BOWLING GREEN 82 WESTERN MICHIGAN 75
AKRON 46, EASTERN MICHIGAN 44
BALL STATE at CENTRAL MICHIGAN - Postponed
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH - Senior Dalonte Brown came through in the clutch -- twice -- Saturday as Miami rallied from 15 points down in the second half to defeat Northern Illinois 85-82 in overtime.
NIU led nearly the entire game and was still up by nine with just 1:11 to go. However, the RedHawks forced three Huskie turnovers while scoing 12 of the next 15 points. Brown's triple with 11 seconds left tied the contest at 74-all and the game went to overtime.
With the two teams tied again -- this time at 82-all -- late in the extra period, Brown delivered a final triple. His 3-point shot with 0.8 seconds left gave Miami its first home win in conference play this season. The RedHawks are now 3-3 MAC, 9-8 overall. Northern Illinois falls to 2-3 MAC, 5-10 overall.
Brown led Miami with 24 points, hitting 10 of 17 from the field (3 of 6 on treys) and grabbing seven rebounds. Mekhi Lairy added 21 points, while Dae Dae Grant contributed 18.
Keshawn Williams had a huge night for Northern Illinois, scoring a game-high 28 points. He knocked down 10 of 15 shots from the field, including five of six 3-point attempts. Joining him in double figures were Trendon Hankerson (16), Kaleb Thorton (14) and Adong Makuoi (11).
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Bowling Green picked up its second consecutive road win, topping Western Michigan by a score of 82-75 Saturday afternoon at University Arena.
The Falcons closed out the contest with a 12-2 run to capture the win, their third straight in Kalamazoo. Daeqwon Plowden paced the Falcons with his second straight 20-point game, helping the Orange and Brown advance to 10-9 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. Samari Curtis and Myron Gordon registered 10 points each, while Joe Reece and Trey Diggs combined for 18 points.
Western Michigan dropped its eighth straight and remains winless in MAC conference with an 0-7 MAC mark. The Broncos are 4-14 on the entire campaign.
Lamar Norman Jr. led WMU with 20 points, followed by Mileek McMillan (15 points) and Mack Smith (10 points). Markeese Hastings chipped in nine points and 13 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• For the second consecutive game the Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 advantage on the scoreboard. Daeqwon Plowden scored 11 points in the first five minutes of the game, giving BGSU a 17-11 advantage at the first media break.
• The Broncos stuck with the Falcons before utilizing a 6-0 run to tie the score at 23-23.
• The Falcons soon answered with a run of their own, growing to 8-0 before a timeout from the Western Michigan bench with the score at 34-25 BGSU.
• WMU narrowed the gap before halftime, but the Falcons took a slim lead to the halftime break at 41-40.
• Early in the second half, Western Michigan was able to string together eight straight points to tie the game up at 50-50. After a media timeout, WMU would hit a three to extend the run to 11-0 and take their first lead of the game.
From there the two teams began trading buckets, and the lead. It wasn't until a 6-0 Western run that either team gained space, taking a 64-57 lead.
• The Falcons continued to fight their way back into the game. Plowden rattled off five straight on his own to give BGSU a 75-73 lead with two minutes remaining in the game. Plowden would soon add a tip-in to extend his run to 7-0 with the Falcons up 77-73.
• The run for BGSU would extend as far as 9-0 before the Broncos answered with a layup, but a 12-2 run to close out the game for the Falcons would secure an 82-75 win for the Orange and Brown.
BOX SCORE HERE
AKRON, Ohio – Five days, three games and three wins. The Akron Zips battled their way to a 46-44 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena, closing out a 3-0 week in which each win came in a decidedly different style of game.
After a dramatic comeback win to start the week and an impressive offensive barrage two days later, the Zips found themselves in a defensive battle, outlasting the Eastern Michigan to claim a two-point win.
The Zips (12-5, 5-2 Mid-American Conference) claimed a 46-42 edge with 2:30 remaining on a jumper in the lane by junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. and held on down the stretch as the Eagles (7-10, 2-4 MAC) narrowed the gap to two points, only to see a layup at the buzzer go astray, securing the win for Akron.
Sophomore forward Ali Ali led Akron with 15 points, with junior guard Xavier Castaneda adding 14 and sophomore forward Enrique Freeman snaring a game-high 14 rebounds to pace his team to a 37-35 edge on the glass.
Freshman forward Colin Golson led Eastern Michigan with 14 points and junior guard Bryce McBride added 10 in defeat.
Both teams struggled to score throughout the game, with Eastern Michigan building a 29-23 lead at the half after an 11-3 run to begin the game put the hosts in a hole. Undeterred by a challenging first half offensively, the Zips returned the favor in the second half, limiting the Eagles to 15 second-half points.
With Akron amping up the defensive intensity, Eastern Michigan shot just 6-of-25 from the field after the break, with Freeman blocking two shots and the entire Akron defense harassing the Eagles at every turn.
Despite shooting 17-of-50 from the field and 7-of-22 from 3-point range, the Zips earned a win, managing to keep pace with the leaders in the MAC standings. Eastern Michigan's loss was the Eagles third straight setback and fourth in the last five outings.