MICHIGAN STATE 89, BUFFALO 68
AKRON 84, CONCORD 59
OHIO 76, CHICAGO STATE 59
SOUTH CAROLINA 74, EASTERN MICHIGAN 64
MADISON, Wisc. – Western Michigan rounded out non-conference play with a 76-66 loss to No. 15 Wisconsin on Friday evening at the Kohl Center.
Tray Maddox Jr. led Western Michigan (4-9) with 16 points for the evening, while Lamar Norman Jr. added 12. Titus Wright tallied eight points and seven rebounds for the Broncos, and Markeese Hastings pitched in with seven points, a team-high eight rebounds and a career-high tying four assists. Tafari Simms netted nine points off of the WMU bench.
Wisconsin (10-2) hit three-pointers on each of its first two possessions on its way to a 14-3 advantage in the opening five minutes. An 8-2 response helped Western Michigan get back to within five, 18-13, with 12:21 to go in the first half.
The Badgers briefly bumped the margin to nine, 22-13, but Maddox and Norman each buried a three-pointer to bring the deficit back to three, 22-19, with 6:29 to go in the half. The Broncos got as close as two on a couple of occasions, including at the 2:15 mark, as a Maddox jumper made it 29-27, which was the margin at halftime. Western Michigan held UW without a point for the final three minutes of the opening stanza.
Holding a 32-29 edge in the early stages of the second half, Wisconsin ripped off a 13-2 run to expand its lead out to 45-31 with 15:33 to play. The margin stayed between 11 and 15 until an 11-6 stretch helped the Badgers boost their advantage to 74-56 with 2:36 remaining. Western Michigan scored 10 of the final 12 points of the evening to get to within 10.
Western Michigan went 26-of-57 (45.6 percent) from the field and knocked down 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Broncos connected on 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half, including an even 50.0 percent (five-of-10) from downtown. Wisconsin shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) and also hit 12 triples for the evening.
For the fifth consecutive game, the Broncos held the advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Badgers, 32-28. WMU also committed a season-low seven turnovers in the contest.
Western Michigan begins Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 3, as it travels to Kent State. The Broncos and Golden Flashes are set for a 7 pm tip.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Buffalo (6-7, 0-0 MAC) fell to the Michigan State Spartans (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten), 89-68 on Friday evening. Isaiah Adams finished with a team-high 15 points as Curtis Jones (12), LaQuill Hardnett (12), and Armoni Foster (10) also finished in double-figures. Jonnivius Smith crashed the glass, grabbing eight rebounds.
Foul trouble was costly for the Bulls as they finished with 23 fouls, compared to the Spartans' 13. Hardnett fouled out as Isaac Jack and Smith had four fouls each. Michigan State entered the contest 325th in the nation in free throw attempts per game at 14.0. The Spartans finished 21-for-30 from the charity stripe. The Bulls were 7-of-10 from the free throw line.
The Bulls took an early 4-2 lead after blocking three Spartan shots just three minutes into the game. The lead lasted 1:13 as the Spartans took a 9-6 lead. The Bulls then tied it off a Curtis Jones three to make it 9-9. Buffalo kept it within single digits for the majority of the half.
At the half, Buffalo trailed 41-30 after shooting 12-for-34 (35.3%) from the floor. They were 3-of-10 from three-point range, Curtis Jones had two of the first half made threes. To start the second half, the Bulls came out blazing. They started the half on an 8-0 run to cut Michigan State's lead to 41-38. The Spartans responded by getting up 13 in the span of three minutes. As the Bulls kept battling, it was all Michigan State despite the Bulls shooting 50.0% (16-of-32) in the second half.
The Bulls entered the game as the fifth best team in the country in fastbreak points, averaging 18.75. They were held to just six as the Spartans defense made Buffalo go deep into the shot clock.
"Our guys competed their hearts out against that tough Michigan State squad," stated Head Coach Jim Whitesell. "Michigan State has a reputation for being a consistently tough team to play, that's why we had them on the schedule. Tom Izzo and his staff have a great team, and we held our own for parts of the game. We're on to conference play on Tuesday against Ohio, but this nonconference schedule was no joke battling big time programs and fantastic mid-majors."
The Bulls open MAC play with back-to-back home games on Tuesday, Jan. 3 against Ohio and on Saturday, Jan. 7 against Northern Illinois.
AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Zips closed out the calendar year with a dominant effort, taming the visiting Concord Mountain Lions 84-58 on Friday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.
After taking the lead in the opening minute, Akron never trailed and built its edge to as many as 27 points in the second half. Defense was again the calling card for the blue and gold, who entered the game ranked 51st of 352 Division I teams in the nation in points allowed per game.
Junior forward Enrique Freeman and graduate student guard Trendon Hankerson scored 18 points each to lead Akron, while senior guard Xavier Castañeda added 17. Hankerson eclipsed the 1,000-point threshold, scoring 886 points at Northern Illinois and 124 points at Akron for 1,010 career points. Freeman also notched a double-double with a game-best 10 rebounds.
With eight Zips logging double-digit minutes, the defensive energy was strong throughout as Concord shot just 39 percent for the game. Akron also forced 18 turnovers and claimed a 39-35 rebounding edge in holding its sixth opponent to 65 or fewer points this season.
Thanks to aggressive defense that kept the Lions (7-4) from getting good looks at the basket, the Zips (8-5) overcame a shooting slump in the first half and built a 31-23 halftime advantage. They didn't allow a made 3-pointer in the frame and forced 12 turnovers, leading to 12 points on the offensive end.
The offense featured balanced scoring before intermission as no player scored more than Freeman's seven points but five Zips tallied four or more. That trend continued in the second half as Akron heated up from distance, making eight of its 12 total 3-pointers to pull away. With a 36-12 scoring edge beyond the arc, the hosts were never threatened in the second half. Ball movement also helped fuel the Akron attack as the Zips assisted on 21 of 27 field goals made.
Graduate student forward Lual Daniel Rahama paced Concord with 21 points with junior guard J.J Harper adding nine in defeat.
Akron now pivots to Mid-American Conference action with a home contest against Northern Illinois on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio Bobcats (8-5) wrapped up 2022 and nonconference play Friday night, defeating Chicago State (3-14), 76-59, inside the Convocation Center.
Overall, Ohio shot 42 percent from the field, 33 percent from three and were 19-of-25 from the line, while Chicago State shot 33 percent from the field, 15 percent from three and were 13-of-20 from the line. The Cougars outrebounded the Bobcats, 46-39, however Ohio dished out 16 assists to their nine and forced 17 turnovers, scoring 27 points off them.
Individually, sophomore forward AJ Clayton scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while freshman guard AJ Brown added 13 points. Graduate student forward Dwight Wilson III scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second-straight double double. Senior guard Miles Brown scored nine points, while junior guard Jaylin Hunter scored seven points and dished out six assists.
Chicago State won the tip and got on the board first with a layup. Ohio responded with an alleyoop dunk from Clayton and went on to take an early 6-2 lead with a layup and free throws from Hunter. After Chicago State tied the game at 6-6, back-to-back threes from AJ Brown and Miles Brown put the Bobcats up six. After Chicago State got two more points, a jumper from freshman guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) sparked a 9-0 run that put the Bobcats up 15 with 12:14 left in the first half. By halftime, Ohio owned a 42-23 advantage.
Over the first 20 minutes, Ohio shot 52 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and were 6-of-10 from the line, while Chicago State shot 27 percent from the field, eight percent from three and were 6-of-9 from the line. Chicago State outrebounded Ohio, 23-20, however the Bobcats forced 10 turnovers and scored 20 points off them.
Ohio opened the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 50-23 lead with 17:44 remaining in the game. After Chicago State cut the lead down to 17, a driving layup and a dunk from AJ Brown and a three and free throws from Clayton put the Bobcats back up 26 with 10 minutes to play.
Over the remaining 10 minutes, the Cougars attempted to cut into the Bobcats' lead, however a three from Hunter with under eight minutes to go, put Ohio up 67-41. After a jumper from freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) put Ohio up 29, Chicago State went on a 12-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to 17 with 47 seconds to go. However, free throws down the stretch from freshman forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) helped seal the 76-59 victory for the Bobcats.
Up next, the Bobcats open Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they head to Buffalo, N.Y. for a matchup with the Bulls. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (EMUEagles.com) – Emoni Bates had the hot hand as he tallied a career-high 36 points that included eight made three-pointers, but it was not enough as the Eastern Michigan fell, 74-64, at the University of South Carolina. The Eagles (3-10, 0-0 MAC) battled to the end, but the Gamecocks' (7-6, 0-0 SEC) 34 points in the paint proved to be the difference as Eastern closed out their non-conference schedule.
Bates's career night featured the local product shooting 13-of-25 from the floor, including 8-of-15 from three, to surpass his previous career high of 30 points scored in his Eastern debut against then-No. 22 University of Michigan, Nov. 11, in Detroit.
Bates' three-point display ranks in a tie for the fourth-best total of made triples in a game in program history and ties for the 11th-most made in a game in the NCAA this season. He also added his name to the ledger as the first Eagle player to record multiple 30-point games in a single season since Raven Lee did so in the 2015-16 campaign.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind 40-30 heading into halftime.
South Carolina kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 72-58 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Acuff's three, to shrink the deficit to 72-64 with 1:08 to go in the contest. South Carolina responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 74-64. Eastern Michigan shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 34 points.