BUFFALO 100, ST. JOHN FISHER 58
EASTERN MICHIGAN 92, FLORIDA INT'L 88 (4 OT)
DETROIT 83, WESTERN MICHIGAN 64
OHIO 55, STETSON 45
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 71, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 67
RICHMOND 72, TOLEDO 69
BUFFALO, NY – Playing at home for the first time in December, the Buffalo Bulls rolled to a 100-58 win over St. John Fisher. The victory was Buffalo's second straight as it improves to 6-3 on the year.
The Bulls shot 50% from the floor and led for just under 39 minutes of action. An early three-pointer from Ronaldo Segu gave the Bulls a quick double-digit lead just five and a half minutes in. Another three from Segu extended the lead to 24-8. The Cardinals would cut the deficit to 13, but the Bulls went on an 11-3 run over the 2:55 of the first half to take a 48-27 lead into the break. UB forced St. John Fisher into 17 turnovers in the first half.
Buffalo continued to build on its lead in the second half as a three from Jeenathan Williams extended the UB advantage to 74-41 with 11 minutes left. The Cardinals pulled within 24 with six minutes remaining, but the Bulls played a strong final six minutes, outscoring St. John Fisher 24-6 for the remainder of the contest.
11 different players found the scoring column for the Bulls, led by 18 points, seven rebounds, and five steals from Josh Mballa. Williams, who missed Wednesday's game at Western Kentucky, returned and had 17 points, while Segu added 16 points and three assists.
Tra'von Fagan and Kidtrell Blocker each finished with 11 points, which was a career high for Blocker, the freshman from Rochester. Junior Ty Perry also finished with a new career high with nine points and three assists.
Senior Maceo Jack added nine points, four rebounds, and a game-high four assists. LaQuill Hardnett and Lucas Saleh each had three points off the bench. Freshman Kuluel Mading had two points, three boards, three steal and two blocks. David Skogman added a points and six rebounds. Senior Jamon Bivens didn't score but had three boards and a pair of assists.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michiga gave the fans all they came for on George Gervin day, topping Florida International University, 92-88, in the longest game in program history.
Gervin was honored at halftime by President James M. Smith and Vice President/Director of Athletics Scott Wetherbee, announcing the Convocation Center will now be known as the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Eastern (5-5; 0-0 MAC) had four players score in double figures. Freshman Noah Farrakhan led the field with a career-high 27 points. Two Eagles earned double-doubles in senior Monty Scott and freshman Mo Njie. M. Scott totaled 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Njie recorded 10 points and 11 boards for his first career double-double performance. Junior Bryce McBride (Jackson, Tenn.-Southside added 15 points off the bench, while senior Nate Scott dished out a career-high five assists.
On the other end of the court, EMU's defense forced Florida International (8-2; 0-0 CUSA) into 25 turnovers and snagged 14 steals, both season-highs for the squad. The Eagles shot 38 percent (30-79) from the field, and held FIU to 35.8 percent (34-95). Additionally, the Green and White earned the win despite being outdone by the Panthers in the following categories, points off turnovers (28-22), points in the paint (48-38), fast break points (16-12), and bench points (50-23).
How It Happened
After falling behind early 12-10, Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run with 10:07 left in the first half, culminating in a three from M. Scott, to take a 17-12 lead. Florida International kept the game close, tying it at 24-all with 2:13 left in the stanza. The Eagles then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 29-27 after FIU hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.
In the second half, Florida International kept widening its lead by as much as 13 (54-41) with 7:20 left in regulation. Farrakhan hit two free throws and a big shot from beyond the arc to give Eastern the push it needed. A 7-0 run, capped off by a layup by freshman Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale (Siena)), tied the game at 55 and forced the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, both teams scored seven points a piece, with Farrakhan accounting for six of those points for Eastern. As the game headed into a second and third overtime, the game remained tied at 82. In the fourth and final extra period, EMU finally pulled away, outscoring the Panthers 10-6 in the final five minutes of the contest.
Game Notes
»Eastern Michigan defense held FIU to just 34% from the field in the first half
»EMU trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, completing their second victory when trailing from more than 10 points (103-98, vs. Illinois State, Nov. 12).
»The Eagles allowed their fewest points on defense in regulation this season (55).
»Eastern Michigan shot 10-21 FG's in overtime for 47.6 percent.
»The Green and White finished with season-highs in field goal attempts (79), three-point field goal attempts (27), rebounds (58), assists (14), and steals (14).
»Farrakhan tallied 27 points (career-high), the second-highest mark by an Eagle in a single game this season (M. Scott 28, vs. Illinois State).
DETROIT, Mich. – Western Michigan dropped a non-conference road tilt at Detroit Mercy, 83-64, on Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall.
All 10 Broncos who saw action on Saturday scored at least three points, led by Mack Smith's 13. Lamar Norman Jr. chipped in 11 points for WMU (3-6), while Titus Wright added seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Detroit Mercy (3-7) scored the game's first five points on the way to a 12-2 start in the opening five minutes. The Titans built the advantage to as many as 12 before Western Michigan began to chip away at the margin. Trailing 27-16, the Broncos ripped off nine in a row to trim the deficit down to two, 27-25, with 4:32 to go until halftime. The Titans responded with a 9-2 run, and took a 36-29 lead into the locker room.
Western Michigan drew within five on a pair of occasions in the early stages of the second half, but Detroit Mercy buried three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to push its lead back to 47-36 at the 15:55 mark. A Danny Kolp layup brought WMU within nine, 52-43, but another trio of three-pointers pushed the Titans' edge out to 61-43 near the midway mark of the period. The margin remained in double-digits for the rest of the afternoon.
The Broncos knocked down 24-of-53 (45.3 percent) from the floor, including 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) in the second half. Detroit Mercy connected on 31-of-68 (45.6 percent) field goal attempts for the afternoon.
WMU returns home on Friday, Dec. 17, for its final non-conference home game against Aquinas College. Tip is set for 7 pm at University Arena
DeLAND, Fla. – Led by 13 points from sophomore guard Mark Sears, the Ohio Bobcats (7-2) downed Stetson (2-6), 55-45, on the road Saturday afternoon inside the Edmunds Center.
Sears finished the game with 13 points, while adding seven rebounds. Fifth year forward Jason Carter added 10 points and six rebounds. Redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas scored seven points and grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds.
Overall, Ohio shot 36.7 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from three and were 14-of-16 from the line, while Stetson shot 31.6 percent from the field, 20.8 percent from three and 80 percent from the line. Stetson outrebounded Ohio, 37-34, and dished out nine assists to Ohio's eight. Ohio forced 14 Stetson turnovers, scoring 20 points off of them.
After Stetson was able to cut the Ohio lead to 24-19, a jumper from junior guard Miles Brown and three free throws from Vander Plas helped the Bobcats take a 29-21 lead going into halftime.
At the half, Ohio shot 44 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 3-of-3 from the line, while Stetson shot 33.3 percent from the field, 21.4 percent from three and did not attempt a free throw. Stetson outrebounded the Bobcats, 18-14, while Ohio dished out five assists to the Hatters four. The Bobcats also forced nine Stetson turnovers, while turning the ball over six times.
Individually, Carter and Clayton led with six points, followed by Sears with five points and Vander Plas with five points a team-high six boards.
Stetson opened the second half on a 5-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 29-26. However, free throws from Carter and a jumper from Sears was able to stop the run and bring the Bobcats' lead back to 33-28 with 15:20 left in the game. Out of the timeout, Brown hit two free throws of his own, followed by a jumper from sophomore forward Sam Towns, bringing Ohio's lead to 37-28 with 11:06 left in the game.
After a jumper from Carter put the Bobcats up 44-37 with 5:06 left, Stetson cut the Ohio lead to 44-40 with a three. Moments later, Sears drained two free throws, however another jumper from the Hatters cut the Bobcats lead to 46-43 going into the final media timeout.
With it a one possession game, a layup from Vander Plas and a deep three from senior guard Tommy Schmock (Cleveland, Ohio) extended the Ohio lead to 51-43 with 1:33 left in the game. After a layup and two free throws from Sears, the Bobcats defense held, with a big rebound from Schmock, sealing the 55-45 victory for the Bobcats.
For Stetson, Rob Perry led the Hatters with 17 points, while Josh Smith grabbed 11 rebounds.
NEXT:
Bobcats are back in Athens on Wednesday, Dec. 15 when Ohio hosts Marshall. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Tony Barbee has been saying for weeks that his Central Michigan men's basketball team is getting better, even if the win-loss column doesn't necessarily show it.
Central Michigan fans saw it live on Saturday. No, they didn't win, but the Chippewas put on display OF that getting-there growth, giving UIC all it could handle before succumbing, 71-67, at McGuirk Arena.
Playing without three starters/key reserves -- Jermain Jackson Jr., Miroslav Stafl and Aundre Polk -- the Chippewas (1-9) climbed back in after trailing by 13 points in the second half.
They drew to within one, 68-67, with under 30 seconds to play and it was a one-possession game until the very end, when the Flames (3-6) hit a free throw to ice it.
"Tonight, we found five guys that played their tails off in the second half and it was fun to watch," Barbee said. "I know our fans appreciate it. I'm not into moral victories, but this and Eastern Illinois are the two games this year that I want my teams looking like in terms of how hard we played and competed."
CMU's lone win came at Eastern Illinois, 62-61, on Nov. 15. The Chippewas' brutal nonconference schedule, which has included some of the nation's top teams, comes to an end on Dec. 19 at Detroit Mercy. They open Mid-American Conference play on Dec. 29 at Kent State.
"I feel like we're getting better," said CMU senior Ralph Bissainthe, one of the few players on the roster who played for CMU last season. "We're finding cohesiveness because we're playing a lot of games. Twelve new guys, new team, new (coaching) staff; but we're starting to gel together."
Oscar Lopez Jr. scored 17 points and matched his season high with a team-high seven rebounds to lead the Chippewas. Bissainthe and Kevin Miller added 15 points apiece.
CMU trailed 40-32 at halftime and then outscored the Flames, 35-31, over the final 20 minutes.
Miller, a 6-foot freshman, has had to shoulder the load at point guard with the absence of Jackson, who missed his third consecutive game because of illness. It was the third straight game that Miller has scored in double figures and he logged 33 minutes, his second-highest total of the season.
RICHMOND, Va. – Junior Setric Millner Jr. scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but Toledo dropped a heartbreaking 72-69 decision to Atlantic 10 foe Richmond before a near-capacity crowd on Saturday evening at the Robins Center.
Juniors JT Shumate and RayJ Dennis also scored in double figures for the Rockets (7-3) with 18 and 13 points, respectively. Shumate grabbed seven rebounds, while Dennis collected six boards and five assists. Sophomore Ryan Rollins dished out a team-high six assists.
Junior Tyler Burton topped the Spiders (6-4) with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Toledo held a 41-36 advantage on the boards but was hampered by 11 second-half turnovers that allowed Richmond to rally from a 19-point deficit.
"We had a great first half and then we let them get back in the game," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Their full-court pressure sped us up, and we turned it over and gave them open threes. We lost a good opportunity to beat a really good team on the road."
The Rockets connected for a season-high 10 three-point field goals with Millner and Shumate both burying four triples apiece.
Toledo will take this week off for final exams and will play its final non-conference contest on Tuesday, Dec. 21 vs. Marshall (7-3). Tip-off time for the contest in Savage Arena is 7:00 p.m.
FIRST HALF
Toledo controlled the opening half from the start and jumped out to a 13-0 advantage in the opening five minutes.
Setric Millner Jr. was on fire early, scoring 12 of the Rockets' first 19 points.
Toledo maintained that double-digit cushion until the Spiders scored five straight to reduce their deficit to 23-16 midway through the opening stanza.
Millner capped off a Rockets' 9-0 spurt to end the half with a corner trey for a 41-24 halftime lead.
SECOND HALF
Ra'Heim Moss' layup just over a minute into the second half gave Toledo a 43-24 lead, its largest lead of the night.
Richmond then knocked down five consecutive three-pointers as part of a 17-0 run to trim the Rockets' lead to 46-45 with 13:45 to play.
JT Shumate ended that spurt with two treys of his own to put Toledo back up 52-48 with 12:15 remaining.
The Spiders eventually took their first lead when a 9-0 burst put the Rockets down 61-55 with 8:05 left.
Toledo rallied to even the score at 65-65 on RayJ Dennis' triple with 3:53 left. Moss' layup then put the Rockets ahead on their next possession.
Dennis' two free throws provided Toledo its final lead, 69-68, with 1:03 remaining.
Ryan Rollins then blocked Isaiah Wilson's jumper in the lane but Jacob Gilyard hit a three-pointer after Wilson grabbed the rebound to give the hosts the lead for good with 34.4 seconds left.
Dennis had a chance to tie the contest with 19.4 seconds left but missed two free throws.
After the Spiders converted one of two free throws, the Rockets had a chance to even the score but could not get a shot off.