KENT STATE 66, TOLEDO 63
OHIO 59, WESTERN MICHIGAN 47
BALL STATE 81, BOWLING GREEN 80
BUFFALO AT EASTERN MICHIGAN - POSTPONED
CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT MIAMI - POSTPONED
AKRON, Ohio – Playing for the first time in 17 days, the Akron Zips opened Mid-American Conference play with an 88-76 home win over the Buffalo Bulls.
Sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind) led all scorers with a career-high 32 points, keeping his team in the game despite the Zips' early scoring difficulties. Fellow sophomore forward Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) posted yet another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) also scored 14 points.
It took the Zips (8-3, 1-0 MAC) some time to shake off the rust from their time off, but once they did, they took the fight to the Bulls. They earned trip after trip to the foul line and outscored the Bulls 31-9 from the stripe on the day.
Akron blew the game open with a fierce 13-2 second-half burst topped by a steal and fast break and-1 by Ali, then a stepback triple by the sophomore forward that left the reeling Bulls (6-6, 0-2 MAC) down 71-58.
It was a comeback with roots in the first half, but one that picked up speed after intermission Freeman tied the game at 44-all with a putback layup at the 16:10 mark of the second half. Seconds later, Castaneda gave Akron its first lead since the opening minutes of the game with an and-1 layup. That edge – one the Zips would not relinquish - grew to six on another Castaneda layup moments later.
The story was much different in the opening frame. After struggling offensively – including a stretch of 4:07 without a field goal make midway through the first half – the Zips found themselves down 25-13 before a layup by Freeman ended that drought.
Freshman guard Garvin Clarke (Euclid, Ohio) helped turn the tide with eight straight points in an 11-2 run that narrowed Akron's deficit to five late in the opening half.
Another key sequence came in the final minute of the half, when a technical foul on senior forward Jeenathan Williams was followed by two free throws by Castaneda and two more charity tosses by Ali on the ensuing possession, bringing the Zips to within four at 36-32.
Williams led the Bulls with 19 points and senior guard Renaldo Segu added 17.
Akron will make a quick return to action and host MAC rival Ohio on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
KENT, Ohio – Kent State (6-6, 1-1 MAC) kicked off 2022 with a win over Toledo (9-4, 1-1 MAC) inside the M.A.C. Center, 66-63.
Sincere Carry sparked the Flashes' offense with a game-high 19 points. He scored 16 of those 19 points in the second half and went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, including four clutch free throws in the final minute to ice the game.
The Flashes led from the opening tip when they went on a 5-0 run to jump out in front. Kent State led by as many as nine in the opening half and took a 33-26 advantage into the halftime locker room. The Flashes' defense held the Mid-American Conference leading scorer, Ryan Rollins, to zero first-half points.
The Rockets battled back early in the second half, quickly erasing the Kent State lead and knotting the game up at 35. Each time Toledo battled back, however, the Flashes had an answer. Toledo never led in the second half until it took a 59-58 lead with 2:16 left in the game.
Again, the Flashes answered, this time with a 4-0 run to push the lead to three. Rollins then drilled a clutch triple to tie the game with under a minute to play. Carry hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to lock in the win for the Flashes.
Six different Flashes scored at least eight points in the game, and the Flashes were extremely physical on the glass with four players securing seven or more rebounds. Giovanni Santiago was the second-highest scorer for Kent State with 14 points while adding a career-high seven rebounds.
Malique Jacobs scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Justyn Hamilton scored eight points and added 11 boards.
Rollins ended the game with 14 points, all of which came in the second half, to lead the Rockets. He also finished with a team-high nine rebounds. JT Shumate and Setric Millner Jr. each finished with 12 points.
The Flashes out-rebounded the Rockets, 44-37, including 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 20 second-chance points. Kent State forced 17 turnovers and held Toledo to just 34.6 percent from the field.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Ohio Bobcats (10-2 1-0 MAC) were able to overcome a poor shooting day to open Mid-American Conference play with a 59-47 victory on the road at Western Michigan (4-9, 0-2 MAC) Saturday afternoon inside University Arena.
Overall, Ohio shot 36.5 percent from the field, 13.6 percent from three and were 10-of-15 from the line, while WMU shot 32.7 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from three and were 9-of-13 from the line. The Bobcats were outrebounded, 41-38, however, the Bobcats dished out seven assists and forced 20 Bronco turnovers, scoring 21 points off of them.
Individually, sophomore guard Mark Sears led with 21 points, going 7-of-14 from the field, 7-of-8 from the line, while grabbing four boards, dishing out two assists and recording three steals. Fifth-year forward Jason Carter added 17 points, going 8-of-15 from the field, while grabbing a team-high eight boards. Redshirt senior Ben Vander Plas added nine points and seven boards, while junior Ben Roderick grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
The game was tied 21-21 with 4:59 left in the first half. After free throws form Roderick gave Ohio a four-point lead, WMU was able to cut the Ohio lead to one with 49 seconds remaining. However, senior guard Tommy Schmock drained a half court shot at the buzzer to give the Bobcats a 28-24 lead at the half.
After WMU got the first points of the second half, Ohio went on a 7-0 run that was started by a three from Carter and capped by four-straight points from Sears, giving Ohio a nine-point lead. WMU was able to stop the run with a layup, cutting the lead to 35-28 going into the first media timeout of the second half.
Out of the timeout, four-straight points from Vander Plas and junior guard Miles Brown gave Ohio an 11-point lead, however, two WMU three around a Vander Plas dunk cut the Bobcats lead to 41-34 with 11:44 left in the second half.
The Bobcats went on to take a 14 point lead with just under four minutes to go. In the process, the Bobcats were able to Western Michigan without a field go for just over eight minutes, before a WMU contested layup with 3:36 remaining.
The Broncos were never able to climb closer than 11, with Ohio going on to win 59-47.
For Western Michigan, Lamar Norman, Jr. led with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Markeese Hastings added nine points and 14 boards.
MUNCIE, IN -- The Ball State Cardinals (6-6, 1-0 MAC) rallied from five points down with 31 seconds left to defeat visiting Bowling Green (7-5, 0-1 MAC) Saturday.
Luke Bumbalough got the critical run started with two free throws. When he missed a third charity toss, Miryne Thomas pulled down an offensive rebound and scored on a layup with 23 seconds left. After forcing a quick Falcon turnover, the Cardinals got yet another chance and capitalized with a Thomas jump shot with eight seconds left to take an 81-80 lead. A Bowling Green shot at the buzzer was off, giving BSU a win in ithe MAC opener for both teams.
Bumbalough led all scorers with 21 points. Center Payton Sparks, meanwhile, connected on 7 of 10 shots on the way to 20 points. Jaylin Sellers came off the bench to 11 points, hitting 4 of 5 from the field and all three from beyond the arc.
Four Falcons reached double figures: Daeqwon Plowden (15), Trey Diggs (18), Samari Curtis (13) and Joe Reece (10).