Golson Jr. was the fifth player to reach double-figure scoring in the game as he finished with 10 points. He added six rebounds, two assists, and one steal as well.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 47-37 heading into halftime.
Winthrop kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 75-55 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Bates' three, to shrink the deficit to 75-60 with 8:15 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept their comeback going, but Winthrop managed to hold on for the 101-87 win.
Eastern Michigan made the most of 15 offensive rebounds to tack on 17 second-chance points out of 50 total in the period.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.— Central Michigan notched season-highs for field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage and buckled down on defense in registering an impressive 82-66 men's basketball win over Cal State Northridge Wednesday evening in the consolation game of the Venue Twin SoCal Challenge.
On offense, the Chippewas shot 55 percent from the floor (29-53), 43 percent from 3-point range (6-14), finished with 19 assists on 29 field goals, and scored 42 points in the paint. Defensively, the Chippewas held Cal State Northridge to 35 percent (21-60) shooting and scored 17 points off Matador turnovers.
Junior sharpshooter Jesse Zarzuela led the Chippewas with a career-high 21 points as he converted 8-13 field goals and 4-7 3- pointers. Senior guard/forward Brian Taylor contributed a career-high 19 points on 8-15 shooting and four rebounds, and junior forward Carrington McCaskill recorded first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Sophomore point guard Kevin Miller made his return after missing Monday's game against High Point. He finished the day with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds in a full 40 minutes of action.
Later on, Zarzuela was named to the Venue Twin SoCal Challenge All-Tournament team after averaging 17.0 points through the two contests.
Central Michigan (2-3) took control in the first half with a 9-0 run and outscored CSUN 12-2 over the final 4:47 to take a 31-23 halftime lead. Zarzuela scored eight of CMU's final 12 points, including two 3-pointers and a layup. Zarzuela gave CMU the lead, 25-23, on a 3-pointer at the 3:50 mark, Miller followed with a layup, and Zarzuela scored on another layup with 40 seconds before the break. A McCaskill dunk made it 31-23 Central Michigan at the buzzer.
Central Michigan's offense was fueled by its defense in the first half as the Chippewas held CSUN to 17 percent shooting (9-35).
CMU never relinquished its lead throughout the second half.
Wright led Cal State Northridge with 21 points on 5-12 shooting and 9-10 free throws, while De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished with 13 points.
GRAND CAYMAN – Akron placed fourth overall at the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic as the Zips fell 62-58 to Nevada at John Gray Gymnasium on Wednesday night. The Zips finished the tournament 1-2, defeating Western Kentucky (72-53) to advance to the semifinals before falling to LSU (73-58).
Freshman Tavari Johsnon led the Zips offense with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc. Senior Xavier Castaneda followed in scoring for Akron with 11 points, while junior Enrique Freeman added nine points and a team-best nine rebounds. Senior Trendon Hankerson pulled down a second-best seven rebounds as the Zips and Wolf Pack were deadlocked at 33 rebounds apiece.
Akron's defense kept it in the game until the shooting caught up. The Zips started the game shooting 0 of 8 from the floor and only allowed Nevada to score seven points.
Johnson provided the offensive spark off the bench, scoring the Zips first bucket with 12:31 showing on the clock. Johnson followed with six points, including a steal and a breakaway layin for the lead, 11-9. Junior Greg Tribble added an old-fashioned 3-point play, Castaneda registered three points and Freeman capped the 15-4 run with a dunk. With the Zips ahead 15-11, the two teams traded baskets for the rest of the half as Akron led 24-20 at halftime.
Akron limited the Wolf Pack to shooting just 25.9 percent from the field (7 of 27), including a 12.5 percent (1 of 8) effort from beyond the arc. The Zips shot 38.5 percent from the floor and (10 of 26), but only connected with one trifecta in 10 attempts.
After the break, the Zips led by as many as seven points after a Johnson 3-pointer with 4:47 left to play in the game. A costly turnover prevented Akron from taking a nine-point, 58-49 advantage. Instead, Nevada scored five consecutive points to cut the Zips advantage to two, 56-54.
Freeman answered with a floater from the right side, and Nevada countered with another big 3-point field goal. In the final minute of the game, the Wolf Pack established the final lead of the game as Kenan Blackshear drove the left side of the lane for a layup, 59-58.
Will Baker led the Wolf Pack scoring efforts with 20 points, while Blackshear registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jarod Lucas was second in scoring with 16 points.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Kent State's fie-game win streak came to an end Wednesday as Charleston(6-1) edged the Flashes 74-72 on a late basket by Jaylon Scott.
Kent State (5-1) took a lead with 9:27 left and remained in front until Scott's 3-pointer with 23 seconds to go. A final shot by Carry was off-the mark.
Other Flashes reaching double figures were Malique Jacobs (13) and Miryne Thomas (13).
Ryan Larson led three Cougars in double figures.
ESTERO, Fla. – Senior Setric Millner Jr. registered a double-double and four more Rockets scored in double figures to lead the Toledo men's basketball team to an 82-69 victory over Northern Kentucky in its final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
"This was an important win for us today," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Our backs were to the wall. We didn't lose two games in a row last year during the regular season, and that was one of our goals this season. We have some things to fix when we get back to Toledo, and we learned from this tournament what we need to improve on."
Millner tallied a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets (4-2), while senior RayJ Dennis scored 13 points and dished out a team-best eight assists. Sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. nearly finished with a double-double in his first start as a Rocket by scoring 12 points and grabbing a season-high nine boards.
"Seth was efficient today by making 7-of-9 shots and hitting all six of his free throws," Kowalczyk said. "He played like an all-league player."
Senior JT Shumate added 12 points before fouling out after receiving a technical foul with 11:09 remaining. Sophomore EJ Farmer contributed a career-high 11 points and was 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 behind the arc.
LJ Wells topped Northern Kentucky (2-4) with 20 points off the bench.
Toledo shot 49.2 percent from the field, 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from three-point range and 12-of-14 (.857) at the charity stripe. NKU registered a 45.6 FG%, a 35.0 three-point FG% (7-of-20) and was 10-of-15 (.667) from the free-throw line.
The Rockets jumped on the Norse right of the gates, bolting to a 15-0 lead and increasing it to as much as 20 before settling for a 45-33 halftime advantage. NKU rallied to within four points midway through the second stanza, but Toledo went on a 7-0 run in the game's final three minutes to put an end to its brief two-game losing streak.