VCU 90, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 63
BALL STATE 83, ILLINOIS STATE 69
MARSHALL 100, TOLEDO 85
OHIO 85, STETSON 66
UT MARTIN 75, BOWLING GREEN 67
By MIKE SMITH
LOUISVILLE, KY -- Coming off a decisive midweek loss at Cincinnati, the Miami RedHawks needed something which has been high on head coach Travis Steele's wish list -- 40 minutes of tough, competitive basketball from his squad.
The RedHawks provided that Saturday, and their intensity . . . CONTINUE
RICHMOND, Va. – VCU opened up an 18-point lead inside the opening six minutes of the contest as the Rams topped Northern Illinois, 90-63, on Saturday afternoon at the Siegel Center. The Rams shot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 60 percent (6-of-10) from three-point range, while forcing 13 Huskie turnovers.
Keshawn Williams finished with a team-high 16 points while Zarique Nutter added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
"These last two games against Gonzaga and VCU are two tough games," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "But I wanted more effort, I wanted more execution. This is accountability on us as a staff and as a program. Right now, we are not a good ballclub because we can't seem to execute for long stretches at a time. We have a couple of times, but we have to get better and perform better, especially under the big lights."
The Rams jumped out to a quick start, leading 9-2 in the early going and used a 10-1 spurt to take a 45-19 advantage with just under two minutes to play before the intermission. VCU took a 49-26 lead into halftime.
In the second half, NIU slowed VCU from the field, holding the Rams to just 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the field after the intermission, including 1-of-6 from three (16.7 percent), but VCU went to the free-throw line 17 times in the second half, converting 14 of those opportunities.
Darweshi Hunter scored nine points in the second half for NIU.
Four players scored in double figures for VCU, led by 22 points from Jamir Watkins. Jalen DeLoach added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds, Shriver finished with 14 and Adrian Baldwin Jr. chipped in 10 points.
BALL STATE 83, ILLINOIS STATE 69
INDIANAPOLIS – Jaylin Sellers scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in three games as he produced 24 points to lead all scorers as Ball State men's basketball defeated Illinois State in the inaugural Indy Classic inside of the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Cardinals finished the game with five players in double figures as they claimed an 83-69 victory.
Ball State improved to 7-4 on the year, while Illinois State fell to 5-7 on the season. The Cardinals took a slight 12-11 lead in the overall series with the Redbirds.
BSU has had five players finish in double-digit points in three of the last four games. Sellers dropped a game-high 24 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. He added four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Jarron Coleman has scored in double figures for 10 straight as he notched a 16-point effort. He produced a game-high seven assists along with five rebounds, one steal, and one block.
Demarius Jacobs collected 16 points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal. His three blocks tied a career high and were a game high. Jacobs has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Mickey Pearson Jr. tallied 13 points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block. Payton Sparks closed out the double-digit scoring with 12 points. He added a team-high six rebounds and one assist.
BSU took a 41-34 lead into the break. However, the Redbirds opened the second half on an 11-7 run and cut the Cardinal lead to 48-45 with 15:04 left in regulation. Ball State was resilient and responded with a 16-6 run and extended its lead to 64-51 with 10:21 left to play.
With the Cardinals up 11, 66-55, Jacobs made a great play to beat a defender and score on a driving layup. He was fouled and converted the and-1 to put BSU up 69-55.
Ball State continued to roll. With under two minutes left to play, Jacobs came up with a big block in transition which led to an uncontested fast-break dunk for Coleman. The dunk gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night with 18, 83-65.
Illinois State scored the game's final four points, but Ball State went on to win 83-69.
As a unit, the Cardinals finished the game shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Ball State improved its free-throw shooting as BSU went 70 percent (14-20) from the charity stripe. The Cardinals combined for 46 points in the paint. The eight blocked shots were the second most this season. Ball State continues to make more free throws (14) than opponents take (13).
Malachi Poindexter led ISU with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Kendall Lewis and Darius Burford both went for 13 points. Lewis led the team with seven rebounds and two steals. Burford added five rebounds and a block. Colton Sandage closed out the double-digit scorers with 11.
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – Senior JT Shumate and junior RayJ Dennis each scored 21 points but a second-half spurt by Marshall couldn't be overcome in Toledo's 100-85 defeat to the Thundering Herd (10-2) on Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped the Rockets' five-game winning streak in their series vs. the Thundering Herd.
"I thought it was an unbelievable game until that one stretch where we lost our ball-screen defense," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Marshall is one of the top transition offenses in the country and some of our quick shots and turnovers led to some baskets. There were two good teams were out there today, and we'll recover from this and get ready for a good Vermont team."
Joining Dennis and Shumate in double digits for Toledo (7-4) was sophomore Ra'Heim Moss, who scored a season-high 13 points and tied his career best with three three-point field goals.
Shumate also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, one more than junior AJ Edu and sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. Dennis also dished out eight assists with just one turnover. The Rockets committed just eight miscues as a team, one more than the Thundering Herd's seven.
Toledo shot 45.1 percent from the field, slightly lower than Marshall's 47.9 mark. Both teams connected on 10 treys, but the hosts held a decisive advantage at the free-throw line. The Herd was 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) at the charity stripe, while the Rockets were just 11-of-18 (61.1 percent).
Seniors Terrance Kinsey and Andrew Taylor topped Marshall with 30 and 27 points, respectively.
~~ The Thundering Herd held a 45-44 lead at intermission.
~~ Shumate's jumper put UT in front on its first possession but that was the only lead the Rockets would have. Marshall scored the next six points before the Rockets answered with buckets from Shumate and Dante Maddox Jr. to reduce their deficit to 51-50 with 17:06 remaining.
~~ The Herd went on another 6-0 run but an AJ Edu dunk and RayJ Dennis jumper closed the gap to 57-55 just over two minutes later.
~~ Toledo then fell behind 64-55 with 12:30 remained but a pair of Moss triples ignited an 11-4 burst to cut Marshall's advantage to 68-66 with 9:25 left.
~~ Farmer hit two free throws to make it a 70-68 game 30 seconds later but the Herd put together a 13-0 run in less than three minutes to take control.
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio Bobcats (6-5) returned to Athens on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17), defeating Stetson (5-5), 85-66, inside the Convocation Center.
Overall, Ohio shot 50.7 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three and were 9-of-12 from the line, while Stetson shot 36.7 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three and were 12-of-16 from the line. Stetson outrebounded Ohio, 39-37, but Ohio registered nine steals and dished out 16 assists. The Bobcats also forced 17 turnovers and scored 29 points off them.
Individually, graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III led Ohio with 20 points and five rebounds, while freshman guard AJ Brown scored 13 points in his first career start. Senior guard DeVon Baker added 12 points, followed by senior guard Miles Brown with 11 points. Junior center Gabe Wiznitzer scored 10 points and grabbed nine boards, while junior guard Jaylin Hunter added seven points and seven rebounds.
Ohio went on a 9-0 run with free throws from Miles Brown and a three from AJ Brown, putting the 'Cats up 14-5. After a three from Stetson cut the Ohio lead to six, a three from freshman guard Ajay Sheldon and more points from Miles Brown, Wilson III and AJ Brown put the Bobcats up 14 with 11:38 left in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets, with Stetson cutting the Ohio lead to six with 6:53 left in the first half, before back-to-back threes from Hunter and Miles Brown and a jumper from freshman guard Elmore James put Ohio up 16. Moments later, another three from Sheldon and a jumper from AJ Brown gave
the Bobcats a 46-25 lead with 3:03 remaining in the first half. After the Hatters cut the Ohio lead to 19, a layup from Wilson III gave the Bobcats a 52-30 lead going into the half.
The Bobcats went on to take a 30-point lead with 6:11 remaining in the game and finished with the 30-point margin, 85-55.
For Stetson, Jalen Blackmon led with 21 points, while Josh Smith added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green Falcons put together a 19-2 stretch early in the second half Saturday against UT Martin inside the Stroh Center. The run cut the Skyhawks' lead down to just two, but UT Martin was able to maintain their advantage to claim a 75-67 final. The loss moves BGSU to 4-7 on the season with two more non-conference games on the schedule before starting play within the Mid-American Conference.
Isaac Elasser made his first career start for the Falcons, playing a team-high 35 minutes in the process. Willie Lightfoot posted a career-high 15 points to tie with Leon Ayers III for the team lead. Rashaun Agee added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds while both Kaden Metheny (12) and Samari Curtis (10) tallied double-digit points as well.