Buffalo 92, Eastern Michigan 77
Akron 81, Central Michigan 67
Miami 96, Bowling Green 77
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BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo Bulls snapped their two-game losing streak on Thursday afternoon as the Bulls dished out a season-high 27 assists in a 92-77 win over Eastern Michigan. With the victory the Bulls improve to 6-5 on the year and 4-3 in conference play. EMU fell to 4-6 overall, 1-5 MAC.
The Bulls led for nearly the entire contest as UB shot 61.8 percent from the field, including 71.4 percent in the second half. It was Buffalo's highest shooting total since the 2016-17 season.
UB's defense was on point early as the Bulls allowed just four points over the first nine and a half minutes of play, racing out to a 17-4 advantage. Buffalo led by double figures for nearly the entire first half, with EMU pulling within seven late before Buffalo took a 10-point lead into the break.
Both teams came out firing in the second half as the Bulls and Eagles combined for 105 points over the final 20 minutes of action.
Buffalo opened the second half on a 16-6 run and took its largest lead of the game on a jumper from Jayvon Graves with 15:25 left. That gave UB a 53-33 advantage. The Eagles managed to pull within eight thanks to a 19-7 run, but UB answered with five straight, as a three from Ronaldo Segu put UB back ahead, 67-54, with 8:20 left.
Eastern Michigan trailed 78-67 with 3:55 left when the Bulls used a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach.
"I thought we set the tone early on the defensive end and offensively we did a great job moving the ball with 27 assists," said head coach Jim Whitesell. "LaQuill and David Nickelberry gave us great energy off the bench, and we need to continue to get that bench production each and every game."
UB had five players in double figures led by Jeenathan Williams, who finished with 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Segu added 19 points, as he was 5-of-7 from three, adding six rebounds and two assists, while LaQuill Hardnett had career highs of 13 points and five assists.
Graves finished with 12 points and five boards and Nickelberry had 10 points and four rebounds.
Bryce McBride went 9-of-9 at the line while leading EMU with 20 points. Yeikson Monero hit 8-of-14 from the field while totaling 19 points. TyGrove and Darion Spottsville chipped in 12 apiece.
The Bulls finished with 27 assists, the most by a MAC team this season, and the most in a game since they had 27 against Ohio in 2018.
(Courtesy of UB Athletics/MRO Edit)
AKRON - Three-point goals and free throws powered Akron past Central Michigan 81-67 Thursday at James A. Rhodes Arena..
It was the third straight win for UA, which is now 5-2 MAC (7-3 overall). Central Michigan 2-6 MAC, 6-9 overall) fell for the fifth time in six outings.
Akron had six more field goals, but did much of its damage from long distance as the Zips connected on 12-of-29 attempts from beyond the arc. CMU attempted just six treys and made only one.
The Chippewas helped themselves at the free throw line, making 20-of-25 opportunities, while UA converted 11-of-13. It was not enough, however, to overcome Akron's production from outside the arc.
Bryan Trimble Jr. connected on 7-of-14 3-point attempts while scoing a game-high 25 points. He was followed by Loren Chritian-Jackson (13), Maishe Dailey (11) and Enrique Freeman (10).
Meikkel Murray led EMU with 23 points. Travon Broadway Jr. tallied 17 and Devontae Lane added 12.
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- With covid-issues hitting the Miami RedHawks schedule hard over several weeks, Miami head coach Jack Owens was anxious to get his team back in action. Only by playing, he reasoned, could the team improve and reach its stride.
After knocking off preseason MAC favorite Bowling Green 96-77 Thursday night at Millett Hall, the RedHawks (6-4, 3-2 MAC) appear to be hitting that stride. It was the second big win in three days for MU, which beat Ball State Tuesday.
Certainly, the RedHawks found their shooting eye, knocking down 58.7 percent of their shots overall against BG. They also connected on 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from beyond the arc and 11-of-14 at the line.
Dae Dae Grant led Miami, which registered its most points against a Division I opponent since Jan. 5, 2002 (against Central Michigan). The 6-2 sophomore connected on 9-of-16 from the field and 5-of-9 beyond the arc while totaling a game-high 27 points.
Daeqwon Plowden paced the Falcons (10-5, 6-3 MAC) with 21 points, followed by Justin Turner's 20. Although Turner went 4-of-13 from the field, he was a perfect 12-of-12 at the line on a night when 46 fouls were called. As a team, BG knocked down 21-of-29 from the charity stripe. Miami was good on 11-of-14.
In addition to Plowden and Turner, Trey Diggs (16) and Josiah Fulcher (11) also reached double figures, with the latter two coming off the bench.
Miami quickly took control, combining good shooting with aggressive defense. The RedHawks were up 9-0 before BG scored a point, and Isaiah Coleman-Land's trey at 12:14 left the hosts in front 21-4.
When Bowling Green switched to a zone defense, it temporarily slowed up MU. About the same time, BG's offense kicked in, and a 13-4 Falcons run pulled the visitors within eight at 25-17. Miami pushed its advantage back up to 14 but took a nine point edge (41-32) to the locker room at intermission.
Aided by a flurry of whistles and foul shots, offenses turned it up in second stanza. Bowling Green scored 45 after intermission; Miami, meanwhile, poured in 55..
Most of the second half saw MU holding leads between eight and 12 points. McNamara picked up his fifth foul at 8:23, and Bowling Green reduced its deficit to eight points after a Plowden 3-point play at 8:13. As it had before, however, Miami stemmed the tide and rebuilt its lead. When Brown put back a shot at the 1:39 mark, MU owned a 17-point advantage. The RedHawks largest edge was 22 points after a Grant triple with 24 ticks left.