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Freshmen power Broncos past EMU

2/28/2015

KALAMAZOO, Mich.- The Western Michigan Broncos improved to 18-11 overall and 9-7 in the Mid-American Conference with an 80-72 win over visiting Eastern Michigan (17-12, 6-10 MAC) Saturday at University Arena.

The victory was fueled by freshman center Drake LaMont and freshman point guard Thomas Wilder as the two combined to score 50 of the Broncos’ 80 points. Lamont dominated down low, totaling a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 12-for-15 from the floor. It was his second double-double of the season and his 10 boards also tied a career high.

Wilder pitched in 23 points, doing a majority of his work at the free throw line. Wilder was a perfect 16-for-16 from the stripe, setting a new school record for most free throws made in a single game without a miss.

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Falcons rally for win at Miami

2/28/2015

Zack Denny takes a second half three.

STORY AND PICTURES
BY MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, Ohio – Coming into his team’s rematch with the Miami RedHawks Saturday, Bowling Green head coach Chris Jans had a feeling sophomore guard Zach Denny would have a good game.

While it might not have appeared that way early, Denny flourished down the stretch as Bowling Green fought back from an 11-point deficit to post a 62-57 win over MU.

“I told our staff before the game that Zack Denny was going to play well today,” Jans said. “He had two really good days of practice (and) he and I had a very productive individual meeting. His mind is right, and I could sense it.”

Jans also noted Denny “didn’t have a very good outing against Miami 10 days ago, and he wanted to rectify that.”

Denny, who finished with a game-high 17, had just four points at the halftime break. Bowling Green, however, owned a 31-27 advantage. That lead disappeared relatively quickly as the Falcons (19-8, 11-5 MAC) failed to score a single second half point until Jehvon Clarke’s jumper at 10:10.

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Injury ends Robotham season

2/28/2015

AKRON, Ohio – Akron basketball head coach Keith Dambrot announced this week that freshman guard Noah Robotham will miss the rest of the season after a MRI confirmed that he tore his right ACL.

Robotham, a Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year candidate, was injured with 1:10 to go in regulation against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. He would split a pair of free throws following the injury, but came out of the game afterward.

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Akron pulls away in win over Bobcats

2/28/2015

Victory ends UA slide, extends Ohio woes

By EVAN MEYER
AKRON, OHIO – The Akron Zips used a 15-5 run midway through the second half to break open a close game, defeating the Ohio Bobcats 70-58 Friday night in their final regular season home game at Rhodes Arena.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak for Akron (18-11, 9-7 MAC) -- their longest such skid since January, 2003 -- and yet the Zips have hope in garnering one of the four byes in the upcoming 2015 MAC Tournament.

“The win took pressure off our guys.” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said. “When you hold the opposition to 33 percent shooting and also have 16 assists, on most nights you are going to win.”

Freshman Antino Jackson led UA with 13 points including a trio of three-pointers, along with five assists, three rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Isiah Johnson added 12 with three boards, three helpers and two blocked shots, while junior Reggie McAdams had 11

Ohio (9-18, 4-12 MAC) absorbed its sixth consecutive loss and has not tasted victory since it defeated Eastern Michigan on February 7. The ‘Cats last victory away from the Convocation Center was January 21st at Ball State.

“They had a stretch where they scored on nine of ten possessions in the second half, and that caused separation.” Bobcats head man Saul Phillips said.
Sophomore Antonio Campbell led all scorers in the contest with 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Seniors Maurice Ndour and Javarez ‘Bean’ Willis each added 11.

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MAC announces 2015 grid schedules

2/27/2015

(Click Read More below for schedules by date and/or school)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced its 2015 football schedule today. Highlighting the schedule will be 16 midweek nationally televised games during the month of November, slated for national television on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 and additional national television outlets as the conference race unfolds in both the East and West divisions.

An updated release of the MAC 2015 football schedule will be released in June with kick times and a television schedule for the first three weeks of the regular season and midweek games during October and November. All other game kick times and television will be announced 12 days prior to the scheduled game.

The regular season will conclude with the 19th Marathon MAC Football Championship game on Friday, Dec. 4 at Ford Field in Detroit on ESPN2. This will mark the 12th Marathon MAC Football Championship game at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, Super Bowl XL, and the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

For the eighth year in a row, league schools will face a formidable non-conference slate of opponents from the following Football Bowl Subdivision conferences – ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and Notre Dame. In addition, the conference will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Independent Army.

MAC programs will face five non-conference foes that finished in the final AP Top 25 poll: Ohio State (1), Michigan State (5), Wisconsin (13), Marshall (23) and Memphis (25). MAC programs will twice face National Champion Ohio State as NIU plays in Columbus on Sept. 19 and Western Michigan on Sept. 26. Also, Western Michigan will host Michigan State in its season opener on Friday, Sept. 4 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

A total of 12 non-conference games will feature a Big Ten opponent (Illinois; Maryland; Michigan State (2); Minnesota (2); Northwestern; Ohio State (2); Penn State; Purdue; Wisconsin). The MAC will face foes from the ACC (3--Boston College, Pittsburgh, Syracuse), SEC (4--Arkansas, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M), Big 12 (3--Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State); Pac-12 (1--Colorado) and Independent Notre Dame.

The MAC will also face opponents from the American Athletic Conference (3— Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple), Mountain West (3--Nevada, UNLV, Wyoming), Conference USA (6—Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Marshall (2), Old Dominion, Western Kentucky) and Sun Belt Conference (5--Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, Louisiana-Lafayette), along with Independent Army.

MAC programs continue to increase the number of home or neutral site games against FBS Conference opponents. This season the MAC will host 16 games against FBS non-conference foes, including Oklahoma State (Big 12); Michigan State (Big Ten); Pittsburgh (ACC); Iowa State (Big 12);

MAC Home Games vs. FBS Non-Conference opponents:
-Oklahoma State (Big 12) at Central Michigan on Sept. 3;
-Michigan State (Big Ten) at Western Michigan on Sept. 4;
-Old Dominion (Conference USA) at Eastern Michigan on Sept. 5;
-UNLV (Mountain West) at NIU on Sept. 5;
-Pittsburgh (ACC) at Akron on Sept. 12;
-Marshall (Conference USA) at Ohio on Sept. 12;
-Iowa State (Big 12) at Toledo on Sept. 19;
-Memphis (American Athletic) at Bowling Green on Sept. 19;
-Cincinnati (American Athletic) at Miami on Sept. 19;
-Temple (American Athletic) at UMass on Sept. 19;
-Army (Independent) at Eastern Michigan on Sept. 26;
-Arkansas State (Sun Belt) at Toledo on Sept. 26;
-Nevada (Mountain West) at Buffalo on Sept. 26;
-Marshall (Conference USA) at Kent State on Sept. 26;
-Florida International (Conference USA) at UMass on Oct. 3;
-Georgia State (Sun Belt) at Ball State on Oct. 17.

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MRO MAC Power Rankings – Feb. 27

2/27/2015

Three teams managed to post victories in both their MAC outings last week. Two of them move up in our latest MRO MAC Power Rankings. Central Michigan was one of the “unblemished,” and it therefore holds onto the top spot. Ball State, despite a pair of “game” efforts, remains at the bottom as “the streak” continues. Meanwhile, one former No. 1in the power rankings takes a big tumble.

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Johnson hits game-winner as NIU tops Toledo

2/26/2015

TOLEDO, Ohio -- Trailing by three with a minute to play, junior Travon Baker and senior Anthony Johnson each knocked down a three in the final minute as the Northern Illinois Huskies defeated Toledo, 84-82, on Wednesday night at Savage Arena.

Baker scored a team-high 18 points and added a team-best seven assists. senior Aaron Armstead added 15 while redshirt freshman Marin Maric and sophomore Aaric each added 10 points.

“Our guys came out with great energy, great effort and great focus,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “Early in the game we got stops, we took good shots. We shot 55 percent in the first half, and we sustained that in the second half, shooting 50 percent.

“We executed our sets out of timeouts and our guys had great patience and poise,” Montgomery continued. “They believed that we could win the game, but we still had to make plays. Travon Baker’s three was a huge shot and Anthony Johnson hit an unbelievable game-winning shot. We needed this win. It is a big momentum boost. We have had a lot of close losses so it was time to win one.”

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Bowling Green bounces Bobcats

2/25/2015

Athens, Ohio – Senior forward Richaun Holmes eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark early in the second half Tuesday, as the Bowling Green Falcons posted a 76-65 road win over the Ohio Bobcats at the Convocation Center.

Holmes, a 6-8 forward, became just the 12th player in BGSU history since 1953-54 to record 1,000 career points and 600 career rebounds. He is also the only Falcon in BGSU history to post 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds and 200 career blocks.

Junior forward Spencer Parker led the Falcons with his first career double-double. He tallied 19 points, matching his season-high, and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Jehvon Clarke made the best of his first start of the season with 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Holmes registered 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while guard Anthony Henderson chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Ohio, is currently on a five-game losing streak, had three players in double figures. Maurice Ndour led the way with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds. Antonio Campbell posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Stevie Taylor came off the bench to add 12 points, five assists and three steals.

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Boards, free throws help UB down Akron

2/25/2015

BUFFALO, NY – Despite shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor, the Buffalo Bulls tied a season-low with just six turnovers and recorded 24 offensive rebounds in a 67-62 victory over Akron on Tuesday night at Alumni Arena.

The win moves the Bulls past UA in the MAC East Standings and just one game out of first place. Buffalo is now 18-9 and 9-6 in conference play.

Akron falls to 17-11 and 8-7 on the year. The Zips were led by Pat Forsythe, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Joining him in double figures were Deji Ibitayo (16) and Antino Jackson (10).

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CMU makes it six straight with win over Eagles

2/25/2015

YPSILANTI, Mich. – John Simons scored a season-high 23 points and Josh Kozinski added 18 as the Central Michigan Chippewas ran past Eastern Michigan, 72-56, in Mid-American Conference action Tuesday at EMU’s Convocation Center.

It was the Chippewas’ sixth consecutive victory as they improved to 21-5, 11-4 in the MAC. They lead the West Division by one game over Toledo (18-9, 10-4), which was scheduled to play host to Northern Illinois on Tuesday. That, however was postponed to Wednesday because of a water main break on the Toledo campus.

“I think our guys have realized that they’ve exceeded expectations by so much that they don’t feel that pressure anymore when they come to games,” CMU coach Keno Davis said. “Anything that we do the rest of the year is gravy on the season, and yet we want to accomplish that much more.”

Simons and Kozinski, who entered the game ranked one and two, respectively, in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage, went a combined 13-for-23 from three-point territory as CMU made 16 triples (on 37 attempts) on the night, their season-high for a road game. Simons hit a career-high seven triples, while Kozinski equaled his career-best with six. His point total was one shy of his career-high.

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Broncos edge Ball State in defensive battle

2/25/2015

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Western Michigan Broncos took control of a defensive slugfest on the road for their third win in their last four games, defeating the Ball State Cardinals 53-48 Tuesday at Worthen Arena.

With the win the Broncos improve to 17-11 overall on the season and 8-7 in Mid-American Conference play. Ball State dropped its 13th consecutive game and fell to 7-19 on the campaign (2-13 MAC).

The Broncos smothered BSU defensively, holding the hosts to a 31.3 field goal percentage overall and a 21.7 percent mark from three-point range. WMU controlled the rebounding battle with a 33-30 advantage and forced 15 Ball State turnovers, turning those giveaways into 17 points while allowing just 13 points off turnovers.

Connar Tava recorded the Broncos team-high with 13 points while also recording eight rebounds and three assists. Senior David Brown notched 12 points in 33 minutes. AJ Avery came off the bench for a career-high 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in 21 minutes of action, providing key minutes in a physical contest in the post.

Bo Calhoun tallied 15 points to lead Ball State. Sean Seller collected 13 points and Franco House added 10.

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Huge comeback sends Miami past Kent State

2/25/2015

Eric Washington tied a career high with 24 points. (MRO /Smith)

MU wipe outs 19-point deficit, wins in OT
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami RedHawks are on a roll!
Miami made it four straight wins Tuesday at Millett Hall by knocking off yet another MAC East leader. The RedHawks prevailed, 86-81, over Kent State in overtime after rallying from a 19-point second-half deficit. It was the second consecutive OT win for MU, which edged Akron on the road Saturday. A week ago, Miami (12-16, 7-8 MAC) edged MAC East leader Bowling Green on the Falcons home court. The streak started with a win over rival Ohio Feb. 14.

Kent State, meanwhile, fell for the first time in four games. The Flashes (19-9, 10-5 MAC) fall into a tie for first with Bowling Green, which defeated Ohio Tuesday in Athens.

Point guard Eric Washington led Miami. Seven of his 24 points (tying a career high) came in overtime. Joining him in double figures were Will Sullivan (16), Geovonie McKnight (14) and Willie Moore (12).

Kent State forward Jimmy Hall tied for game-high honors with 24 points. Davareaux Manley and Kris Brewer registered 14 points apiece, while Chris Ortiz posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
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MAC announces POTW

2/24/2015

The Mid-American Conference on Monday announced its Men’s Basketball Players of the Week. This week’s honorees are Shannon Evans of Buffalo and Julius Brown of Toledo.

MAC Men's Basketball East Division Player of the Week
Shannon Evans, Buffalo, Guard
Sophomore, Suffolk, VA/Nasemond River
Evans averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game this past week as the Bulls won a pair of road games at Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green. Evans was impressive from downtown as he shot 7-of-10 from three point range. In the win at Eastern Michigan, Evans had 14 points and six rebounds, while recording four steals on the defensive end. On Saturday, Evans scored 19 points, going 5-for-6 from three in a win over MAC East leading Bowling Green. Evans is second on the Bulls in scoring at 15.2 points per game and tied for the team lead with 113 assists.

MAC Men's Basketball West Division Player of the Week
Julius Brown, Toledo, Guard
Senior, Markham, IL/Hillcrest
Brown helped the Rockets extend their MAC road win streak to five games by averaging a team-high 20.0 ppg and 4.0 apg in victories at Akron and Western Michigan. Brown was extremely efficient from the field with a 57.7 field-goal percentage, including a 7-of-10 mark at Western Michigan, and a 50.0 performance from behind the three-point arc. Brown tallied 21 points and a season-high five rebounds against the Zips and registered the fourth game-winning shot of his Rocket career with a 15-foot fadeaway jumper with 1.7 seconds left to give UT a 68-66 win. Brown then directed the Rocket attack to a season-high 97 points to go along with a 60.0 team shooting mark at Western Michigan. The two-time all-conference honoree led UT with 19 points and six assists in the win that saw all five Rocket starters score in double figures.
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Tally, Ward help EMU post first MAC road win

2/22/2015

Johnson nets career high 23 for NIU
DeKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com/MRO Edit) – Eastern Michigan came through with its first road win of the 2015 Mid-American Conference season Saturday when the Eagles (17-10, 6-8 MAC) knocked off Northern Illinois at the NIU Convocation Center, 73-65. The Huskies (14-11, 4-10 MAC) absorbed their fifth home loss of the MAC campaign, and fell to 9-2 since head coach Rob Murphy took over the EMU program prior to the 2011-12 campaign.

Mike Talley posted a career-best 25 points to lead the Green and White's offense, going 6-of-12 from the floor while knocking down 10 free throws in 14 attempts. The redshirt-senior point guard dished out five assists in the victory. Karrington Ward was just one rebound shy of his fourth-straight double-double, going for 21 points and nine rebounds. The Lockport, Ill. native blocked a pair of shots and added a pair of steals to the stat sheet.

As a team, Eastern Michigan shot 42.6 percent from the floor, while hitting 31.6 percent of its three-point attempts. The Eagles converted 67.5 percent of their free throw attempts.

Anthony Jonhson tallied a career-high of 23 points for Northern Illinois, knocking down seven field goals, including five from downtown. Aaric Armstead led the Huskies in rebounding, grabbing 10. NIU struggled from the charity stripe, connecting on 62.9 percent of its opportunities. The Huskies used a 52.2 percent shooting performance in the second half to roar back into the game, but Eastern held off NIU down the stretch.
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Simons, Fowler lead CMU past Ball State

2/22/2015

Fowler sets assist record
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - John Simons scored 19 points and Chris Fowler netted 18 points with eight assists Saturday as the Chippewas ran to an 83-60 victory over Ball State in a Mid-American Conference men's basketball game at McGuirk Arena.

The win was CMU's 20th of the season (against five losses), marking the first time the Chippewas have won 20 games since 2002-03. CMU is 10-4 in the MAC, and shares the lead in the West Division with Toledo, which won at Western Michigan on Saturday.

Fowler entered the game needing six assists to become CMU's all-time leader in that category. He found Simons with 15:25 remaining, and Simons nailed a triple from the left corner. It was Fowler's record-breaking 490th career assist as he moved past Giordan Watson into the top spot.
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