KENT STATE 56, EASTERN MICHIGAN 47
TOLEDO 83, BALL STATE 70
BOWLING GREEN 92, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 83
AKRON 74, WESTERN MICHIGAN 73
CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT BUFFALO - POSTPONED
MRO STAFF REPORT
OXFORD, OH -- The Ohio Bobcats (14-2, 5-0 MAC) have a big showdown against Toledo Friday, but they nonetheless had no trouble keeping their focus Tuesday in an 86-63 demolishing of Miami (8-8, 2-3 MAC) at Millett Hall.
It was the ninth straight win overall for Ohio, which owns the only undefeated Mid-American Conference record (5-0). The RedHawks, meanwhile, dopped their third game in four outings since resuming MAC play Jan. 8. The first two losses were close (totaling seven points); Tuesday was not.
Ben Vander Plas led Ohio's first-half onslaught, scoring 20 of his game-high 23 poiints before intermission. He drained four of seven treys in that span and hit 8 of 11 overall during that span. As a team, the Bobcats shot 53.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent (8 of 18) from long distance.
Miami's only lead of the game was at 4-3. Ohio then went on a 19-4 run and led 22-8 after a Miles Brown jumper at 9:20. Vander Plas hit four threes while scoring 15 points after that to help Ohio Build a 45-27 halftime advantage.
In addition to the hot hand of Vander Plas, the Bobcats rode a defense that put heavy pressure on Miami. Ohio registered eight steals in the period and forced nine turnovers that yielded 11 points over the first 20 minutes.
A flurry of quick fouls further hampered MU when play resumed, and by the 15:08 mark, Ohio owned a commanding 31-point lead (63-32). Miami hit five of its eight treys for the night in the final 4:33, but it was never able to challenge the Bobcats and reserves saw action for both teams down the stretch.
Miami had just two players in double figures, totaling 21 points. Dae Dae Grant led with 11 points, followed by Marr Avance, who registered 10 points in 12 minutes.
Joining Vander Plas (23 points) in double figures for Ohio were Mark Sears (17) and Jason Carter (13).
The Bobcats connected on 50.9 percent frm the field overall and went 13 of 33 (39.4%) from beyond the arc. Miami was good on 19 of 32 (36.5%) from the floor and 8 of 27 (29.6%) on threes.
TOLEDO, Ohio – Sophomore Ryan Rollins and junior RayJ Dennis each registered double-doubles to lead Toledo to an 83-70 win over Ball State on Tuesday night in Savage Arena. The victory kept Toledo (14-4, 6-1 MAC) in a virtual tie at the top of the Mid-American conference standings with Ohio (14-2, 5-0 MAC) heading into Friday's nationally televised matchup with the Bobcats in Athens, Ohio.
Rollins scored a team-high 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists, while Dennis tallied 12 points and tied his career high with 10 boards. The duo was joined in double figures by juniors JT Shumate (16 pts.) and Setric Millner Jr. (15 pts.).
Freshman Payton Sparks paced Ball State with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Miryne Thomas contributed 13 points, while Luke Bumbalough and Tyler Cochran chipped in 12 apiece.
Toledo held Ball State to just to 36.6 percent from the floor. The Rockets were out-rebounded, 49-37, but made up for that difference by only committing six turnovers and forcing 13 Cardinal turnovers.
Toledo also connected for a season-high 11 three-point field goals and dished out 21 assists, its most against a Division I opponent this season. The Rockets converted 12-of-15 free-throw attempts but saw their streak of 29 consecutive free throws end in the second half.
FIRST HALF
• Ball State jumped out to an 11-6 lead following a Tyler Cochran three-pointer with 15:48 to play in the half.
• Toledo held the Cardinals scoreless for 7:33 midway through the half resulting in a 17-0 run for a 28-17 advantage with 7:01 left.
• Payton Sparks' put-back layup at the buzzer trimmed the Rockets' lead to 38-35 at halftime.
SECOND HALF
• Toledo came out of the locker room and extended its lead to 50-40 with a 12-5 run, capped off by RayJ Dennis' driving layup with 16:22 to play.
• The Rockets extended their lead to 75-52 with 8:31 left thanks to a 14-2 run culminated by JT Shumate's three-point play and a pair of free throws.
• Ra'Heim Moss' two free throws gave Toledo its largest lead of the night, 81-54, with 6:22 left.
The Cardinals ended the contest with a 16-2 run to cut their deficit in half.
DeKALB, Ill. - After reaching intermission tied at 32-32, Bowling Green rattled off 60 points in the second half to defeat Northern Illinois 92-83 Tuesday at the NIU Convocation Center.
It was the first road Mid-American Conference win of the season for BGSU (9-8, 2-4 MAC). The Huskies (5-9, 2-2 MAC) fell after two straight wins.
Six Falcons reached double figures. Samari Curtis led the group with 21 points. He was followed by Daeqwon Plowden (17 points), Trey Diggs (16 points), Josiah Fulcher (13 points), Matiss Kulackovskis (12 points) and Myron Gordon (10 points).
Keshawn Williams topped the Huskies with a game-high 32 points, sinking 12 of 16 overall, 5 of 6 treys and all three free throws. Kale Thornton contributed 13 points, while Trendon Hankerson added 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• It was a slow start on the court, but Trey Diggs utilized back-to-back three-pointers early to give the Falcons a quick 10-7 lead. The Falcons continued to build on that lead with the largest advantage of the game to that point coming at 21-13 to force an NIU timeout.
• Out of the timeout, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run to close the gap to 21-20 and see BGSU take a timeout of their own.
• The Orange and Brown regrouped in the timeout and reclaimed their advantage, pushing the lead to eight at 30-22.
• The Huskies were able to close out the first half with an 8-0 run, tying the game at 32-32 before the halftime horn.
• Daeqwon Plowden opened the second half with five straight points to grab a 37-32 lead for Bowling Green.
Northern Illinois closed the gap once more, tying it up at 39-39, but a 7-0 run for BGSU would reclaim the lead, extending to 11-2.
• Matiss Kulackovskis and Josiah Fulcher later connected on back-to-back three-pointers for the Falcons, bringing about the first double-digit lead of the night at 63-51 and forcing an NIU timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Kulackovskis hit another three but Northern Illinois soon answered. NIU went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 66-58 and see Bowling Green use a timeout.
• The timeout sparked the Falcons with Samari Curtis going on a 6-0 run by himself out of the break to push the lead back to double-digits at 72-58.
• The runs continued with the Huskies going on a 6-0 push to cut the lead back down to 72-64.
• The two teams traded buckets the rest of the way with the lead staying with the Falcons up to the 92-83 final.
AKRON, Ohio – A dramatic turnaround jumper by sophomore forward Ali Ali with four seconds left capped a furious late-game rally as Akron claimed a key Mid-American Conference win over visiting Western Michigan 74-73 Tuesday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Ali's jumper closed out a 11-0 burst over the final 2:40 of the game, erasing a 10-point deficit and earning Akron its tenth win of the season. Sophomore guard Greg Tribble started the Zips' run with a 3-pointer from the wing and added two steals, two assists and a defensive rebound in the final minutes. Following Ali's jumper, the Broncos took a timeout and came out of the break with a chance to win the game, but a layup attempt by redshirt sophomore forward Markeese Hastings was off the mark.
Ali led the Zips (10-5, 3-2 MAC) with 18 points with had five rebounds and five assists. Despite battling foul trouble, sophomore forward Enrique Freeman notched 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds and junior guard Xavier Castaneda also reached double figures, posting 14 points and a team-best six assists.
The contest was back and forth all night, with Akron controlling the glass and the Broncos (4-13, 0-6 MAC) shooting a strong 58.3 percent, 14-of-24 mark from beyond the arc. The Zips' 35-25 rebounding edge included an impressive 18 offensive rebounds, helping them amass an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Akron's dominance in the paint extended to a 34-18 margin on points in the paint, with Freeman and freshman center Aziz Bandaogo (six points, four rebounds) adding in a combined two block shots in addition to their scoring and rebounding.
Sophomore guard B. Artis White led the Broncos with 23 points in defeat and junior guard Lamar Norman Jr. added 19.