OHIO 87, BALL STATE 63
TOLEDO 86, EASTERN MICHIGAN 66
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 78, BOWLING GREEN 74
KENT STATE 78, MIAMI 65
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Trendon Hankerson, Adong Makuoi and Keshawn Williams all scored 15 points as Northern Illinois defeated Western Michigan, 75-56, on Tuesday night at University Arena. With the win, the Huskies snapped a 14-game road losing streak against the Broncos, winning in Kalamazoo for the first time since March 4, 2006.
NIU shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the field in the contest, including 41.7 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range, and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free-throw line.
NIU (6-13, 3-6 MAC) led by a half-dozen five minutes into the contest as Makuoi made a quick start, going 3-of-3 from the field to help the Huskies to an early 13-7 advantage. Hankerson added a triple during that quick start as NIU started the contest 6-of-8 from the floor.
Makuoi finished the game 7-of-8 from the field on his way to a new career-high 15 points.
Western Michigan (4-17, 0-10 MAC) pulled back within a pair, 15-13, before NIU answered with a 13-2 burst to take a 28-15 lead with just under eight minutes to play in the opening half. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu opened the run with a layup, Zool Kueth and Williams both had triples during the spurt and Makuoi scored three points as the Huskies pushed the lead to 13.
The Broncos answered right back with the next nine to cut the Huskie advantage to 28-24 before Williams finished an old-fashioned three-point play to push the lead back to seven with 3:52 left in the half.
A bucket from Williams and a triple by Hankerson gave the Huskies an 11-point lead in the final minute of the half, but Western Michigan responded with a three as NIU went into the locker room in front, 38-30.
Williams had 10 first half points to lead the way for the Huskies, Makuoi added nine as NIU shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field, including 50 percent (4-of-8) from three in the opening 20 minutes.
A 5-0 spurt brought Western Michigan within three but an old-fashioned three-point play from Okanu and a bucket from Williams increased the NIU lead to 48-40 just over five minutes into the second half.
Five straight from Hankerson, followed by a free throw by Williams, increased the Huskie advantage to a dozen, 54-42, with under 12 minutes to play.
In front by 10, Makuoi started a 9-0 Huskie run with a bucket. Anthony Crump added a basket, Makuoi scored again, and Kaleb Thornton knocked in a trifecta to give NIU a 67-48 lead with just over four minutes remaining, putting the game out of reach.
Crump finished with six points and a team-high eight rebounds while Thornton scored eight points and dished out a game-high seven assists.
Lamar Norman Jr. was the only player in double figures for Western Michigan, he scored 24 points.
ATHENS, Oh – Ohio (17-3, 8-1 MAC) dominated Ball State (10-11, 5-5 MAC), 87-63, at the Convocation Center Tuesday night. With their victory, the Bobcats improved to 17-3 through 20 games for the first time since the 1940-41 season.
Leading the Bobcats was 5th year forward Jason Carter who scored 18 points, went 8-of-12 from the field, 1-of-2 from the line, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists. Redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas followed behind adding 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Mark Sears added 14 points and four rebounds.
Overall, Ohio shot 50.8 percent from the field, 43.5 percent from three and 63 percent from the line. Meanwhile, Ball State shot 38.5 percent from the field, 31 percent from three and made 14-of-20 from the line. The Bobcats outrebounded the Cardinals 40-26 and forced 15 turnovers, while forcing 10 steals.
Ohio won the tip and scored the game's first points to take an early 2-0 lead. Ball State answered with a three-point jumper to give them their only lead of the game, 3-2, with 19:09 left.
Both teams would then go on to exchange baskets, with Ball State tying it up 23 all with 8:38 left. The Bobcats continued to stay one step ahead, holding off Ball State for 13:41 without a field goal.
Ohio opened the second half with a layup by Carter, continuing its offensive strides. The Bobcats would then go on a 30-3 run that lasted from 8:38 in the first half to 14:55 in the second. Ball State cut the lead to 56-28 before Sears broke their six-point run with a pair of baskets from the free throw line. The Bobcats then tacked on 31 points to solidify their 17th victory of the season.
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Toledo cruised to its ninth straight victory Tuesday night with an 86-66 triumph at Eastern Michigan (8-12, 3-6 MAC). The 20-point win kept the Rockets (18-4, 10-1 MAC) a game ahead of second-place Ohio (17-3, 8-1 MAC) in the league standings.
Junior JT Shumate led Toledo with 24 pts and was joined in double digits by sophomore Ryan Rollins (19 pts.), redshirt freshman Ra'Heim Moss (15 pts.) and junior RayJ Dennis (12 pts.). Moss also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds to register his first double-double as a Rocket.
Moss' performance helped Toledo dominate the glass by a 46-29 margin. Dennis, Rollins and Shumate each grabbed seven rebounds, while junior Setric Millner Jr. added five.
Redshirt freshman Noah Farrakhan led four Eagles in double figures with 17 points.
Toledo continued to excel in the shooting department, posting a 53.0 field-goal percentage for its fourth straight game making more than half its shots. The Rockets also limited Eastern Michigan to a 37.5 shooting mark.
FIRST HALF
EMU jumped out to a 7-2 lead but Ryan Rollins' three-pointer evened the score at 7-7 at the first media timeout.
Toledo snapped a 16-16 deadlock with a 7-0 burst midway through the first half. Rollins ignited the spurt with a triple and JT Shumate and Ra'Heim Moss followed with baskets.
The Rockets maintained their lead and took a 45-35 advantage to the locker room thanks to Moss' three-point play with a minute remaining in the half.
Toledo committed just three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes with Shumate leading the way with 18 points.
SECOND HALF
Toledo took complete control by scoring the first eight points of the second half.
Rollins hit a pair of jumpers followed by jumpers from Setric Millner Jr. and Shumate.
RayJ Dennis registered three straight baskets to give the Rockets a 60-41 cushion with 14 minutes left.
Toledo led by as many as 24 points before settling for the 20-point win.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Through a rugged nonconference schedule and then a slew of postponements, the Central Michigan Chippewas could have packed it in.
The Chippewas didn't. And now, there is more evidence that they're coming around.
Kevin Miller and Cameron Healy scored 21 points apiece and Harrison Henderson hit two tie-breaking free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining on Tuesday as the Chippewas topped Bowling Green, 78-74, in a Mid-American Conference game at McGuirk Arena.
It was CMU's second straight victory -- a first at home this season, and a first at McGuirk for first-year coach Tony Barbee. The Chippewas are 4-13, 3-3 MAC. Brian Taylor added a career-high 15 points and Henderson finished with 14.
The Chippewas led 61-51 with eight minutes remaining. Bowling Green rallied to seize a 72-71 lead with a minute to play.
The game was tied, 74-74, and the Chippewas worked the ball into Henderson in the post with under 4 seconds remaining. He was fouled on the play and calmly drilled both free throws. Taylor hit two charity tosses with 1.2 seconds left to ice.
Henderson, who entered the game making 58 percent of his free throws on the season, was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line after going a combined 3-for-8 in his last four games.
Miller, a 6-foot freshman, continued to put on display his immense talent and poise that belies his youth. His 21 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds were all career bests, a sensational encore to his 14-point, seven-assist, five-rebound performance at NIU on Saturday.
He logged 38-plus minutes against the Falcons after playing all 40 at NIU. He made a combined 16 of 30 field goal attempts in the two games.
OXFORD, Ohio – Kent State (12-9, 7-4 MAC) went on the road and beat Miami (9-11, 3-6 MAC) Tuesday at Millett Hall for its third-consecutive Mid-American Conference win.
It was the Golden Flashes fifth win over the last six games and jump-started February with a big-time performance.
Kent State owned the opening half, leading from the opening possession and pushing out to a rapid 13-1 lead. Sincere Carry scored seven of those 13 points and had the Flashes cooking early. Midway through the first half, Miami scored to hit double digits and that ignited a 12-0 Flashes run which pushed the lead to 36-10 with 6:19 to play.
Kent State went on to put up 50 first-half points and closed the half on a 6-0 run thanks to back-to-back threes by Tervell Beck. The Flashes were red hot from the field in half number one, shooting 54 percent (20-for-37) overall and 62 percent (8-for-13) from downtown.
The Flashes weren't as sharp in the second half, and the RedHawks clawed back using a 14-0 run in which they held Kent State scoreless for over four minutes. Carry ended the Miami run and heated up down the stretch. He finished with a game-high 20 points to give the Flashes the 78-63 victory.
Andrew Garcia scored 12 points for the Golden Flashes and recorded an incredible plus-minus of plus-28 in just 17 minutes. Malique Jacobs added 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jacobs also added four assists and two blocks. Giovanni Santiago and Beck each added nine points off the bench.
Dae Dae Grant paced MU with 18 points, followed by Kamari Williams (14) and Precious Ayah (9)