CENTRAL MICHIGAN 62, EASTERN ILLINOIS 61
OHIO 85, ROBERT MORRIS 71
BUFFALO 69, NORTH TEXAS 66
#19 OHIO STATE 89, BOWLING GREEN 58
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jermaine Jackson Jr.'s buzzer-beating layup lifted Central Michigan to a dramatic 62-61 victory over Eastern Illinois on Monday at the Cougars' Lantz Arena.
It was the first win of the season for the Chippewas (1-2) and for first-year coach Tony Barbee as his team overcame a 20-point first-half deficit.
"What a comeback," Barbee said. "The guys fought. To go on the road against a team that was desperate for a win and to get down that big and to see the guys fight back like that, to scrap and claw in the second half – we did a lot of great things."
Jackson and Cameron Healy scored 14 points apiece to lead the Chippewas, while Kevin Miller added 11, and Harrison Henderson had 10.
CMU trailed, 32-12, with under seven minutes to play in the first half and was down, 42-29, at halftime. The Chippewas worked their way back into it with defense, outscoring the Cougars, 33-19, over the final 20 minutes.
The Chippewas were still down 10, 53-43, with just over seven minutes remaining and finally seized the lead – their first since 3-2 early in the game – on a Kevin Miller pullup with 1:47 remaining, making it 60-58.
CJ Lane hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with under 3 seconds to play to put Eastern Illinois back in front, 61-60, setting the stage for CMU's final dramatics.
Jack Webb inbounded from under the basket after Lane's triple, launching a baseball pass to the 6-foot-11 Henderson who was stationed at the free throw line, three-fourths of the way down the court.
The heavily guarded Henderson went up for the ball, which bounded off his hands and those of an Eastern Illinois defender. The loose ball came to Jackson on the right side. Jackson streaked to the basket and laid it in as the buzzer sounded.
Sammy Friday IV, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, led Eastern Illinois with 12 points, all of which came at the rim or at the free throw line. All of his points came in the first half when he made four of his five field goal attempts. He attempted just one field goal in the second half as CMU forced the Cougars outside. They made just three of their 14 second-half 3-point attempts.
OHIO 85, ROBERT MORRIS 71
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (3-0) returned to Athens on Monday night, extending its winning streak to three games when they defeated Robert Morris (0-3), 85-71, in their first game of the Kentucky Classic inside the Convocation Center.
Five Bobcats scored in double figures, starting with fifth year forward Jason Carter who scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, followed by redshirt senior forward Ben Vander Plas, who added 17 points and 11 boards. Sophomore guard Mark Sears scored 16 points, while junior forward Ben Roderick scored 14 points – all in the second half – and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the line.
Overall, Ohio shot 46.4 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from three and 92.9 percent from the line, while RMU shot 49.1 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from three and 73.3 percent from the line. Ohio outrebounded RMU, 36-30, and dished out 13 assists to their 12. The Bobcats also registered three steals and forced 16 RMU turnovers, scoring 18 points off if them.
For Robert Morris, Kahliel Spear led with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while Jaron Williams added 19 points and five rebounds.
DENTON, TX – Trailing by 11 with just under nine minutes left in the second half, Buffalo hit its final nine shots from the floor as the Bulls came back to defeat the defending C-USA champions North Texas, 69-66. The victory evens Buffalo's record to 1-1 on the season.
Four Bulls scored in double figures in the win, including a Buffalo career best for senior Maceo Jack. Jack had five points early as the Bulls raced out to a 7-2 lead and UB would go on to lead by as many as eight before North Texas came back. The Mean Green led by as many as six points in the first half before taking a 36-32 lead into the break.
The two teams found themselves tied at 42-42 with 16:13 left in the second half, but from there North Texas went on a 10-1 run to take a nine-point lead. A pair of free throws gave the Mean Green a 56-45 lead with 8:51 left, but then UB got the three ball going.
Back-to-back threes from Jeenathan Williams and Josh Mballa quickly cut the deficit to just five. Trailing by six with just under five minutes left, the Bulls cut it to one as Ronaldo Segu drained a three, followed by a long two from Jack. Williams put the Bulls ahead for the first time since early in the first half with a three, giving UB the 64-63 lead with 3:12 left.
Buffalo got its lead up to as many as five at 68-63 with 45 seconds left, but North Texas would cut that to three and the Mean Green had two looks from three, but couldn't convert as the final buzzer sounded.
Jack tied for game-high honors with his 18 points, going 7-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range. Mballa and Segu each added 17 points and Mballa had the double-double with 10 rebounds. Segu chipped in four assists.
Williams had 14 points, six rebounds, and a career high six assists. 10 of his 14 points came in the second half. Sophomore David Skogman added three points.
In the second half alone, the Bulls shot 53.8% from the floor, including 63.6% from three point range.
With the season-opening two-game road trip in the books, the Bulls will have their regular season home opener on Saturday afternoon against Rider. Game time is set for 2pm.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bowling Green came up shy in Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday night (Nov. 15). The Falcons saw three players reach double-digit scoring, paced by Chandler Turner, who matched his career-high with 12 points.
It wasn't enough to overcome a slow start by Bowling Green, being on the short end of the 89-58 final. The Falcons will now turn their attention to Norfolk State who will be visiting the Stroh Center this coming Friday (Nov. 19).
"They did a really good job of using their physicality, went inside right away and established their presence on the inside," Head Coach Michael Huger said of the Buckeyes. "We couldn't get stops. If you can't get stops and you can't score, you're in trouble and that's what we were."
>> Ohio State tallied the first 11 points, before a Gabe O'Neal layup followed by a Cam Young steal and Brenton Mills layup got the Orange and Brown going on the offensive end in the first half.
Bowling Green closed out the first half strong with five straight points thanks to a three by Trey Diggs and a layup from Josiah Fulcher.
Into the second half, the Falcons saw a 9-0 run late in the contest.