XAVIER 78, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 45
WESTERN ILLINOIS 93, BALL STATE 80
BOWLING GREEN 78, DUQUESNE 70
AKRON 88, MARSHALL 86
LSU 66, OHIO 51
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 55, EASTERN ILLINOIS 45
CINCINNATI 59, MIAMI 58
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Time will tell how much the Central Michigan men's basketball team benefits from a seven-game road trip against tough-as-nails competition to open the season.
For now, first-year Chippewa coach Tony Barbee will look at it in pieces, break it down, and find the positives and the building blocks as his team finally comes home to McGuirk Area for its home opener on Sunday.
Xavier hit 6 of first 7 3-pointers in building a big early lead on Wednesday in handing the Chippewas a 78-45 loss before 9,449 at the Musketeers' Cintas Center.
The Chippewas (1-6) will entertain Western Illinois (5-2) on Sunday (2 p.m.) at McGuirk Arena. The Leathernecks will certainly pose a stiff test as they have posted victories over the likes of Nebraska and Miami (Ohio) this season.
Xavier was the latest in a bevy of big-time programs – Missouri, DePaul, Gonzaga and Kentucky – that the Chippewas have battled over the past three weeks. Those five opponents are now a combined 29-6.
Xavier put the Chippewas in a 23-3 hole to start the game and CMU never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way. The Chippewas trailed, 41-25, at halftime but were outscored 14-4 to open the second half as the Musketeer lead swelled to 26, 55-29.
Oscar Lopez Jr. scored 11 points and Brian Taylor added nine to lead the Chippewas and Ralph Bissainthe had eight rebounds as CMU outrebounded the Musketeers, 36-31, but committed a season-high 21 turnovers and hit just three of its 18 3-point attempts.
MACOMB, Ill. – Luke Bumbalough with 17 points as Ball State had four guys finish in double figures, but the Cardinals fell to 3-4 on the year after falling at Western Illinois 93-80 Wednesday.
Bumbalough finished in double digits for the fourth-straight game and led the team with a game-high nine rebounds. Miryne Thomas posted a 14-point performance for back-to-back games in double figures. Jaylin Sellers recorded a career-high 11 points. Demarius Jacobs made it four players in double digits with 10 points.
Western Illinois started the game on a 14-5 run. The Cardinals responded and got hot from 3-point range. Ball State went on a 10-0 run and gained a 15-14 lead with 12:54 left in the first half. During the run, Mickey Pearson Jr. and Sellers each knocked down a 3, while Bumbalough added four points.
The Leathernecks answered with a 14-4 run and took a 28-19 lead with 8:38 left in the first. During the run, all four of Ball State's points came from the free-throw line, two by Sellers and two by Thomas.
Thomas ended the 5:26 drought from the field, as he made a driving layup and made the score 28-21, with 7:28 left in the half. WIU then went on a 6-0 run and extended its lead to 34-21 with 4:31 left in the first. Ball State followed with an 8-2 run and pulled with seven, 36-29, with 2:34 remaining in the half.
Western Illinois ended the half on an 8-4 run and took a 44-33 lead into the break.
Demarius Jacobs started the second half with a big and-1 and made the score 44-36. After a made basket by WIU, Jacobs drained a 3-pointer on a kickout by Payton Sparks.
Neither team scored again until there was 17:57 left in the game, when WIU made a free throw. Thomas made a layup to cut the deficit to seven, 48-41.
Western Illinois extended its lead to 63-49 with 12:54 left in the game.
The Cardinals went on a run and pulled within 10, 70-60, with 8:51 left as Pearson made a 3-pointer. During the run, Bumbalough converted an and-1 opportunity. A minute later, Jalin Windham was fouled on a 3-point attempt and went to the line for three shots. Windham converted on all three and pulled BSU within seven, 70-63.
The Leathernecks reached their largest lead of 19, 92-73, with 1:53 left in the game. The deficit was too much for Ball State to overcome as Western Illinois went on to win the game 93-80.
Colton Sandage posted a game-high 33 points behind a 7-for-9 performance from long range. Trenton Massner notched 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Luka Barisic finshed with 14 points and Tamell Pearson added 13 points.
Ball State will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 8, for a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, and a matchup against Xavier.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Bowling Green overcame a double-digit deficit on Wednesday night to top Duquesne 78-70. The Falcons were able to see a 12-0 run to close out a back-and-forth game for the victory.
Four different Falcons reached double-digit points in the contest, including Joe Reece with his second double-double of the season (15 points, 12 rebounds). The win gets Bowling Green back to .500 on the season at 4-4 before returning to the Stroh Center for four straight home games in the month of December.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The game started out with each team going on a run. The Falcons tallied the first four points of the game before the Dukes rattled off 10 straight. Daeqwon Plowden drilled a three to cut the score to 10-7 Duquesne at the first media timeout.
• The Dukes built back their lead, but were later held scoreless for more than two and a half minutes, allowing the Falcons to cut into the deficit.
• Bowling Green utilized a 7-0 run to bring the game to a one possession game, 28-25, with just under five minutes left in the first half. The run would continue to 11-0 for the Falcons, taking a 29-28 lead.
Duquesne reclaimed the lead with a 7-0 run to close out the first half, sending the teams to the locker rooms with a score of 38-32, Dukes.
• The Orange and Brown continued to chip away at the lead out of the break, including back-to-back three-pointers from Kaden Metheny to narrow the lead to just three for the Dukes.
• The game resumed going back-and-forth until an 8-0 run for the Falcons put BGSU ahead for the first time in the second half at 60-59 thanks to five straight from Josiah Fulcher. The next time down, Samurai • Curtis fed Daeqwon Plowden for a slam to get the run to 10-0 and a three-point Bowling Green lead.
The lead would continue to shift, but a 6-0 run for Bowling Green, capped by a Samari Curtis triple just inside the final minute of regulation, gave the Orange and Brown a late 72-70 lead. The Falcons would add another six before the final buzzer, ending the game on a 12-0 run to capture the 78-70 victory.
STAT LEADERS
Joe Reece: 15 points, 12 rebounds
Kaden Metheny: 15 points, 3 assists
Samari Curtis: 14 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
Daeqwon Plowden: 13 points, 9 reb
AKRON, Ohio – With the outcome hanging in the balance, sophomore forward Enrique Freeman willed the Akron Zips to a thrilling 88-86 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd on Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Freeman scored his team's final five points – all in the final 24 seconds – and delivered the game-winning points on a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining after snaring his 14th rebound to secure a double-double while being fouled.
Freeman also scored a career- and team-high 24 points and junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. added 23 points and made seven 3-pointers while leading all scorers with 17 points at intermission. Sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) notched 16 points and sophomore Greg Tribble recorded a career-high 12 points with four assists in the win.
It was Freeman who tied the game at 86-all with 24 seconds remaining on a clutch putback dunk that turned into an and-1 when he was fouled, then sank the ensuing free throw. Moments later, he sealed the win with his defensive rebound and ensuing free throw makes.
The clutch finish closed out a game where Akron built an early edge, leading by nine at halftime., 49-40. In an even matchup from start to finish, the two sides made the same number of 3-pointers (five) in the opening half, had nearly the same number of points from the foul line before intermission (8-7 in favor of the Zips) and laid the foundation for the exciting finish.
With nine ties and 18 lead changes, the outcome remained in doubt as Marshall rallied in the second half before the host Zips (4-3) claimed the victory.
Each side shot 50 percent or better in regulation, with Akron holding a 44-36 edge on points in the paint and a 39-34 rebounding advantage.
Junior guard Taevion Kinsey led all scorers with 30 points to pace the Thundering Herd (4-3) and redshirt sophomore guard Andrew Taylor contributed 26.
The Zips return to action when they host the Southern Jaguars on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Despite a spirited second-half effort, Ohio (5-2) was unable to overcome a poor-shooting first half, falling to LSU (8-0), 66-51, Wednesday inside the Maravich Center.
Overall, Ohio shot 26.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and 50 percent from the line. Meanwhile, LSU shot 46.9 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three and were 16-of-19 from the line. LSU outrebounded the Bobcats 43-37, while both teams recorded 11 steals. The Bobcats forced 17 LSU turnovers, while only turning the ball over 12 times themselves.
Individually, redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas led Ohio with 12 points, going 4-of-6 from three. He also snagged seven boards and dished out two assists. Sophomore guard Mark Sears added 11 points and four rebounds, while fifth year forward Jason Carter scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards.
LSU won the tip and opened the game on a 14-0 run. The Bobcats finally snapped the run with a layup from Carter at the 11:24 mark in the half. After the Tigers took an 18-point lead with 9:25 left, the Bobcats' offense started to catch fire with threes from senior guard Tommy Schmock, Sears, Carter and freshman forward AJ Clayton to cut the Bobcats' deficit to nine with 1:08 left in the half. LSU stopped their scoring drought moments later, extending their lead to 34-22 at the half.
At the half, Ohio shot 24 percent from the field, 28 percent from three and 50 percent from the line, while LSU shot 43 percent from the field, 21 percent from three and 88 percent from the line. The Bobcats' outrebounded LSU, 22-21 in the first half.
Sears led Ohio at the half with nine points and three rebounds, followed by Carter with seven points and three rebounds.
The Bobcats opened the second half on an 11-3 run, sparked by three made three pointers from Vander Plas to knot the game at 37-37 with 14:07 left in the game. After LSU was forced to use a timeout, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to take a 41-37 lead entering the under-12 media timeout.
After a scoring drought from both teams, a layup from Sears and a three from Clayton were able to pull Ohio back with seven with 4:53 left in the game. However, LSU went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-point lead with 3:29 left. A three, steal and free throw from junior forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) brought Ohio back within 10 with under three minutes to go. However, the Bobcats were unable to continue to chip away, falling to the Tigers 66-51.
For LSU, Tari Eason led with 20 points and five boards, while Darius Day added 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Up next, the Bobcats are back in the Convo before the start of finals when they host St. Francis on Saturday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.
DEKALB, Ill. – Keshawn Williams scored a career-high 24 points as Northern Illinois earned a 55-45 victory over Eastern Illinois on Wednesday night at the NIU Convocation Center. The Huskies held the Panthers to just 30 percent (15-of-50) shooting, including 25 percent (7-of-28) from the free-throw line.
Trendon Hankerson added 15 points, including four three-pointers, while Chinedu Kingsley Okanu grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
"Tonight, was one of those games that I would call good, bad and ugly," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "We didn't do what we wanted to do on the offensive end with regards to execution. Some of it had to do with early fouls, but we have to do a better job of having more ball movement and flow to our offense. On the defensive end, we pride ourselves on brining tough defense, we try to take teams out of what they want to do and I think we did a solid job on the defensive end."
Both teams were on target from deep in the early going as Eastern Illinois connected on a trio of triples and Hankerson made a pair for the Huskies as the contest was tied, 9-9, four minutes in.
With the Panthers in front by one, 12-11, Williams scored the next four for NIU, igniting a 9-2 burst that saw the Huskies take a 20-14 lead with just over eight minutes left in the half. Hankerson added a trifecta and Williams made another bucket during the run.
Eastern Illinois (1-7) trimmed the NIU advantage to three before Hankerson's fourth triple of the half pushed the lead back to a half-dozen with just under three minutes to play before the break. The Panthers scored the next four to pull within a pair, but two free throws by Zool Kueth and Williams' sixth field goal of the half gave the Huskies a 29-23 lead at the half.
Williams led all scorers with 13 in the opening 20 minutes, Hankerson added a dozen while Kashawn Charles and Jermaine Hamlin each had nine to pace Eastern Illinois. NIU held the Panthers to just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
After Eastern Illinois scored the first five of the second half to cut the Huskie advantage to 29-28, NIU responded with an 8-2 run as the Huskies went in front by seven. Kaleb Thornton opened the burst with a pair of free throws, Adong Makuoi added back-to-back buckets and Kueth had a basket as the Huskies led 37-30 with 14 minutes to play.
NIU (2-5) led by a half-dozen when Williams forced a turnover and converted with a dunk as the Huskies led 44-36 with 8:43 remaining. The sequence ignited a 9-0 Huskie run that gave NIU its largest lead of the night, 53-36, with a little over three minutes left.
The Huskies shot 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from the field in the second half while holding the Panthers to just 33.3 percent (8-of-24).
Charles finished with 15 points to lead Eastern Illinois; Hamlin added 12 points.
NIU will return to the road on Saturday, Dec. 4, as the Huskies travel to Dayton, Ohio to meet the Flyers. Tip time at Dayton is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- The last second shot rolled around the rim, tantalizingly close, before falling away. That marked the end of a 59-58 Miami loss to area rival Cincinnati Wednesday at Millett Hall.
Once an annual rival game, the teams had not met on a basketball court in 10 years, but a deal was worked out and the first game was scheduled at Miami -- about 40 miles from the Bearcat campus.
The RedHawks brought a 5-1 mark to Wednesdays game and had opened the season with an upset at Georgia Tech. Cincinnati came in 5-2 under new Head Coach Wes Miller. With both teams enjoying early success, the rivalry drew MU's largest crowd (7, 285) since 1999. The total included 2,683 students.
Ultimately, Cincinnati's height proved pivotal in a defensive battle. The Bearcats owned a 48-36 advantage on the board, with 22 of UC's caroms coming on the offensive end. The visitors were also able to penetrate enough to draw a second defender. They then dished off a lob pass near the rim for one of the bigs to finished off.
Abdul Ado, a 6-11 senior, was one of the beneficiaries as he made 6 of 7 shots from the field while scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds (7 on the offensive end). "We're always trying to dominate the other team on the glass," Ado said. "Rebounding wins games."
Junior guard Jeremiah Davenport also had 14 points, and he was joined in double figures by David DeJulius (12).
Miami also had three players in double figures. Mekhi Lairy led with 20 points, followd by Dalonte Brown (14) and Dae Dae Grant (12). Precious Ayah chipped in six, but no other RedHawk had more than two points.
Cincinnati pulled out to an early lead, but MU battled back to take a 22-20 lead when Lairy hit a triple at 7:34. The battle continued with UC hitting a late three to secure a 30-29 halftime lead.
Miami moved in front and owned an eight point lead (45-37) after Brown and Lairy hit back-to-back treys -- the latter at 13:07 to finish a 9-0 Miami run.
As the RedHawks shooting went cold, Cincinnati pulled back in front with a 16-4 run. Still, MU stayed close and was one-point back after Lairy hit his final triple of the night with 49.3 ticks remaining.
When Miami sent Ado to the free throw line, he missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Davenport grabbed the rebound and the ensuring jump ball went to UC. After another RedHawk foul, Cincinnati missed the front end of another one-and-one. Miami got the rebound, but missed on two desperation shots off the rim in the final seconds.
• This was the 147th all-time meeting between Miami and Cincinnati and the first time the longtime rivals have played in 10 years.
• Neither team scored from the free throw line in the first half, and Cincinnati (2-10 FT) didn't make a foul shot until there were less than three minutes remaining in the game.
• The game reflected solid defense by both teams. Miami converted 37.9 percent from the field overall and 27.3 percent on threes. It was 8-of-11 at the line.
Cincinnati hit 36.4 percent overall, 27.3 percent outside the arc and 2 of 10 charity tosses.
• There were eight lead changes and four ties in the game. Miami led for 13:52, while Cincinnati was in front for 19:35.