BOWLING GREEN 100, ROBERT MORRIS 74
ILLINOIS CHICAGO 61, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 60
SOUTHERN 78, KENT STATE 76
DETROIT – Detroit used a 12-2 run over a three-plus minute stretch late in the second half on Sunday in handing Central Michigan an 89-75 loss at the Titans' Calihan Hall.
The Chippewas (1-10) open Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 29 (4:30 p.m.) at Kent State. The Titans are 4-7.
Oscar Lopez Jr. scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Chippewas. It was the first double-double in a CMU uniform for Lopez, a junior guard who transferred from DePaul.
The 10 rebounds were the most Lopez has recorded in his 11 games as a Chippewa and the 20 points was one shy of his best. It was his third consecutive double-digit scoring game and his fourth in five games.
Cameron Healy hit five of his 10 3-point attempts en route to 15 points for CMU and Kevin Miller added 11 points and seven assists, which matched his season high. Ralph Bissainthe finished with nine rebounds.
The Chippewas made a season-high 12 3-pointers. Their 30 attempts tied their season high.
CMU trailed by five at halftime, 39-34, and nipped at the Titans' heels throughout the final 20 minutes. The Chippewas were never able to seize the lead, but were within two possessions throughout most of the half.
CMU was down three, 71-68, with just over four minutes remaining when Detroit Mercy went on a 12-2 run to pull away to an 83-70 lead with under a minute to play.
Antonine Davis and Madut Akec scored 25 points each to lead the Titans.
BOWLING GREEN 100, ROBERT MORRIS 74
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green Falcons extended their current winning streak to four and stayed perfect in the month of December with a 100-74 victory over Robert Morris Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons had five different players reach double-digit scoring, along with 10 registering points in the 26-point win. The victory pushes the Falcons to 6-4 this season with one non-conference game remaining on the schedule before Mid-American Conference play begins.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons utilized an early 6-0 run to create a lead at 10-4 and carried a 13-10 lead into the first media timeout.
• Bowling Green increased their lead to 22-13 with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a Samari Curtis steal that turned into a three-point play for Daeqwon Plowden.
After a tie at 24-24, the Falcons closed out the second half with a 23-12 run, including a run of 10-0 on its own, to take a 47-33 lead to the half.
• The second half began with the teams trading shots up until the media timeout with the Falcons on top 59-45.
• Neither team logged a run of more than five in the second half until the Falcons went on a 14-point outburst to extend their commanding lead to 77-51 at the midway point of the second half.
The action returned to back-and-forth after the big Bowling Green run, with Isaac Elsasser weaving his way through the Robert Morris defense for a layup that put the Orange and Brown in triple-figures for the night, capturing the 100-74 win.
STAT LEADERS
Joe Reece: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
Daeqwon Plowden: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Chandler Turner: 13 points, 2 blocks, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Brenton Mills: 13 points, 2 rebounds
ILLINOIS CHICAGO 61, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 60
CHICAGO – Northern Illinois rallied from as many as 16 down to lead in the final minute, but UIC made a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to edge the Huskies, 61-60, on Sunday afternoon at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Keshawn Williams and Anthony Crump each scored career highs for the Huskies as Williams netted 25 and Crump added 16 points.
"They beat us by 10 on the boards and had 11 offensive rebounds and the thing that stood out was our start," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "I have to do a better job of getting the right matchups and lineups to start the game, so we are going to do some things differently. I'm proud of the guys, they competed but we have to get better to start the game."
UIC (4-7) led 35-28 at halftime and increased its advantage to nine before a basket from Chinedu Kingsley Okanu and a layup by Williams off a turnover brought NIU within five, 39-34, early in the second half. Okanu finished with eight points on 3-of-4 from the field.
Crump rattled in a pair of triples which, combined with a basket from Williams, gave NIU an 8-3 spurt that brought the Huskies within a pair, 50-48, with nine minutes remaining. Following a UIC basket, Williams scored the next four to pull NIU even at 52 with 6:40 left.
UIC went back ahead by five, 59-54, but Crump scored the next six, including a short jumper with 54 seconds remaining to give the Huskies a 60-59 lead.
Crump's 6-0 run started with a pair of free throws with 2:54 to play, NIU then forced a turnover and Crump scored on the break to bring the Huskies within one before his jumper in the paint gave the Huskies a one-point lead.
After UIC came up empty on its next possession, the Flames were forced to foul with 10 seconds left. The Huskies missed the front end of a one-and-one and were called for a foul on the rebound.
Marcus Larsson stepped to the line and made a pair of free throws for UIC to give the Flames a 61-60 lead. The Huskies called a timeout and got to the rim but couldn't convert as UIC held on for the narrow victory.
Damaria Franklin scored 17 points to lead the way for UIC, Kevin Johnson added 14 points for the Flames. NIU shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the field in the second half and got 33 points from its bench in the contest, compared to just 14 bench points for UIC.
NIU will return home on Wednesday night, Dec. 22, as the Huskies host Indiana State. Tipoff against the Sycamores is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SOUTHERN 78, KENT STATE 76
Kent State (5-5) held a commanding 44-27 halftime lead, but the Southern Jaguars stormed back for a 78-76 victory Sunday at the M.A.C. Center.
Southern (6-6) chipped away in the second stanza, but the Flashes were still up by double digits (71-60) with 5:09 remaining. SU then went on a 16-4 run and edged in front 76-74 with 2:03 to go. Malique Jacobs hit two free throws for KSU, tying the game at 1:33. After misses by both teams. P.J. Byrd scored on a game-winning layup with just one second on the clock.
Sincere Carry led Kent State with 14 points, followed by Justyn Hamilton (11), Jeremiah Hernandez (10), VonCameron Davis (10) and Tervell Beck (10).
Tyrone Lyons and Jayden Saddler led Southern with a game-high 17 points each.