BUFFALO 70, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 60
BALL STATE 75, EASTERN MICHIGAN 64
WESTERN MICHIGAN 78, BOWLING GREEN 67
KENT STATE 73, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 71
By MIKE SMITH//MRO
TOLEDO, OH -- Ryan Rollins tallied 24 points and five Rocket players reached double figures as Toledo downed Miami 88-73 Saturday in Savage Arena.
It was the third straight win for MAC-leading UT (23-6, 15-3 MAC) and third loss this week for Miami (12-17, 6-12 MAC). The RedHawks are on thin ice as they battle for a spot among the eight-team field which comprises the upcoming MAC tourney.
John Shumate and Setric Miller Jr scored 18 apiece for UT, followed by Rayj Dennis (13) and Raheim Moss (10).
The Rockets hit 55.8 percent from the field overall but were 5 of 20 (20%) on treys. Millner Jr. had all but one of those buckets, hitting 4 of 8 triple tries.
Miami, meanwhile, connected on 14 of 32 shots outside the arc (43.8%) but made 25 of 67 from the field overall. Dae Dae Grant matched Rollins for game-high honors, scoing 24 points while sinking 8 of 17 overall and 3 of 5 triples. Isaiah Coleman-Lands hit 5 of 6 shots, with all five makes being treys on the way to 15 points. Kamari Williams added 10 points.
A 13-4 RedHawk run that included three treys put MU up 33-22 wih 5:37 remaining before intermission. However, a Rocket rally put the hosts ahead 40-39 at the break. Toledo then carried the momentum forward with a quick 10-2 sput when play resumed and hit 62.0 percent in the period to seal its 17th straight win over Miami.
"Today was a good conference win in late February because there was a lot a stake for both teams," said Toledo Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. "Miami's a talented team with very good guards and a tough matchup. We ended the first half strong, and I thought our defensive energy to start the second half was tremendous.
BUFFALO, NY – Nine February game dates and nine February wins!
Led by Jeenathan Williams' 18 points, the Buffalo Bulls completed a February sweep of opponents with Saturday's 70-60 victory over Northern Illinois at Alumni Arena.
With their latest victory, the Bulls improved to 19-8 on the season, 13-4 in MAC play. Northern Illinois fell to 8-20 overall (5-13 MAC).
The Buffalo offense struggled early, missing its first 12 shots, but the defense never suffered as the Bulls only trailed 5-0 when the offense started to flow thanks to some strong bench play.
Following a bucket from senior Ronaldo Segu at 14:32 to snap the streak, the next eight points came from the bench, including back-to-back threes from Brewton and Fagan, giving the Bulls a 10-5 advantage.
After the Huskies got back within 10-9, UB went on a 20-2 run, taking its largest lead of the game, following threes from Brewton and Jones. With that, the Bulls led 30-11 with 6:09 left in the first half. Williams had eight points during the run, including a four-point play and a nice finish off a behind the back pass from David Skogman.
The Huskies answered back, trimming Buffalo's lead down to six in the first half before UB took a seven-point lead into the half.
In the second half, the Bulls built their lead back up to double figures, but a 7-0 Huskies run cut it to a one-possession game at 41-38. NIU would go on to tie it up at 45-45, but the Bulls answered by scoring the next five, including an offensive putback from Josh Mballa and a long three from Segu, forcing the Huskies into a timeout.
Northern Illinois again cut it to one with 8:38 left, but Williams and Mballa combined for a quick 9-0 run as the Bulls built their lead back to 62-52 with 5:08 remaining. Threes from Williams and Maceo Jack closed the game out as the Bulls took an 11-point lead with just 65 seconds left.
"Another hard fought game and I give our bench a lot of credit because we really needed them today," said head coach Jim Whitesell. "I can't say enough about the character of this team, to win nine games in the month of February and then we asked a lot out of them over the last 12 days, and they came through."
Williams finished with 18 points, one of three UB players in double figures. Mballa added 14 points and 15 rebounds, including seven of those on the offensive end. Segu finished with 12 points.
Buffalo had 17 assists on 23 made baskets, while turning it over just eight times. UB also held a 48-38 advantage on the glass.
Trendon Hankerson topped the Huskies with 21 points. Keshawn Williams contributed 10. points as NIU fell to its fourth straight defeat.
MUNCIE, Ind. – Payton Sparks recorded his 10th double-double of the season, as Ball State (13-15, 8-9 MAC) defeated EMU (10-19, 5-13 MAC) 75-64 Saturday at Worthen Arena.
Sparks led the Cardinals with 17 points and finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. He added two assists, a steal, and a block. Demarius Jacobs posted a 14-point performance with six rebounds, one steal, and an assist. Miryne Thomas and Jaylin Sellers each finished with 12 points.
EMU's Noah Farrakhan produced a game-high 27 points to go along with his six rebounds and two assists. Monty Scott was the only other Eagle in double figures with 15 points. Nate Scott paced Eastern Michigan with eight rebounds.
Ball State started fast and went on a 12-4 run in the game's first 5:09. Eastern Michigan responded with a 13-5 run and tied the game at 17-17 with 7:39 left in the first half. It was a back-and-forth battle the remainder of the first stanza as the game went to intermission tied at 32-32.
The Cardinals came out of the break on a 12-3 run and gained a 44-35 lead. During the run, all three of EMU's points came from free throws. After the Eagles scored five unanswered points, Sellers notched the next eight points for the Cardinals as BSU went on an 8-5 run. The Cardinals held a 52-45 lead with 12:25 left on the clock.
The Eagles outscored BSU 17-12 and were within two points, 64-62, with just under five minutes left in regulation. Ball State was unfazed and held Eastern Michigan to just two points for the final 4:18. BSU ended the game on an 11-2 run to secure a 75-64 victory.
Ball State led for 80.3 percent of the game. The Cardinals outrebounded the Eagles 42-38. BSU dominated the paint outscoring EMU 32-16 down low. The Ball State bench produced for 19 points to the 13 from Eastern Michigan.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Trailing 49-40 in the early minutes of the second half, Western Michigan embarked on a 22-4 run to overtake and eventually knock off Bowling Green, 78-67, on Saturday evening at the Stroh Center.
Western Michigan (7-22, 3-15) had four players score in double-figures, led by Lamar Norman Jr.'s 16 points. Norman hit a pair of three-pointers in the contest to tie Levi Rost's single-season program record of 91 triples, which was set during the 2004-05 season.
Joining Norman in double-figures for the Broncos were Markeese Hastings (14 points), B. Artis White (12) and Mack Smith (11). Hastings also secured a game-high nine rebounds for WMU.
Trey Diggs paced BGSU with 19 points, followed by Chandler Turner (14) and Samari Curtis 10. Brenton Mills and Matiss Kulachovskis contributed nine apiece.
Bowling Green (12-17, 5-13) got out to the early advantage and used a six-point spurt to stretch that edge to 20-11 at the 12:27 mark of the first half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Norman and Smith closed the gap to 20-17, but the Falcons quickly got their lead back to seven, 24-17.
Western Michigan trailed 30-22 with three minutes remaining in the half, but Gus Etchison scored seven of WMU's final 10 points of the half to bring the Broncos to within 36-32 at the break.
The Falcons pushed their lead back out to nine, 49-40, in the opening minutes of the second half. Western Michigan scored nine of the next 11 points to draw within two, 51-49, at the 13:32 mark. BGSU scored a basket on its next possession, but the Broncos then rattled off 13 in a row to move ahead, 62-53, with eight minutes to play. WMU held the Falcons without a point for more than five minutes during the run.
Bowling Green whittled the Western Michigan cushion down to six, 64-58, with four minutes remaining, but White responded with a three-pointer and Norman made a layup to push the Broncos' lead into double-digits, 69-58, with 3:06 to go. The Falcons got no closer than seven the rest of the way, as WMU iced the game from the foul line, going 5-for-6 in the final minute.
Western Michigan made 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, including 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half. The Broncos held BGSU to 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the floor and 24.1 percent (7-of-29) from beyond the arc.
The Broncos won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Bowling Green 40-35. Western Michigan also enjoyed a 38-14 advantage in bench points. WMU turned the ball over just nine times, its second straight game with single-digit miscues.
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – Sincere Carry's "and-one" score with 25 seconds lifted Kent State (19-9, 14-4 MAC) to its 10th straight victory Saturday as ithe Flashes edged Central Michigan 73-71 at McGuirk Arena.
Andrew Garcia led KSU with a double-double line of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Carry was right behind with 20 points and seven caroms. Tervell Beck also reached double figures with 10 points (with 7 rebounds).
Game-high scoring honors went to CMU's Cameron Healy, who knocked down 32 points while hitting 9 of 18 from the field. He was 7 of 15 outside the arc and hit 7 of 8 free throws. Harrison Henderson contributed 16 points, while Kevin Miller added 10 to the Central Michigan (7-20, 6-10 MAC) cause.
The Golden Flashes stumbled out of the gate and trailed 13-5 five minutes into the game. They battled to within one point at the half with CMU leading 31-30.
The two teams fought and scratched all second half as well with no team leading by more than four until a Cameron Healy three-pointer put the Chips up 53-46 with 9:33 on the clock. The Flashes stormed back but couldn't grab the lead and CMU pushed it back to seven with 5:14 left to play before intermission.
Kent State took its first lead of the second half with 2:54 left on a Carry step back jumper in the paint. After two CMU free throws, Carry drilled a pull-up three to give the Flashes the lead again. Healy connected on a three on the ensuing possession which tipped the score in the Chips' favor.
With the Flashes down one, Tervell Beck made a pair of free throws with 1:08 to play which put the Flashes back on top. After two more CMU free throws, Carry took matters into his own hands. He drove the length of the court and finished at the rim through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play. Carry's game winning play gave the Flashes a 73-71 victory after stopping the Chips' final shot attempt.
The Flashes, who were without Malique Jacobs for the majority of the second half after his second technical of the game sent him to the locker room, led for just four minutes of the entire game.