+ Buffalo 80, Akron 78
+ Western Michigan 73, Northern Illinois 63
+ Ball State 100, Eastern Michigan 65
+ Miami 85, Bowling Green 79 (OT)
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Mt. Pleasant, MI -- With the clock ticking on its 2020-21 season, Central Michigan broke an eight game losing streak by defeating Toledo 81-79 Tuesday.
It was Toledo that started that started CMU's losing streak, but Caleb Huffman and Meikkel Murray helped Central Michigan (3-12 MAC, 7-15 overall) knock off the MAC's top team. Toledo, which brought a three-game win streak into Tuesday's contest, drops to 14-4 in conference play (19-7 overall).
Huffman paced the Chippewas with a game-high 26 points, closely followed by Murray's 24 points with 9 boards. Ralph Bissainthe registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 caroms in the win.
Toledo put four starters in double figures, with Ryan Follins 17 points leding the way. Spencer Littleson contributed 16, while Marreon Jackson reached a double double wth 15 points and 15 rebounds. Setric Millner Jr. added 14 for the Rockets.
Toledo led 42-32 at intermission and was up by 16 (56-40) with 13:23 remaining. Central Michigan, however, began to chip away. Huffman's jumper at 5:23 cut the deficit to single digits and Murray's bucket with 35 seconds left put the hosts in front 79-77.
Two Ryan Rollins free throws at the other end tied the game, but Murray tallied on his winning layup with two ticks remaining.
BUFFALO, NY – Jayvon Graves recorded his first career triple double Tuesday with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists as Buffalo won its fourth straight game with an 80-78 victory over Akron.
The victory was Buffalo's seventh in its last eight games as UB improved to 13-7 on the year and 11-5 in league play. Akron absorbed its third straight defeat and falls to 14-7 overall (12-6 MAC).
Akron led for much for the first 10 minutes, but the Zips never held more than a five-point cushion. From there, the Bulls went on a 17-2 run -- a lead they would hold on to the rest of the game. The Bulls got back-to-back triples from senior David Nickelberry to help fuel the run.
A layup from Tra'von Fagan with 3:11 remaining gave the Bull their largest lead of the opening half at 36-21 and UB took a 39-25 lead into the break.
Buffalo opened the second half on an 8-0 run, taking its largest lead of the afternoon at 47-25 just over two minutes in. The Bulls continued to lead by 22 at 58-36 with 12:04 remaining when Akron made a furious comeback attempt.
A quick 10-1 run from the Zips cut the Buffalo lead to 13. Buffalo raised its advantage back to 17 with 8:06 left, but another Akron run pulled the visitors within eight.
The Bulls again led by double figures at 72-59 with 4:34 left, but an 8-1 Akron run pulled the Zips within six.
Akron's Loren Cristian Jackson kept the Zips alive, hitting three triples late, but four free throws from Segu, plus an old-fashioned three-point play from Josh Mballa clinched the win for UB.
"A couple things didn't go our way, but we will take it," UB said head coach Jim Whitesell said. "We've seven of our last and that is the most important thing. We are some playing some really good basketball and I like the stretch of defense we had there the last 10 minutes of the first half and I like the way we opened the second half."
Buffalo had four players in double figures led by 15 points from Mballa, who added nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Graves had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and a game-high 11 assists, while adding three steals and a block.
Segu finished with 14 points, three rebounds, and three steals, going 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Junior Jeenathan Williams had 13 points and six boards.
Jackson's 27 points paced Akron. Joining him in double figures were Michael Wynn (11), Enrique Freeman (11 points, 12 rebounds) and Gavin Clarke (10).
The Bulls outrebounded Akron, 50-41 as Buffalo had 17 offensive boards. UB finished with 20 assists on 28 made baskets and the Bulls also had 10 steals on 11 Akron turnovers.
(Courtesy UB Athletics/MRO Edit)
DeKalb, Ill. – With five players in double figures the Western Michigan Broncos secured a wire-to-wire 73-63 road victory at Northern Illinois on Tuesday night inside the NIU Convocation Center.
For the first time since Nov. 19, 2019 the Broncos had five players -- all starters -- score in double figures. Adrian Martin, Titus Wright, Greg Lee, B. Artis White and Jason Whitens combined to score 58 of WMU's 73 points.
Leading the way for the Broncos was sophomore guard B. Artis White with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field with all field goal attempts coming from behind the three-point line.
For the third time this season junior Adrian Martin scored in double figure, matching his career-high with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. Martin matched his career-high going 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line to go along with matching his career-high with four rebounds in 26 minutes.
The trio of sophomore Titus Wright, senior Greg Lee and redshirt junior Jason Whitens each scored 10 points against the Huskies. Rounding out the double digit scoring, Jason Whitens posted 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
As a team the Broncos shot an impressive 53.2 percent from the field and were 11-of-21 from behind the three-point line. The 11 three-pointers for WMU was one shy of its season-high, while the Broncos also went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line
WMU outrebounded NIU, 38-37 with WMU gaining a 31-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. The Broncos scored 22 of its 73 points in the paint while registering 12 assists on 25 made field goals.
The victory snapped WMU's four-game losing streak and marked the first win at Northern Illinois since 2017. The Broncos now have an overall record of 5-15 and 4-11 in Mid-American Conference play. Northern Illinois, meanwhile, dropped to 2-16 overall (1-12 MAC) while falling to its seventh straight defeat.
Western Michigan, which took a 36-31 edge into the locker room, got off to a fast start after intermission. The Broncos hit their first six field goals to take a 52-39 lead with 15:34 left.
After NIU closed within five points, WMU went on a 12-4 run. The Huskies, however, again responded and trailed 54-51 with 11:44 remaining.
An Adrian Martin three-pointer ended the NIU run followed by a three-pointer from B. Artis White gave WMU a 59-51 lead halfway through the second half. Western Michigan held NIU scorless for nearly three minutes as the Broncos made five of their next six field goals to gain a 72-63 lead.
Down the stretch, Western Michigan held NIU to just 1-of-9 from the field en route to WMU defeating NIU 73-63. The road win over NIU marked the first win in DeKalb for the Broncos since 2017.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics/MRO Edit)
MUNCIE, IN -- Ball State's dominating 100-65 victory over Eastern Michigan Tuesday night was not only another example of the Cardinals resurgent offense, it was a bit of history.
BSU recently scored 90 against Kent State, 97 vs. Central Michigan and 100 vs. Eastern Michigan. The marked three straight conference games with 90+ points for the first time in school history.
WALTON GETS CAREER HIGH
K.J. Walton, who went through Senior Night ceremonies before the game, exploded for a game-high (and career-high) 32 points with eight rebounds as Ball State cruised to the blowout win.
Miryne Thomas scored 20 points on five field goal attempts and El-Amin and Jarron Coleman each chipped in 13 points and two assists.
EMU LEADERS
Ty Groce led Eastern Michigan with 21 points, followed by 12 apiece from Noah Morgan and Bryce McBride.
TURNING POINT: It was a 13-9 game early when Ball State went on a 17-3 run to put the game seize control. The Cards then won the final six minutes of the half 20-10 to take a 50-22 lead into halftime. BSU's largest lead was 87-40 with 7:22 left in the game.
"We played well from start to finish and I'm glad our seniors could go out on a high note," BSU head coach James Whitford said. "We're sharing the ball and playing unselfishly together. That's the biggest thing. Tonight we got the ball inside. Eastern was concerned with our shooting on the outside and it opened things up for us inside. I thought K.J. did a really good job of attacking."
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics/MRO Edit)
By MIKE SMITH
BOWLING GREEN, OH -- Senior Delonte Brown's double-double of 29 points and 14 rebounds lifted Miami to a hard-fought 84-79 victory over Bowling Green Tuesday at the Stroh Center.
It was a bounce-back win for the RedHawks, who fell to Kent State at home Saturday. That was the only loss for Miami (12-10 overall, 9-8 MAC) since Falling at Toledo Feb. 16.
Bowling Green, meanwhile, lost for the first time in five outings. The Falcons (14-10, 10-8 MAC) were led by Daequon Plowdon and Trey Diggs. Each player contributed 19 points, with Plowden adding 18 rebounds with two blocks. Justin Turner (16) and Kaden Metheny (10) also reched double figures.
Bowling Green owned a 43-34 halftime lead, but Brown and Dae Dae Grant combined for seven straight points to pull the visitors within two.
Grant, who had been limited to a total of two points over MU's previous two outings, registered 18 points against the Falcons. Mekhi Lairy was also in double figures with 19 points.
James Beck's bucket at 15:29 knotted the game at 45-all and Miami ran off another eight points, capped by Brown's triple, to take 53-45 lead.
Bowling Green chipped away at tied the game at 72-72 following a Diggs triple with 45 seconds left. A pair of Plowden charity tosses put BGSU in front, but Lairy scored on a layup at the other end.
Regulation ended with some uncertainty as BGSU missed a trey attempt, only to take the offensive rebound back for an apparent winning score. After a long review, it was determined that time had actually expired before the second shot.
Miami scored six of the first seven points in overtime. While BGSU pulled to within one at 80-79, the RedHawks nailed down a win with four free throws in the last four seconds.
Both teams had 29 field goals and 10 treys, although the Falcons took 20 more shots overall and 15 more 3-point shots. Bowling Green had four more rebounds and commited just 10 turnovers to MU's 17. One key for Miami was hitting 16-of-18 at the line, while the Falcons were 11-of-16 from the stripe.