AKRON 83, OHIO 77
BALL STATE 87, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 69
EASTERN MICHIGAN 74, MIAMI 69
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 70, WESTERN MICHIGAN 69
TOLEDO, Ohio – Senior Setric Millner Jr. and junior RayJ Dennis each scored a team-high 21 points to lift Toledo to a season-high fifth straight victory on Saturday afternoon with a 91-77 win over arch-rival Bowling Green.
A season-high 6,922 fans in Savage Arena saw the Rockets improve their record to 15-6 overall and 6-2 in Mid-American Conference play. It was UT's ninth win in 10 home games and allows Toledo to keep pace in the MAC standings with first-place Kent State (17-4, 7-1 MAC) and Akron (15-6, 7-1 MAC).
Bowling Green fell after two straight wins, dropping its record to 4-4 MAC and 10-11 overall.
"I'm proud of our guys. I thought we played with focus and intensity and guarded the three-point line well," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said after UT held the Falcons to just 5-of-19 shooting from behind the arc. "Bowling Green was leading the MAC in shooting in league play and had two players shooting over 50 percent from three."
Sophomore EJ Farmer came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and grab five rebounds. He was joined in double figures by senior JT Shumate (14 pts., career-high six assists) and sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (11 pts.).
Senior Leon Ayers paced the Falcons offensively with 21 points and six assists. Rashaun Agee and Samari Curtis contributed 14 apiece, while Chandler Turner registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Toledo shot over 50 percent from the field for the 10th time this season, finishing with at 53.0%. The Rockets were efficient in each half, converting 51.5% in the opening 20 minutes and 54.5% in the final stanza.
UT also registered 17 assists and just five turnovers, the second straight contest it has committed five or fewer miscues. The Rockets entered today's game ranked 16th nationally with 10.6 turnovers per game.
Millner's triple with four minutes left in the first half capped off an 8-2 run which give Toledo a 33-27 advantage and a lead it didn't relinquish. The Rockets expanded their cushion to 41-31 at halftime and led by as many as 21 points in the second half.
AKRON, Ohio – Using a career performance by junior forward Enrique Freeman, the Akron Zips remained the hottest team in the Mid-American Conference after downing the Ohio Bobcats 83-77 on Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The combination of a dominant outing by Freeman and lethal long-range shooting was too much for Ohio to overcome as the Zips snapped the Bobcats two-game winning streak to remain unbeaten at home (11-0).
Freeman recorded his tenth double-double of the season with a career-high 32 points and 15 rebounds and had plenty of support from senior guard Xavier Castañeda (16 points), graduate transfer guard Trendon Hankerson (14) and junior forward Sammy Hunter (nine).
Akron seized control after a close start that saw the two sides swap leads to tip off the game, building a lead of as many as 19 and holding off the Bobcats down the stretch. It's the sixth straight win for the Zips (15-6, 7-1 MAC), who remain tied for first place in the MAC.
The victory featured 9-of-16 shooting from long range by Akron, besting their previous top effort of 55 percent from 3-point range in a Dec. 19 win over Maine. Castaneda helped lead the 3-point barrage, including a key triple with 8:30 left in the game to stem the tide after the Bobcats (11-10, 3-5 MAC) cut their deficit to eight. Hunter and Hankerson each made all three of their triple tries.
Freeman keyed a 22-5 run over a span of 5:53 midway through the first half with eight points and back-to-back threes from the top of the key by Hankerson, combined with a technical foul on the Bobcats, helped Akron expand its lead to 19 at 44-25 heading into the final media timeout of the frame.
It was the Freeman show throughout the half, as he consistently beat Ohio defenders to the hoop for layups and dominated the glass, posting 16 points and eight rebounds before the break. His efforts helped stake the Zips to a 47-30 halftime lead.
As a team, Akron shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range. The Zips also notched a 16-9 rebounding edge, controlling the paint as well as the perimeter.
Junior guard Jaylin Hunter led Ohio (3-5 MAC, 11-10 overall) with 16 points and freshman guard A.J. Brown chipped in with 15 for the visitors.
DEKALB, Ill. – Jarron Coleman led Ball State with 20 points and added a game-high six assists as the Cardinals claimed an 87-69 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday
With the win, BSU ended a two-game skid and improved to 14-7 overall and 5-3 in MAC play. The Huskies fell to 8-13 overall and 4-4 in league play.
"It sounds crazy to say this as a coach, I wasn't too concerned with the result today. I wanted to see us fight, compete, and get some of our edge back," said Head Coach Michael Lewis. "I felt if we did that, we would put ourselves in the position to get the result we wanted. I was really pleased with came out in the first half and shared the ball. We had 12 assists on 16 made baskets. That dropped a little bit in the second half. We were doing some different things. We were working some clock and put some guys in situations that we have to handle better. I think we can clean up some areas on how we put teams away."
Coleman led the Cardinals and tied for a game-high 20 points. He added a game-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals. Demarius Jacobs tallied 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mickey Pearson Jr. finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and one block. Payton Sparks finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points.
The Cardinals started the game hot from 3-point range and took a 12-10 lead with 14:49 left in the first half. Ball State was 3-for-4 from long range. BSU held a 20-17 lead at the second media timeout. Ball State added an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 31-17 with 6:47 left until the break. During that stretch, Sparks recorded a steal and took it the length of the court for the fastbreak slam.
Northern Illinois answered with an 8-3 run and cut the deficit to 34-25 with 4:42 left in the half. The Cardinals were unfazed and went on a 10-1 run, capped off by a Bumbalough 3-pointer.
NIU ended the half on a 7-5 run, but BSU took a 49-33 lead into the break. The Cardinals finished the first half shooting 71.4 percent from 3-point range.
It was a back-and-forth battle for the first five minutes of the second half as the two teams traded baskets. The Cardinals held a 60-46 lead with 14:19 on the clock. Ball State went on a 12-4 run that ended with 9:30 left in the game, as BSU held a 72-50 lead. The 22-point lead was its largest of the game.
NIU responded with an 11-4 run and cut the BSU lead to, 76-61, with 5:47 left in the game. The Cardinals closed out the game outscoring the Huskies, 11-8, to take an 87-69 victory.
David Coit led the Huskies with 20 points and added four assists with two rebounds. Kaleb Thornton recorded 18 points, five rebounds, a team-high five assists, and one steal. Anthony Crump finished in double digits with 12 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- Miami held heralded sophomore Emoni Bates to 17 points, but turnovers proved costly as the RedHawks fell to Eastern Michigan 74-69 Saturday at Millett Hall.
With the victory, EMU broke a five-game losing streak and moved its record to 2-6 MAC, 5-16 overall. Miami, meanwhile, dropped its fifth straight game and is now 1-7 in conference action (7-14 overall).
Bates, a 6-10 guard averaging 20.5 ppg,, was coming off a 43-point performance at Toledo, where he scored EMU's last 29 points before halftime. He was one of three Eagles to reach double figures against MU. Noah Farrakhan led the way, hitting 7-of-10 from the field on the way to 20 points. Tyson Acuff contributed 12.
Point guard Mekhi Lairy led the RedHawks with . . . CONTINUE
MOUNT PLEASANT, MI-- Brian Taylor drained a three with five seconds left to lift Central Michigan over rival Western Michigan 70-69 Saturday at McGuirk Arena.
Jesse Zarzuela paced Central Michigan with 25 points. He connected on 8-of-17 from the field, 5-of-11 outside the arc and 4-of-5 at the line. Reggie Bass was the only other Chippewa player in double figures. He notched 13 points. Taylor's key triple was part of a nine-point night.
Broncos guard Lamar Norman Jr. led all scorers with 27 points. Seth Hubbard came off the bench to score 16, while Titus Wright added 11 points. Markeese Hastings tallied seven points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.