BALL STATE 65, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 51
BUFFALO 102, EASTERN MICHIGAN 97
TOLEDO 84, AKRON 74
KENT STATE 87, BOWLING GREEN 64
OHIO 82, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 76
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- There was at least one predictable thing about Miami's 85-78 victory over Western Michigan Tuesday at Millett Hall: the RedHawks offense went through Anderson Mirambeaux and Mekhi Lairy.
Miami Head Coach Travis Steele has noted on several previous occasions that, given his young team's makeup, the RedHawks' offense necessarily runs through his big forward (Mirambeaux) and the quick but dimuative point guard (Lairy). Those two combined for 43 points, while two other RedHawks joined them in double figures to power MU to its second MAC win of the campaign.
With the victory, Miami broke a seven-game losing streak and . . . CONTINUE
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Five Ball State players reached double figures for the second straight game as the Cardinals knocked off Central Michigan 65-51 Tuesday at McGuirk Arena.
Ball State improved to 17-7 overall and 8-3 in MAC play, while Central Michigan fell to 8-16 overall and 3-8 in league play. The 17-7 record is the best start since the Cardinals started 1997-98 with a 21-7 record.
Mickey Pearson Jr. led BSU with 13 points. Demarius Jacobs finished in double digits for the second-straight game with 12 points. He added three rebounds, tied for a team-best three assists, and one block. Jaylin Sellers produced his third-straight game in double figures with 12 points. Sellers collected four rebounds and two assists.
Payton Sparks recorded a double-double for his second-straight game with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Sparks blocked a game-high two shots to go along with two assists and a steal. Basheer Jihad closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. He collected six rebounds, tied a career high with three steals, and dished out one assist.
Brian Taylor paced CMU with 20 points, while Markus Harding tallied 11. Reggie Bass recorded nine points and eight assists.
The Chippewas opened the game with a 12-5 run that ended with 16:05 left in the first stanza. The Cardinals were unfazed and answered with a 7-0 run. Basheer Jihad capped off the run with a layup, despite the foul. He converted the and-1 opportunity to tie the game, 12-12, with 11:52 left in the first.
The runs continued, as CMU outscored BSU 9-3 over the next 2:28, to retake the lead, 21-15. The Cardinals were resilient once again. Ball State responded with an 11-0 run to regain the lead, 26-21, with 5:31 left in the half. During the run, Sellers secured a long rebound and went the length of the court for an emphatic dunk.
The remaining 5:27 was a back-and-forth battle as the two squads traded baskets. The Cardinals outscored the Chippewas 11-10 and took a 37-31 lead into the break.
Central Michigan scored the first four points of the second half to cut the Ball State lead to just two, 37-35. The Cardinals bounced back and scored seven unanswered to extend the lead to 44-35 with 14:34 left on the clock.
The next 6:54 was a back-and-forth affair as BSU outscored CMU 12-11 and took a 56-46 lead. The Cardinals ended the game with a 9-5 run to claim a 65-51 victory. During the final 12:15 of play, Ball State was 11-15 from the free-throw line and did not turn the ball over.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bulls (12-12, 6-5 MAC) defeated the Eastern Michigan Eagles (6-18, 3-8 MAC) in a high scoring affair at Alumni Arena on Tuesday evening, 102-97.
LaQuill Hardnett and Isaiah Adams led the Bulls with 21 points each as there were six players finishing in double figures. Zid Powell (14), Curtis Jones (13), Isaac Jack (12), and Jonnivius Smith (12) rounded out the top scorers for the Bulls. Adams and Jack had a game-high eight rebounds apiece as Armoni Foster recorded a career-high 11 assists.
It was a rare occasion where both teams shot over 50.0% in the game, with the advantage going to the visitors. This marked the second time this season the Bulls snuck out a win despite their opponent shooting 50.0% or better from the floor. Buffalo finished 35-for-67 (52.2%) from the floor and 11-for-27 (40.7%) from three-point range.
To start the contest, both teams played at a slower pace as it was only 25-21 with eight minutes to go in the first. The offensive attack heated up as the teams combined for 46 in the final eight minutes of the first half. Despite Buffalo making 50.0% (16-of-32) of their shots from the floor, the Eagles were 17-of-29 (58.6%). 13 three-pointers were made in the opening 20-minutes, two of which came from Hardnett who had 12 first half points, a team-high.
The Bulls carried their offense into the second half as they went on a 25-11 run to take a 69-60 lead off an Adams three-pointer. The swift ball handling from Foster led to seven assists for the graduate guard in the half. The tempo was fast as Buffalo scored 58 points to Eastern Michigan's 49. The Buffalo defense held the Eagles to just one second half three-pointer, finishing the half 1-for-10. They had started the half 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
With the Eagles scoring 97 points, Emoni Bates scored 27 points as Tyson Acuff had a game-high 35 points.
AKRON, Ohio – The Toledo Rockets moved into a first-place tie in the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday night after handing Akron its first home loss this season with an 84-74 victory in Rhodes Arena. The Rockets (18-6, 9-2 MAC) are now tied for the top spot in the league with the Zips (17-7, 9-2 MAC) and Kent State (19-5, 9-2 MAC).
"This was a good win against a very good basketball team," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after the Rockets' extended their winning streak to eight games. "We played with a lot of energy right from the start. I'm proud of our guys with the fight they showed after Akron cut it to three a couple times in the second half."
Senior Setric Millner Jr. led UT with 20 points and nine rebounds and was joined in double digits by sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (19 pts.), junior RayJ Dennis (18 pts.) and senior JT Shumate (14 pts.).
Senior Xavier Castaneda led Akron with 23 points, with senior Trendon Hankerson scoring 20 and hitting six three-pointers.
The Rockets shot 52.0% from the field, 50.0% (9-of-18) from three-point range and 82.1% (23-of-28) from the free-throw line. Toledo limited the Zips to a 40.9 shooting mark and to 34.4% (11-of-32) behind the three-point arc.
UT also held a slim 33-32 rebounding advantage and is now undefeated in the 12 games it has held an advantage on the boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-- Toledo took a 37-28 lead to the locker room after shooting 53.8% in the opening 20 minutes.
-- Akron reduced the Rockets' lead when a Trendon Hankerson triple brought the Zips within 41-38 just over two minutes after the break.
Maddox Jr. immediately answered with a trey, and RayJ Dennis' three-pointer put the Rockets up 51-42 with 14:03 to play.
-- The Zips rallied to within 55-52 at the 11:35 mark, but Toledo responded again when Ra'Heim Moss' three-pointer capped off a 7-1 run that gave the Rockets a 62-53 cushion.
-- Hankerson hit another triple to cut the Rockets' lead to four, but UT answered with an 8-0 explosion for a 72-60 advantage with five minutes left.
-- The Zips made one last push and climbed within 74-71 with 2:24 to play, but Maddox Jr. again came through with a triple for a 77-71 lead at the two-minute mark. Toledo's lead didn't drop below six points the rest of the game.
Kent, Ohio - Kent State (19-4, 9-1 MAC) remained undefeated at home with a win against Bowling Green 87-64 Tuesday night. The Flashes own the second-longest home winning streak in the Country at 19 games.
The Flashes were able to take the lead in the first half of the game pouring in 20 points from inside the paint and creating second-chance points Kent State also was able to take advantage of free throw points, shooting 80 percent while the Falcons struggled only shooting 42.8 percent from the charity stripe.
The Flashes came out of the locker room ready to put the pieces together in the second half with five players scoring double digits.KSU shot 70 percent from the field and 62.5 percent from beyond the arch in the second half.
Malique Jacobs paved the way for the Flashes scoring a team-high 17 points, seven rebounds and steals, and two blocks. Cli'Ron Hornbeak was another major contributor scoring a career-high 14 points. Chris Payton continued to put on a show at the rim with video-worthy dunks. Payton recorded 14 points, scoring perfectly from both the field and the foul line.
Kaden Metheny topped BGSU with 19 points. Leon Ayers II recorded 13 points, while Sam Towns scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds.
DeKALB, Ill. – The Ohio men's basketball team (13-11, 5-6 MAC) returned to action on Tuesday night, defeating Northern Illinois (10-14, 6-5 MAC), 82-76, inside the NIU Convocation Center.
Overall, Ohio shot 50.9 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three and were 16-of-20 from the line, while NIU shot 45.9 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from three and were 15-of-23 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded Ohio 39-30, while Ohio dished out 14 assists to NIU's 13.
Individually, the Bobcats were led by junior guard Jaylin Hunter with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, followed by senior guard Miles Brown with 16 points and seven boards, followed by graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III with 13 points and eight boards. Freshman guard Elmore James added 13 points, and senior guard DeVon Baker added nine points.
Ohio owned a 46-39 edge at intermission and opened the second half with three points to take a 10-point lead, before NIU cut the lead to seven. However, moments later, a three from Brown gave Ohio a 52-42 lead going into the first media timeout of the half.
Out of the timeout, NIU cut the Ohio lead to six, before a three from Roderick put Ohio up, nine. A 5-0 run the NIU cut the Ohio lead to four, before a layup from Wilson III and five-straight points from Hunter – including a three – gave the Bobcats a 62-51 lead with 11:20 remaining in the game. Out of the timeout, NIU went on a 4-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to seven going into the under-12 media timeout.
After NIU cut the Ohio lead down to six, the Bobcats would go on to take a 10-point lead thanks to free throws from Brown and a layup from Wilson III with seven minutes to go. NIU would go on to cut the lead back to six, before James hit two free throws. Brown would go on to hit two more free throws before a three from Hunter gave Ohio a 75-76 lead with 3:45 remaining.
Out of the timeout, NIU went on an 8-2 run to cut the Ohio lead to three with 1:17 remaining in the game. After NIU cut it to three, the Bobcats were able to capitalize on free throws down the stretch, securing the 82-76 win.
For NIU, Kaleb Thornton scored 21 points, while Zarique Nutter added nine rebounds