CENTRAL MICHIGAN 72, KENT STATE 69 #
TOLEDO 83, WESTERN MICHIGAN 56 #
By MIKE SMITH
BUFFALO, NY - After trailing by seven points at intermission, the Miami RedHawks stormed back with 58 second half points to knock off Buffalo Wednesday at Alumni Arena.
It was the confidence opener for both teams, and MU Head Coach Jack Owens acknowledged his squad, which went 6-5 in non-conference play, was very excited about moving into conference play. Opening against Buffalo, however, figured as a big challenge. The physically imposing Bulls posted three double-digit wins against the RedHawks last season and bring back enough to be the preseason favorite for 2021-22.
If "you come to Buffalo and you're not tough enough... you're not going to win the game," Miami Head Coach Jack Owens said.
Indeed, through the first 20 minutes, Buffalo controlled the boards. The Bulls held a 35-17 advantage overall and 17-7 edge in offensive caroms. UB also registered five blocks, with four of them registered by forward Josh Mballa. The 6-7 senior actually had a double-double by halftime, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds before intermission.
After leading by 11, the hosts took a 40-33 lead into the break. However, Miami started to find its range from beyond the arc, and Mekhi Lairy's 3-point goal at 13:51 tied the game at 50-all.
Each team held small leads and UB was in front 75-73 after Mballa's tip putback at 3:13. Dalonte Brown and Mekhi Lairy then hit back-to-back treys to start a 15-2 RedHawks run that put the game away. Overall, the duo went 7 of 10 from beyond the arc and combined for 45 points (Lairy 28; Brown 17). Dae Dae Grant contributed 23 points, while Precious Ayeh had a big second half inside fo finish with 13 points.
Mballa, meanwhile, topped Buffalo with 26 points, 17 rebounds (11 offensive) five blocks and a steal. He was 9 of 18 from the floor. Ronaldo Segu scored 21 points and Jeenathan Williams netted 20. Those two combined to hit 7 of 13 from long distance.
NEXT:
Miami hosts Central Michigan Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET).
Buffalo will be at Akron Jan. 1 (2 p.m. ET)
NOTES:
• Miami hit 31 of 73 (42.4%) from the field and 9 of 19 (47.4%) outside the arc. Buffalo was good on 27 of 70 (38.6%) overall and 8 of 30 (26.7%) on triples.
• Buffalo held a 55-40 advantage on the boards, with a 23-14 edge on offensive caroms.
• Miami committed eight turnovers to 17 by UB.
• Buffalo Head Coach Jim Whitesell missed Wednesday's game due to COVID protocols set forth by the university, the CDC, New York State and Erie County. During Coach Whitesell’s absence, assistant coach Angres Thorpe serves as acting head coach.
• Miami scored 58 second-half points, tying its most in a half this season. The RedHawks scored 58 in the first half against Lamar on Nov. 13 in a 104-75 win.
• Lairy's 28 points is a career high.
KENT, Ohio – Turns out, Tony Barbee was right. A tough nonconference scheduled would eventually pay dividends.
Harrison Henderson scored 18 points on Wednesday as Barbee's Central Michigan team held on to grind out a 72-69 victory over Kent State in its Mid-American Conference opener at the Golden Flashes' M.A.C. Center.
The Chippewas (2-10) appeared on Wednesday to have gained a measure of grit and toughness after a tough-as-nails nonleague slate that included the likes of Gonzaga, Kentucky, DePaul and Xavier. They took their lumps against some of the best teams in the nation, and also dropped a number of competitive games where a crunch-time play here and there made all the difference against the likes of Missouri, UIC and Detroit Mercy, among others.
The Chippewas snapped an eight-game losing streak and won for the first time since Nov. 15, when they beat the buzzer for a 62-61 victory at Eastern Illinois. They also ended a four-game losing streak to the Golden Flashes and won for just the second time at Kent State since 1997.
Ralph Bissainthe added 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Brian Taylor hauled down a career-high 10 boards as the Chippewas emerged from a nip-and-tuck physical battle during which the teams combined to commit 51 fouls, attempt 64 free throws, and five players – two from CMU, three from Kent – fouled out.
CMU, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, seized a 31-30 lead on a Henderson dunk with under a minute to play in the first half.
The Chippewas never relinquished the lead in the final 20 minutes, but they never could shake the Golden Flashes (5-6), who five times drew within a point, the last at 70-69 with five seconds remaining.
CMU got a critical 3-pointer from Jermaine Jackson Jr. with 21 seconds left that extended its lead to 68-64 and then Oscar Lopez Jr. made four free throws in the final 9 seconds to keep Kent State at bay.
The Chippewas made 20 of their 29 free throw attempts. Henderson, who entered the game shooting 54.5 percent from the line, made eight of his nine charity tosses.
Guard Sincere Carry, one of the league's top players, scored 22 points to lead Kent State, but he hit just two of his 13 3-point field goal tries and finished 5-of-19 (26 percent) overall from the floor.
The Chippewas held Kent State to 32.7 percent from the field and the Golden Flashes hit just six of their 34 3-pointers (17.6 percent). They entered the game shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from 3-point range.
TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo dominated defensively in its Mid-American Conference opener against Western Michigan on Wednesday evening, en route to an 83-56 victory over the Broncos (4-8, 0-1 MAC) in Savage Arena. The Rockets (9-3, 1-0 MAC) never trailed and led by as many as 34 points in the second half.
"It was a great team win tonight with contributions from a lot of different people," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets posted their 10th straight win over WMU. "I thought our defensive energy to start the game was really good and got us up by 20."
Junior JT Shumate and sophomore Ryan Rollins led the way offensively with 22 and 20 points, respectively, and were the only Rockets to score in double digits. Shumate also tied career highs with 11 rebounds and five assists, while Rollins grabbed a career-best five steals. The duo was extremely efficient from the field, with Rollins hitting 8-of-11 shots and Shumate knocking down 8-of-12.
Toledo limited Western Michigan to a 32.1 field-goal percentage, including a 2-for-19 effort (10.5 percent) from the behind the three-point arc. The Rockets also committed a season-low five turnovers and forced WMU into 17 miscues.
Toledo held the Broncos' leading scorer, Lamar Norman Jr., to 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting.
The Rockets return to action with a trip to Kent State (5-6, 0-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 1 at 2:00 p.m. The Golden Flashes dropped a 72-69 to Central Michigan at home tonight in their conference opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
Ryan Rollins opened the game with a three-pointer to help the Rockets take an early 5-0 lead.
Rollins then scored seven points during a 12-0 spurt that put Toledo up 29-10 with 9:51 left in the opening stanza.
Toledo's lead didn't dip below 15 points the rest of the half as the Rockets took a 40-25 lead to the locker room.
SECOND HALF
Any hopes of a Bronco comeback vanished when Toledo scored the first nine points of the second half for a 49-25 cushion.
Jordan Burge's layup provided the Rockets their largest advantage of 34 points, 83-49, with 2:23 to play.