EASTERN MICHIGAN 74, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 72
KENT STATE 93, BALL STATE 82
AKRON 82, BOWLING GREEN 68
TOLEDO 92, WESTERN MICHIGAN 50
OHIO 76, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 50
By MIKE SMITH/ MRO
OXFORD, OH -- Jeenathan Williams' short jumper with four seconds left proved the difference Tuesday as Buffalo fought off several RedHawk rallies to post a tough 86-84 victory at Millett Hall.
The surging Bulls (17-8, 11-4 MAC) have now won seven straight and are undefeated in the month of February. Miami, fighting to remain among the top eight conference teams who will play in the MAC tourney, fell to 12-15 overall and 6-10 MAC. Both teams will be on the road Thursday and play yet again Saturday.
Four Buffalo players reached double figures, and two of them posted double-doubles. Josh Mballa scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds (8 offensive). He was one of four starters (all seniors) to play over 35 minutes in a hard-fought contest. David Skogman, a 6-10 sophomore, played nearly 34 minutes, tallying 14 points while recording 11 rebounds.
Williams scored 17 points and Ronaldo Segu tallied 16. Maceo Jack was just one off double figures with nine points.
Mekhi Lairy and Dae Dae Grant led the RedHawks with 22 points each. James Beck scored 13 points, while sophomore Kamari Williams registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Limiting Buffalo's rebounding advantage was a big part of MU's challenge on the night, and it stayed close. The Bulls finished with a 43-41 edge. Both teams owned 15 offensive caroms. However, UB outscored the hosts 52-34 in the paint, 22-16 on second-chance points and 29-8 on fast breaks.
Miami, which leads the MAC in free throw percentage (78.9%) connected on 17 of 21 charity tosses, while Buffalo made 8 of 11.
The Bulls built up an early 21-7 advantage following Segu's fast break layup at 13:28 of the opening period. However, the RedHawks fought back and took a 28-27 lead on Grant's trey at 6:24.
Miami's biggest lead on the night was at 5:10, when the RedHawks led by three (32-29). On the evening, they were in front for a total of 4:10. Buffalo took back the lead and was up 45-40 at the break.
When play resumed, Buffalo ran off seven straight points for a double-digit lead, forcing MU to call a time out less than two minutes into the period. While that halted the run, Miami spent much of the remaining time playing catchup.
Finally, with 4:23 left, Lairy scored on a driving layup to tie the contest at 76-all. The 5-8 senior also gave MU its last lead (81-80) with a triple at 2:25.
Skogman responded with a short hook to put the Bulls back in front and there was 1:00 left when MU drew an offensive foul. Eighteen seconds later, Segu scored on a drive. Lairy once again drained a big shot for Miami, and his trey tied the game at 84-84.
With 27 seconds left, the shot clock was off and Buffalo worked the clock down to four seconds when Williams scored. The RedHawks got a timeout with 2.3 ticks left and got the ball to Grant for a long three try that was off the mark.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan came away with a key win over Northern Illinois, 74-72, tonight, Feb. 22, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Freshman Noah Farrakhan was the 'X factor' tonight as he dropped a career-high 31 points to pace all scorers and dished out four assists. Classmate Mo Njie produced personal-bests in points (16), field goals made (6), field goals attempted (8), and free throw attempts (7). Senior captain Darion Spottsville chipped in with eight points and four assists, while fellow senior Monty Scott added seven points and a team-leading seven dimes.
Keshawn Williams led NIU with 24 points, while Kaleb Thorton and Trendon Hankerson tallied 10 each.
How It Happened
After falling behind 24-22, Eastern Michigan went on a 12-0 run with 7:50 left in the first half to take a 34-24 lead. The Eagles then lost some of their advantage, but still entered halftime with a 40-34 advantage. EMU capitalized on eight Northern Illinois turnovers in the period, turning them into 10 points on the other end of the floor.
Eastern Michigan kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Njie's layup, to grow the advantage to 71-62 with 4:01 to go in the contest. NIU narrowed the margin somewhat but the Eagles still held on for the 74-72 win. Eastern Michigan took care of business in the paint, recording 20 of its 34 points in the lane.
KENT, Ohio – Kent State (18-9, 13-4 MAC) knocked off Ball State (12-15, 7-9 MAC) by a score of 92-83 in what was an historic nights in MAC Center history.
Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs each put on a show in front of the home fans, cementing themselves in the Kent State record books. Carry recorded a career-high 42 points and made a program-record 10 three-pointers. Jacobs became the first Golden Flashes in school history to record a triple-double, scoring 17 points to go with 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The star duo are the third set of D-1 teammates over the last 25 seasons to have 40+ points and a triple-double in the same game. The Flashes have won nine games in a row for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
The Flashes had to fight their way back from a 39-36 halftime deficit and trailed by as many as eight in the second half. Carry hit seven second-half threes and erupted for 25 points in the final period.
Carry and Jacobs led the Flashes to 57 second-half points as they outscored the Cardinals by 14 after the break. Jacobs recorded 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the second half alone to fuel the comeback effort.
With 3:19 left to play, Jacobs found Carry in transition for a three-pointer which gave Carry his 42nd points of the night and Jacobs his ninth assist. That capped off a 24-8 run and pushed the Flashes' lead to 15. Two minutes later, Jacobs hit Tervell Beck for a layup which gave him the triple-double and sealed the victory for the Golden Flashes.
Carry's 42 points are the fourth-most in program history behind only Dan Potopsky who has the top-three scoring games at Kent State all between 1955-56.
Overall, the Golden Flashes had one of the best offensive performances in school history. The team drilled 17 three-pointers which is tied for the second-most in school history and posted a Division-I opponent high 23 assists. The Flashes put up a Division-I opponent high 93 points and shot over 50 percent from the field for the second straight game.
While Carry and Jacobs headlined the Flashes performance, KSU got contributions from multiple places to lock down the win. VonCameron Davis scored 12 points, while Beck added 10 points to round out the Golden Flashes in double figures. Giovanni Santiago led the Golden Flashes defensively with a career-high six steals. The Flashes posted 16 steals and forced 21 Ball State turnovers.
Five Cardinals reached double figures. Miryne Thomas led the wayh with 19 points, followed by Payton Sparks (15), Luke Bumbalough (14), Jayllin Sellers (12) and Demarius Jacobs (10).
AKRON, Ohio – It took time for the Akron Zips to fully seize control, but a second-half offensive surge powered UA to an 82-68 win over visiting Bowling Green on Tuesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena. With the win, Akron clinched a spot in the 2022 MAC Tournament on Thursday-Saturday, March 10-12 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
The game was won both inside and outside, as the Zips (18-9, 11-6 Mid-American Conference) posted significant edges over the Falcons in 3-pointers and rebounding, draining 10 triples to Bowling Green's five and outrebounding the visitors 34-22.
Sophomore forwards Ali Ali and Mikal Dawson led the way for Akron with 17 points and four players scored in double figures as, junior guard Xavier Castaneda added 13 and sophomore forward Enrique Freeman posted his MAC-leading 15th double-double of the campaign with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Dawson's 17 points was a career high.
Despite Bowling Green (12-16, 5-12 MAC) keeping the game close for much of the night and trailing by just three (35-32) at the half, Akron was able to pull away in the second half behind a big effort from Dawson and Castaneda, who combined for 17 points after intermission.
The Akron offense as a whole was electric in the half, making 14 of its first 20 shots coming out of the locker room to turn a three-point halftime edge into a 16-point lead late in the game. Six of the Zips' 10 3-pointers came in the second stanza and they tallied an impressive 18-6 rebounding edge during the same span.
The win provides the Zips with a key win in the battle for positioning in the standings ahead of the upcoming MAC Tournament in Cleveland. It's the second straight victory for the blue and gold, setting the stage for the final three games of the regular season.
Junior guard Samari Curtis led Bowling Green with 21 points and senior forward Daeqwon Plowden added 14 in defeat.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Junior Setric Millner Jr. exploded for a career-high 28 points and sophomore Ryan Rollins tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to catapult Toledo to a dominating 92-50 victory over Western Michigan on Tuesday night in University Arena. The 42-point victory kept the Rockets (22-6, 14-3 MAC) in a first-place tie with Ohio (23-5, 14-3 MAC) at the top of the Mid-American Conference.
Toledo led by a 41-36 margin at halftime before holding the Broncos scoreless for over 10 minutes in the second half as part of a huge 28-0 run.
Redshirt freshman Ra'Heim Moss scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards, while junior RayJ Dennis tallied 11 points, a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Rockets shot 51.4 percent from the field and tied their season high with 11 three-point field goals. Toledo limited the Broncos (6-22, 2-15 MAC) to a 27.7 field-goal percentage, including a miniscule 16.1 percent in the final 20 minutes. WMU's shooting mark was the lowest by a Rockets' Division I opponent this season.
Toledo dominated the rebounding department as well, controlling the glass by a 57-30 margin. The Rockets grabbed 19 offensive boards, the same number as WMU's defensive rebounds.
No Bronco reached double figures, but Markeese Hastings and Lamar Norman Jr. tallied nine apiece to lead the way for WMU.
FIRST HALF
• The Rockets jumped out a 14-5 lead early as all five starters scored before the first media timeout.
• WMU rallied to within 16-13 with an 8-2 spurt but Setric Millner Jr. scored five points and Rollins two during a 7-0 burst that gave Toledo its first double-digit lead, 23-13, at the 10:39 mark.B Artis White answered with back-to-back triples to reduce the Broncos' deficit to four and WMU eventually gained a 29-28 lead on Lamar Norman's Jr. three-pointer 5:32 before halftime.
• Millner responded with two straight treys to put the Rockets back in front to stay.
• Toledo shot 50.0 percent and was 7-of-15 from three-point range in the first half. Millner Jr. led the Rockets with 17 points.
SECOND HALF
• JT Shumate scored five points and Ryan Rollins tallied four before WMU burned a timeout with Toledo leading 50-36 less than three minutes after intermission.
• Toledo held a 69-36 lead by the time the Broncos scored their first points of the second half with 9:48 remaining. WMU missed 13 straight shots during this stretch.
ATHENS, Ohio – Led by 23 points and seven threes from senior guard Tommy Schmock and a triple double by redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas, the Ohio Bobcats (23-5, 14-3 MAC) defeated Central Michigan (6-19, 5- MAC), 76-50, Tuesday night inside the Convocation Center.
Vander Plas' triple double is the fourth in Ohio men's basketball history (Jason Preston (2) DJ Cooper (1)) and the sixth in Ohio basketball history (Cece Hooks (1), Erica Johnson (1)).
Schmock finished with 23 points, going 8-of-15 from the field and 7-of-14 from three, he also grabbed three rebounds and dished out one assists. Vander Plas finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while redshirt fifth year forward Jason Carter added 12 points and eight rebounds. Junior forward Ben Roderick scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. Sophomore guard Mark Sears finished with eight points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Overall, Ohio shot 45.8 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three and 60.0 percent from the line, while CMU shot 31.3 percent from the field, 18.2 percent from three and 50 percent from the line. Ohio outrebounded CMU, 43-42, while the Bobcats dished out 23 assists compared to CMU's eight.
For CMU, Ralph Bissainthe led with 12 points, while Kevin Miller and Brian Taylor both had 11 points.
FIRST HALF
Out of a timeout, a layup from Roderick and another Schmock three with 2:53 left in the half increased the Ohio lead to 11, forcing CMU to call a timeout. Layups from CMU cut the Bobcats' lead to eight, but another three from Schmock and a layup from Sears gave Ohio a 33-22 lead going into the half.
SECOND HALF
The Bobcats opened the second half with a layup from Roderick and a three from junior fuard Miles Brown , putting the Bobcats up 38-22 and forcing CMU to burn a timeout with 17:43 left in the game. After CMU got a layup, the Bobcats increased their lead with two free throws from Carter and back-to-back layups from Brown and Roderick, giving the Bobcats a 44-26 lead with 15:19 left in the game.
After Carter free throws increased the Ohio lead to 20, CMU was able to cut the Bobcats lead to 13 with 12:08 left in the game. However, back-to-back threes from Schmock put the Bobcats back up 16 with 11:40 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats offense sprung to life, going on a 15-4 run that included a Vander Plas dunk and a deep three from Schmock to give the Bobcats a 27-point lead and they cruised to the win.