EASTERN MICHIGAN 99, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 68
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 65, KENT STATE 63
OHIO 85, BOWLING GREEN 78
AKRON 84, BALL STATE 74\
BUFFALO 78, WESTERN MICHIGAN 64
MRO STAFF REPORT
OXFORD, OH -- Visiting Toledo hit a blistering 58.6 percent of its shots in the first half and held off a second half Miami rally to defeat the RedHawks 75-72 Tuesday at Millett Hall.
It was UT's 16th consecutive win against Miami and third straight MAC victory. Toledo is now 12-4 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The RedHawks, meanwhile, dropped to 7-7 on the year and 1-2 in MAC action.
Ryan Rollins led Toledo with 22 points. Setric Milner Jr and JT Shumate contributed 17 apiece, while RayJ Dennis added 11 points.
Miami also had four players in double figures. Mekhi Lairy led the way with 17 points, followed by Dae Dae Grant (16 points), Dalonte Brown (14 points, eight rebounds), and Isaiah Coleman-Lands (12 points). Precious Ayeh chipped in 7 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks).
Both teams were on target early and MU built its biggest lead of the game when Grant nailed a trey to put Miami up 18-11 at 14:14 of the opening stanza. However, Rollins hit a jumper at 10:30 to put the Rockets in front 22-21 and they led the remainder of the half. Millner's and-one with 35 seconds left gave Toledo a 44-33 edge that it took to the locker room.
The visitors connected on 17 of 29 (58.6%) overall, 5 of 9 from long distance and drained all five free throws. They also had a 24-6 advantage from points in the paint.
Miami was good on 13 of 30 (43.3%) from the field and 6 of 15 threes. The RedHawks made one of two free throw attempts.
MU made some adjustments at halftime, and the RedHawks began to close the gap when play resumed. Ayeh's bucket at 14:00 gave Miami a 53-52 edge. After a UT basket by Ra'Heim Ross, Isaiah Coleman Lands hit a trey and Miami held small leads until Shumate sank two free throws at 10:54. That tied the game at 58-all and Shumate followed with a bucket in the lane at 8:48 to give Toledo the lead for good.
UT led by as many as five after that, but Miami could get no closer than two down the stretch. It was a 71-69 Rocket lead when Rollins blocked a Miami trey attempt. Four Toledo free throws followed, allowing the visitors to hold off MU. On the evening, UT was a perfect 14 of 14 from the stripe.
Toledo dropped to 30.3 percent from the field in the second half, finishing at 43.5 percent on the evening. Miami hit 46.7 percent overall after connecting on 15 of 30 shots from the field after intermission. MU was the first team since Bradley (43.1 % on Dec. 7) to shoot over 38 percent from the field against Toledo.
Overall, the RedHawks were 10 of 31 (32.3%) from outside the arc and made six of just seven free throw opportunities. They were outscored 38-22 in the paint and UT owned a 13-4 advantage on second chance points.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan dominated Central Michigan, 99-68, Tuesday inside the George Gervin Center.
The Eagles (7-7, 2-1 MAC) had five players score in double figures, led by junior Bryce McBride, who had 16 points and three assists. Freshman Kevin-David Rice added a career-high 15 points off the bench, while Monty Scott chipped in 13. Additionally, Darion Spottsville tied his season-high with 12 points and dished out five dimes.
Jermaine Jackson Jr. led CMU with 20 points, followed by Ralph Bissainthe (15), Cameron Healy (12) and Harrison Henderson (10).
Defensively, Eastern out-rebounded the Chippewas, 35-31, as freshman Mo Njie hauled in seven boards, recorded one steal, and notched one block. The Eagles forced 15 turnovers and swiped 11 balls. Meanwhile, EMU was strong near the basket, allowing just 24 points in the paint while the Eagles scored 50 on the offensive end.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 27-18 advantage, Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run with 6:24 left in the first half to increase its lead to 33-18. The Eagles then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 46-31 advantage. EMU did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 46 points close to the basket.
Following intermission, the Green and White kept expanding their advantage to 51-35 before going on a 7-0 run, highlighted by redshirt junior Derek Ballard Jr's three, to grow the lead to 58-35 with 15:17 to go in the contest. The Eagles continued their scoring ways and ran away with a 99-68 win. Eastern Michigan got a big boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 34 of its 53 total points.
KENT, Ohio – Kaleb Thornton scored a career-high 17 points, along with four assists and four rebounds, as the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team topped Kent State, 65-63, on Tuesday night (Jan. 11) at the M.A.C. Center. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu added 13 points, 10 of which came in the second half.
NIU (4-8, 1-1 MAC) shot 48.9 percent (23-of-47) in the contest, including 52.2 percent (12-of-23) in the second half, and went 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from three-point range in the game.
The Huskies led by seven before six-straight points from Kent State brought the Golden Flashes within one, 60-59, with 2:23 to play. Trendon Hankerson answered with a bucket and Keshawn Williams made a free throw as the NIU advantage grew back to four with just under a minute left.
Kent State (7-8, 2-3 MAC) cut the Huskie lead back to a pair before Hankerson made two free throws with 14 seconds left, giving NIU a 65-61 lead. The Golden Flashes scored again with less than two seconds to play but it wouldn’t be enough as NIU picked up its third road win of the season.
Hankerson finished with 14 points. Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs each scored 16 points to pace the Golden Flashes.
NIU held the lead in the early going until a 9-2 burst by the Golden Flashes gave Kent State a 12-6 advantage just past the five-minute mark of the opening half.
After the Kent State run reached 13-2, Okanu and Darweshi Hunter converted for the Huskies to bring NIU back within a half-dozen.
Kent State was still in front by six when Thornton made a basket and Zool Kueth knocked in a pair of free throws to bring the Huskies within a pair, 19-17, with 6:29 left before the intermission
A 7-2 spurt pushed the hosts in front by nine, but a layup from Hankerson and a corner trifecta from Thorton trimmed the Golden Flashes advantage back to 35-31. Following a pair of Kent State free throws, Hankerson ended the half with a triple to bring the Huskies within three, 37-34, at the break.
Carry had 12 points to lead Kent State at the intermission, Hankerson scored 10 in the opening 20 minutes to pace NIU. The Huskies went 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from three-point range in the first half while Kent State was 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line.
NIU scored the first six to start the second half as the Huskies took a 40-37 lead. Okanu opened the scoring and Thornton added the next four to push NIU to a three-point advantage early in the second stanza. Thornton went 7-of-8 from the field in the contest, including 3-of-4 from three.
Kent State went back in front by one, 45-44, but a bucket from Chris Osten and a three from Hunter gave the Huskies a 49-45 lead with 11:15 left. After the Golden Flashes pulled even at 49, Thornton hit a corner triple and Okanu knocked down a free-throw line jumper to give the Huskies a 54-49 advantage with eight-and-a-half minutes to play.
Eight-straight Huskie points from Okanu helped NIU push its lead to 60-53 with just under five minutes remaining, before Kent State scored the next six to set up the final minutes.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio (13-2, 4-0 MAC) never trailed Tuesday night, defeating Bowling Green (8-7, 1-3 MAC), 85-79, inside the Convocation Center.
The Bobcats have now won eight-straight and are 9-0 inside the Convo. BGSU lost for the third time in its last four outings.
Leading the Bobcats was fifth-year forward Jason Carter who scored 22 points, went 9-of-14 from the field, 4-of-7 from the line, grabbed eight rebounds and recorded three assists. Sophomore guard Mark Sears followed with 19, grabbing six rebounds and going 10-of-10 at the line. Senior guard Tommy Schmock added a season-high 17 points, going 4-of-7 for the three and collecting seven rebounds. Freshman forward AJ Clayton added added a career-high 12 points, nine of which came from threes.
For Bowling Green, Daeqwon Plowden and Myron Gordon scored 18 points apiece, with Plowden collecting eight rebounds and Gordon recording four assists.
Overall, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three, and went 23-of-30 from the line, while Bowling Green shot 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the three, and went 11-of-15 at the line. The Bobcats had 20 rebounds to the Falcons 14 and posted eight assists to their seven.
Ohio led 32-29 at the break and were up by just one with 7:29 remaining in the contest. The Bobcats then went on 8-0 run, pushing Ohio's lead to 66-57.
Despite making up some ground, the Falcons still trailed the Bobcats by five heading into the final media timeout. Out of the timeout, free throws from Carter and a three from Schmock gave Ohio a 10-point lead. Treys from Bowling Green cut the lead to 78-74 with 57 seconds left, however, multiple chances at the line kept the Bobcats in front and Ohio secured the 85-78 victory.
AKRON, Ohio – A second-half rally erased an eight-point deficit and catapulted the Akron Zips to an 84-74 Mid-American Conference win over Ball State on Tuesday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Staring down a 43-35 deficit early in the second half, the Zips outscored BSU 49-31 in the final 18 minutes of action to claim their second MAC win of the season.
Junior guard Xavier Castaneda led all scorers with a career-high 29 points and stuffed the stat sheet with six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Enrique Freeman continued to amass double-doubles with his 14-point, 12-rebound effort while junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. and sophomore forward Mikal Dawson scored in double figures with 19 and 10 points, respectively.
Ball State freshman center Payton Sparks led the Cardinals with 23 points and redshirt junior guard Miryne Thomas added 12 in the loss.
An 18-5 run midway through the second frame turned the game on its head, staking the Zips (9-4, 2-1 MAC) to a 53-48 lead. The run was keyed by Dawson with six points, while Freeman and Castaneda supported the run with five points each. The Akron defense amped up its intensity during the spurt, forcing Ball State into 2-of-8 shooting.
The Akron advantage grew to as many as 11 points late in the game, putting an exclamation point on the emphatic turnaround that unfolded in the second half. Sizzling shooting was the centerpiece of the victory as the Zips shot 53.4 percent for the game and assisted on 15 of their 31 field goals.
In the first half, Ball State started strong and the Akron offense found its footing after the Cardinals (7-8, 2-2 MAC) edged out to a 24-15 lead by the 6:09 mark, but the Zips eventually tied the game at 31-all before the Cardinals finished the half with a 36-33 advantage.
KALAMAZOO, MI – The Buffalo Bulls shot 68% from the field in the second half as UB pulled away for a 78-64 win over Western Michigan, Tuesday night at University Arena.
The win was Buffalo's second in a row as the Bulls improve to 8-6 on the year and 2-2 in league play. WMU lost its fifth straight, falling to 4-11 overall and 0-4 in conference action.
The Bulls had to overcome a sluggish start that saw them trailing by double figures in the first half, but UB worked its way back to within one at the break and totally dominated the final 20 minutes of action.
Western Michigan held its largest lead at 27-17 with 7:32 left, but five quick points from senior Ronaldo Segu cut the lead in half. A layup from Josh Mballa actually gave the Bulls a one point lead, but five straight from the Broncos pulled it back to four-point lead. Mballa converted on the late three-point play, pulling UB within 34-33 at the break.
Buffalo opened the second half on a 17-10 run to take the six-point lead, but Western Michigan scored the next five to pull within one. However, from there, UB allowed just 15 points over the final 13 minutes.
It began with a 14-2 run, which included a pair of triples from senior Keishawn Brewton. Buffalo would go on to lead by as many as 16 points, 68-52 with 5:13 left.
Segu led all scorers with 17 points, going 6-of-8 from the floor. Sophomore David Skogman notched his second straight double-double as he had 14 points and 11 boards.
In all, five UB players scored in double figures. Mballa, who missed the previous two games due to COVID protocols, finished with 13 points, 10 of those coming right at the end of the first half and in the second.
Brewton had 12 points, four rebounds, and a career-high five steals. Senior Jeenathan Williams finished with 10 points.
The Bulls held a 35-25 advantage on the glass, including 15 offensive rebounds. The Bulls also forced Western Michigan into 18 turnovers, scoring 21 points off of them.
Markese Hastings and B. Artis White paced the Broncos with 12 points apiece. Mack Smith added 10 points.