Bowling Green 101, South Carolina State 78
Army 78, Buffalo 74
U. of Illinois Chicago 78, Central Michigan 74
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons opened their 2020-21 home schedule with a decisive 101-78 victory over South Carolina State University on Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center. BGSU moves to 1-1 on the season with the victory.
The Falcons led by just two points at the break, but opened the second half on a 21-0 run to open up a 66-43 lead with 15:38 remaining in the ballgame. BGSU had five players score at least 13 points, led by senior forward Daeqwon Plowden's double-double. Plowden finished with 19 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Plowden also tied his career high with three steals.
Trey Diggs (17 points), Justin Turner (16 points), Caleb Fields (15 points) and Kaden Metheny (13 points) also scored in double figures for the Orange and Brown.
Army 78, Buffalo 74
UNCASVILLE, CT – The Buffalo Bulls went scoreless over the final 4:30 on Saturday afternoon as UB lost a 78-74 battle against undefeated Army West Point (3-0) inside Bubbleville at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Army West Point, who outscored their first two opponents by an average of 41.5 points per game, ended the game on an 8-0 run as the Black Knights took advantage of an aggressive Buffalo squad that was called for 22 fouls. That sent Army to the line 21 times, including some pivotal moments at the end as the final four points came from the charity stripe.
Army opened the game scoring the first five points and led for much of the opening half, extending its lead to seven at 21-14 with 11:25 left. A three pointer from sophomore Savion Gallion gave Buffalo its first lead with 6:02 left in the first half. The Bulls wound up going on a 14-5 run as Jayvon Graves hit a three to give UB the 38-33 lead with 3:16 left. The Black Knights, however, regained the lead and take a two-point edge into the break.
Army West Point opened up a 52-44 lead just three minutes into the second half, its largest lead of the game, but the Bulls had an answer. UB went on a 14-0 run over three and a half minutes, which included three three-point plays, as well as another Graves triple. A fast-break layup from LaQuill Hardnett put the Bulls ahead 62-54 with 13:13 left as the Bulls enjoyed their largest lead of the game.
The Bulls led by five with 11:31 left when Army West Point went on an 11-3 run to take the lead back at 70-67 with 8:31 left. A three pointer from David Nickelberry gave UB the lead back and another bucket from the Orlando, FL native put the Bulls ahead 74-70 with 4:31 remaining, but it would be Buffalo's final points.
A pair of baskets from the Black Knights tied the game back up with 2:24 remaining and then Army did the rest of its damage from the free throw line scoring their final four points from the free throw line. Buffalo missed its final six shots of the game.
Segu led four UB players in double figures with 18 points, while adding four rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Williams finished with 15 points and seven boards, while also adding a career-best five assists.
Graves had 13 points and six rebounds, while Nickelberry finished with a career best 11 points, and had four rebounds and an assist.
U. of Illinois Chicago 78, Central Michigan 74
CHICAGO -- Central Michigan played catchup nearly all night long on Saturday and then took one final swing in the waning seconds before succumbing to Illinois-Chicago, 74-72, in its season-opening game at the Flames' Credit Union 1 Arena.
To the good, the Chippewas hung in after trailing 43-31 at halftime. They never took the lead but continued to whittle away as coach Keno Davis got a good look at his team, which returns just one starter and features eight new faces.
Davis used 10 players, seven of whom were playing in their first game in a Chippewa uniform. Nine of those players logged double-digit minutes.
"I was really proud of the team," said Davis, whose team did not get nearly the amount of preseason prep that it would otherwise get, including closed scrimmages, exhibition games and the like because of COVID-19.
"I think it showed, especially in the first half," Davis said. "But I liked the resiliency of our team. We kept finding a way to stay in the game and give ourselves an opportunity and that's what you want, especially on the road. I know there aren't any moral victories, and our guys are looking to improve and not only get a win but have a really successful season."
On the flip side, the Chippewas had plenty to bemoan, beginning with a 2-for-18 performance from behind the 3-point line. They made just 38.8 percent from the floor overall and finished at 64.3 percent from the free throw line.
One of the CMU newcomers, guard Caleb Huffman, shone brightest of all the Chippewas making their respective debuts in maroon and gold. Huffman, a junior transfer from Iowa Western CC, scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He made both of CMU's triples.
"Obviously he's a really talented scorer, a really good on-the-ball defender and he's just scratching the surface," Davis said. "I think you're going to see him really improve; he's really just learning how to play. The ceiling is very high on him as a player."