
BALL STATE 89, BUFFALO 76
TOLEDO 89, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 85
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 90, BOWLIG GREEN 71
MIAMI 73, OHIO 69
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Chaunsey Willis Jr. scored 16 points to lead Western Michigan (7-14, 4-5 MAC) past Eastern Michigan (10-11, 4-5 MAC) 61-54 Saturday at University Arena.
JaVaughn Hannah added 11 for the Broncos, while Donovan Williams just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
EMU's Da'Sean Nelson led all scorers with 20 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Christian Henry tallied 12. Jalin Billingsley recorded nine points and 10 caroms.
Western Michigan held the visitors to 18 first half points while taking a 23-18 edge to the locker room. The two teams were tied at 41-all with 9:47 to play, but WMU moved back in front.
Eastern Michigan, which hit just 2 of 21 3-point attempts, was still within one (53-52) with 1:51 remaining, but the hosts scored eight of the game's last 10 points to preserve the win.
BUFFALO, NY -- Payton Sparks tallied 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds as Ball State (10-11, 4-5 MAC) topped Buffalo (7-14, 2-7 MAC) 89-76 Saturday at Alumni Arena.
The victory broke a two-game losing streak for BSU. Buffalo dropped its third game in the last four outings and 10th over its last 13 contests.
Joining Sparks in double figures for the Cardinals were Jermahri Hill (18 points) and Ethan Brittain-Watts (10 points).
Five Bulls reached double figures, with Anquan Boldin Jr. and Bryson Wilson scoring 16 apiece to the way. Ryan Sabol tallied 12 points, while Ben Michaels and Tyson Dunn chipped in 11 apiece.
Buffalo connected on 18 of 19 (94.7 %) at the free throw line, but Ball State used 35 opportunities from the stripe to score 25 points. BSU also had four more field goals.
Buffalo led 30-29 at 4:29 of the first half, but Pearson hit a triple at 3:34 and the Cardinals remained in front to the finish.
TOLEDO, OH -- Sam Lewis scored 23 points as Toledo (13-8, 7-2 MAC) held on for an 89-85 win over Northern Illinois Saturday at Savage Arena.
It was the third straight win for UT, which remains in third place among MAC teams -- two games behind MAC-undefeated Akron and one behind Miami. Northern Illinois (5-16, 1-8 MAC) remains in last place with just one MAC victory.
The Rockets owned a relatively comfortable 50-35 halftime advantage, but scored 50 second half points to fuel an upset bid. A triple by James Dent Jr. with eight seconds left pulled the Huskies within one at 85-84. However, Bryce Ford followed with a pair of Toledo free throws.
Down by three with four seconds left, Nasir Muhammed made the first of two free throws. He missed the second, and UT's Javan Simmons was fouled on the rebound. His two free throws closed out the Rockets win.
Joining Lewis in double figures for the Rockets were Sonny Wilson (19), Ford (14), Simmons (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Isaiah Adams(10).
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI -- Kyler Vanderjagt scored 25 points in 25 minutes off the bench as Central Michigan (10-11, 4-5 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (7-14, 2-7 MAC) 90-71 Saturday at McGuirk Arena.
It was the Chippewas fourth win over their last six contests. BGSU fell to its fifth straight loss.
Junior forward Ugnius Jarusevicius tallied 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. for CMU, while Anthony Prichard (15) and Cayden Vasco (11) also scored double figures. Central Michigan connected on 56.4 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent outside the arc.
Javontae Campbell topped the Falcons with 17 points. Trey Thomas added 15, while Jami Felt scored nine points and collected seven rebounds.
Central Michigan led by just two (26-24) at 8:09 of the first period, but the Chippewas were able to expand their lead to 16 (49-33) by intermission. The Falcons could get no closer than six points in the final period.
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Three RedHawks fouled out and another finished with four fouls, but Miami held on for a 73-69 win over rival Ohio Saturday at Millett Hall. The RedHawks bench poured in 35 points in support as MU won for the 10th time in the last 11 games. Miami (16-5, 8-1 MAC) remains in sole possession of second place, while Ohio (11-10, 5-4 MAC) is in fourth place.
It was the fourth loss in five games for Ohio, which again played without injured starters AJ Clayton and Aiden Hadaway. Still, the Bobcats proved to be a tough challenge. Down by nine at the half and 14 midway through the second stanza, Ohio closed to within one (64-63) on a free throw by Shereef Mitchell with 2:43 remaining.
Evan Ipsaro's driving layup . . . CONTINUE