MIAMI 90, HEIDELBERG 45
BUFFALO 87, RIDER 65
MICHIGAN STATE 83, EASTERN MICHIGAN 59
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Myja White scored 17 points and the RedHawks defense held Heidelbreg to 22.8 percent shooting from the field as Miami defeated Heidelberg 90-45 Saturday at Millett Hall .
The Division III Student Princes had won all three outings before stepping up to meet MU, which is now 4-0 on the campaign. However, Miami jumped on HU early. An 18-2 RedHawks run midway through the first period put the hosts up 27-7.
White drained all four 3-point attempts in the stanza and Dae Dae Grant nearly reached double figures with nine markers. The RedHawks hit 50 percent both from the field (16 of 32) and beyond the arc (9 of 18) before intermission.
Heidelberg, meanwhile, struggled against Miami pressure. The Student Princes made just 4 of 26 shots (15.4 %) from the field and 2 of 15 (13.3%) outside the arc before intermission. By then, MU owned a 45-14 lead.
"I was happy with our attention to detail from a scouting report standpoint," MU Head Coach Jack Owens said. "Heidelberg does a good job of running the Princeton offense, but we were familiar with that offense from Georgia Tech, so it's somewhat of a carryover from the first game we played."
Heidelberg's offense improved some in the final period as the Student Princes shot 29 percent from the field overall and added 31 points. However, Miami remained hot by making 17 of 30 (56.7%) from the field overall.
Twelve RedHawks were in on the scoring, and four reached double figures. Joining White were Grant (16), Lairy (11), and Precious Ayeh (10).
"I feel pretty confident this year," White said. I've been "putting in the work before and after practice with the coaches. ...Now, with my experience, my confidence has grown."
Delonte Brown had a game-high nine rebounds, and MU enjoyed a 48-32 advantage on the boards.
Owens did project working on turnovers and free throws (11 of 20) this week. The RedHawks had nine turnovers in the first half and 16 overall. "We want to have eight (or) at the most maybe 10 turnovers a game. We have a team that can do that in terms of taking care of the basketball," he said. "We will definitely clean that up."
Miami continues its homestand Tuesday (7 p.m. ET) against Defiance College.
BUFFALO 87, RIDER 65
BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo put forth a strong second half effort as the Bulls won their home opener on Saturday afternoon, 87-65. The game was a campus contest as part of the Cancun Challenge, and Buffalo will head to Mexico for the final two games.
UB scored a season high 87 points, including 48 in the second half as the Bulls sank 50 percent from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes of action.
The Broncs opened the game strong, scoring seven of the first nine points. However, a quick 11-2 run from the Bulls put them in front, and they never looked back. Leading 21-18, the Bulls went on a 10-2 run to take their biggest lead of the half at 31-20 with 3:51 left. The Bulls would go on to lead 39-33 at the break.
Leading 48-40 five minutes in, the Bulls extended their lead by using a 12-3 run as a second-chance layup from senior Keishawn Brewton put the Bulls ahead 60-43 with 12:18 left.
UB had another big run as it took a 63-51 advantage and quickly turned in to a 28-point lead as the Bulls went on a 16-0 run, capped off by a pair of three pointers from sophomore David Skogman. A triple from junior Ty Perry gave the Bulls their largest lead of the afternoon at 87-58 and Buffalo would go on to win comfortably.
Senior Jeenathan Williams led all scorers with 19 points, adding seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Fellow senior Maceo Jack had 18 points, 13 of those coming after halftime. Brewton finished with a season-high 12 points.
Josh Mballa had eight points, seven boards and three steals, and Ronaldo Segu added nine points and five assists. Freshman Curtis Jones didn't score in the game, but had a career-best six assists, to go along with four boards, two steals, and a drawn charge.
Skogman finished with six points and Brock Bertram added four points and five boards. Perry had five points and Tra'von Fagan added three points. Both Perry and Fagan added four rebounds.
The Bulls had a commanding 52-38 advantage on the boards as the Bulls defense caused Rider to shoot just 31.0% in the second half.
"It was great to have fans back in the stand cheering us on," said head coach Jim Whitesell. "Give Rider credit, they kept us off balance in the first half a bit and defended well, but I am really happy with the way we moved the ball, especially in the second half."
The Bulls will continue action at the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday when they face Stephen F. Austin in the first of two games in Mexico. The contest will tip off at 6pm and air on CBS Sports Network.
MICHIGAN STATE 83, EASTERN MICHIGAN 59
EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team fell in non-conference action on the road to Michigan State University, 83-59, Saturday, Nov. 20, inside the Breslin Center.
Eastern (1-3; 0-0 MAC) had 23 points off the bench, and shot 37.1 percent from the field, including 47.1 percent from three-point range. EMU totaled 10 assists, as well as six blocks and four steals, while forcing Michigan State (3-1; 0-0 Big Ten) into 10 turnovers.
The Green and White had three players score in double figures, led by freshman Noah Farrakhan (Newark, N.J.-The Patrick School (East Carolina)), who had 14 points and six rebounds. Classmate Colin Golson Jr. (Detroit, Mich.-Ferndale (Siena)) tacked on 11 points off the bench, and senior Monty Scott (Union, N.J.-St. Benedict's Prep (Portland State)) helped out with 10 points, five assists, and two steals.
Freshman Yusuf Jihad (Farmington Hills, Mich.-North Farmington (Oakland)) pulled down three of Eastern's 13 offensive rebounds which the team turned into seven second chance points.
Eastern Michigan did a great job disrupting Michigan State shots in the contest, coming away with six blocks. Freshman Mo Njie (Centerville, Ohio-Centerville (DME Sports Academy)) led the way individually for the Eagles with four rejections.
How It Happened
Eastern started the game with senior Nate Scott (Naperville, Ill.-Neuqua Valley (Northern Illinois)) hitting the first bucket, a three-pointer, as the Eagles led the Spartans for the first five minutes of the game. Golson Jr. led EMU in the first half offensively, scoring all 11 of his points in the half, including shooting 2-of-2 from three and the charity stripe. Farrakhan scored 10 points in the first stanza, and M. Scott dished out a career-high five assists. The Green and White shot 36.4 percent in the first half from the floor and 50 percent from deep, but found itself down 49-31 heading into halftime.
Freshman Luka Savicevic (Skopje, North Macedonia-Sports Academy Skopje) was a spark off the bench for Eastern in the second half. After hitting a three in the first half in his collegiate debut, the North Macedonia native went on to hit two threes and snag a steal. Eastern Michigan went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Scott's three, to shrink the deficit. The Eagles pulled within 16 with 6:55 left in the second stanza but were unable to complete a comeback. Eastern Michigan shot well from three-point range in the half, sinking four shots from deep to score 12 of its 28 points.