NO. 9 KENTUCKY 85, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 57
BUFFALO 94, POINT PARK 49
TOLEDO 106, NORTHWESTERN OHIO 36
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky hit 11 of its first 12 field goal attempts in streaking to an early 20-point lead on Monday as the Wildcats handed Central Michigan an 85-57 loss before 18,080 at storied Rupp Arena.
It was CMU's second loss in a seven-day stretch to a college basketball blueblood, beginning with No. 1 Gonzaga a week ago. Kentucky (6-1) entered Monday's game ninth in the Associated Press poll and 10th in the Coaches Poll.
The Chippewas are 1-5 and are scheduled to play at Xavier (5-1) on Wednesday (6:30 p.m.). The Musketeers were ranked 25th before falling out of the polls this week after taking their first loss of the season, 82-70, to Iowa State.
"Hopefully our fans are watching this team grow before their eyes," said first-year CMU coach Tony Barbee, who served on Kentucky coach John Calipari's staff for seven seasons before taking over the CMU program in April. "We've played a difficult schedule; we're getting better and brighter days are coming.
"That was part of the process of playing this schedule because we wanted to test ourselves against the best so we know what the measuring stick is and how far we've got to climb."
Jermaine Jackson Jr. scored 11 points to lead the Chippewas, who fell behind, 25-5, less than seven minutes into the game and trailed 51-25 at halftime.
Cameron Healy and Miroslav Stafl added nine points each for CMU, which played a much better second half and was outscored by just two, 34-32, over the final 20 minutes.
"I thought we did a better job of controlling the pace in the second half," Barbee said. "We did a better job of scrapping and fighting. I thought we settled down, we got into our rhythm and when we executed, we got good opportunities."
BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo opened their game against Point Park on a 16-2 run Monday evening and never looked back as the Bulls defeated the Pioneers, 94-49. The win improves UB to 4-2 on the year.
UB hit its first six shots from the floor on the evening and shot 55.6% over the opening 20 minutes of action. Leading 35-19 with 7:14 left in the half, the Bulls held Point Park scoreless for the next six minutes, and in that time, Buffalo went on a 16-0 run as a dunk from Josh Mballa gave the Bulls a 49-19 lead. A three from Keishawn Brewton put the Bulls ahead 52-21, its largest lead of the first half.
The Bulls continued their dominance in the second half as UB went on a 20-2 run midway through the half, taking an 82-32 lead following a layup from freshman Kidtrell Blocker. A pair of free throws from fellow freshman Kuluel Mading gave UB its largest lead of the night at 90-36 with 3:50 remaining.
12 Bulls found the scoring column in the victory, led by 19 points and 12 rebounds from Mballa. Senior Jeenathan Williams added 18 points and Ronaldo Segu had 10 points and seven assists in just under 17 minutes of action.
Brewton finished with a career high 13 points and Maceo Jack had eight points and four boards.
Blocker added seven points off the bench, while junior LaQuill Hardnett had six points, seven rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Mading finished with three points, five rebounds and four blocked shots and Jamon Bivens had six boards and one point. Lucas Saleh added three points and four rebounds.
Freshman Curtis Jones had two points to go along with two rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Tra'von Fagan added four points. Sophomore David Skogman didn't score but had six rebounds and two assists.
As a team, the Bulls blocked 13 shots, tied for third most in school history. Buffalo held a commanding 54-37 advantage on the glass, the second time this year the Bulls have had at least 50 rebounds in a game.
Buffalo returns to action on Saturday when UB starts a tough two-game road trip at St. Bonaventure. The game will air on a to be announced NBC digital network. Tip off is at 4pm.
TOLEDO, Ohio – Six players scored in double figures on Monday evening as Toledo cruised to a 106-36 victory over NAIA foe Northwestern Ohio (2-8). The 70-point victory was the largest ever registered by the Rockets (6-1) in their 107-year program history.
Junior Setric Millner Jr. paced Toledo's attack with 17 points. He was joined in double digits by junior RayJ Dennis (14 pts.), junior JT Shumate (14 pts.), sophomore Ryan Rollins (12 pts.), redshirt freshman Ra'Heim Moss (11 pts.) and junior Keshaun Saunders (11 pts.).
Moss and Rollins tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven apiece to help the Rockets register a commanding 49-26 advantage on the glass.
Rollins also dished out a career-high eight assists, with Dennis collecting five helpers. Toledo dished out a season-high 22 assists and committed just nine turnovers.
The Rockets shot 62.3 percent from the field and limited the Racers to a 26.8 shooting mark.
Toledo is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 4 when it travels to East Lansing, Mich. to battle No. 22 Michigan State. Tip-off time for the contest is 5:00 p.m.
FIRST HALF
Toledo broke an 11-11 deadlock with two RayJ Dennis free throws and baskets from Setric Millner Jr. and Ryan Rollins for a six-point lead with 13:36 left in the first half.
The Rockets blew the game open with a 16-0 burst ignited by Kooper Jacobi's three-point play at the 12:33 mark.
Toledo then closed the half with a 22-4 run to take a 51-19 lead to the locker room.
SECOND HALF
The Rockets opened the second stanza strong, scoring the first 17 points for a 47-point cushion with 16:32 to play.
Toledo ended the contest on a 15-2 run to register the largest margin of victory in program history.