KENT STATE 77, EASTERN MICHIGAN 63
AKRON 69, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 51
BUFFALO 100, BOWLING GREEN 71
BALL STATE 71, WESTERN MICHIGAN 70
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 81, MIAMI 77
TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior RayJ Dennis tallied a team-high 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots to lead Toledo to a 90-75 victory over Ohio on Tuesday evening in Savage Arena.
"We played with great intensity all night as well as great maturity except for our turnovers," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "We're improving as a team and starting to find our identity without Tyler Cochran. We're trusting our bench more, and I thought both AJ Edu and EJ Farmer both played well tonight."
Senior JT Shumate (21 pts., 8-of-11 FG), sophomore Dante Maddox Jr. (14 pts., 4-of-6 FG) and sophomore EJ Farmer (11 pts., 5-of-6 FG) joined Dennis in double digits and combined to shoot 17-of-23 from the field.
Toledo (12-6, 3-2 MAC) shot 55.6 percent as a team, including an impressive 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from three-point range. The Rockets limited Ohio (9-9, 1-4 MAC) to a 43.3 shooting mark and a 6-of-24 clip (.250) behind the three-point arc.
The Rockets bolted to a 13-0 lead and hit nine of their first 10 shots en route to a 26-7 lead with 12:56 remaining in the first half. Toledo led by as many as 22 points before taking a 52-31 advantage to the locker room. UT extended its cushion to as many as 26 points in the second half before settling for the 15-point victory.
Elmore James topped the Bobcats with 21 points, while Wilson scored 17 points (seven in the 1st half) and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Ypsilanti, Michigan – Kent State (15-3, 5-0 MAC) remains the only undefeated team in the Mid-American Conference with a 77-63 win against Eastern Michigan.
The Flashes' victory was their ninth straight win and KSU is off to its best start in conference play since the 2005-06 season when the Flashes went on a 7-0 run to start the MAC season. The Flashes went 25-9 in that same season, making an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
In a game that had six lead changes and three ties, KSU was able to pull away in the second half. The Flashes fought to get their largest lead of the game with a 61-46 advantage after intermission.
When Kent State ran into foul trouble and the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 61-52 with 6:07 to go in the contest. The Golden Flashes responded and outscored EMU the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 77-63.
Five Flashes led the way with double-digits into tonight's game. Malique Jacobs, Sincere Carry, and Jalen Sullinger had a team-high 14 points. Giovanni Santiago was a weapon on both sides of the court recording 11 points and five boards.
Eastern Michigan's Emoni Bates challenged the Flashes, recording a double-double with a game high 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The Flashes were able to take advantage at the charity stripe making 14-of-18 free throws including a perfect first half (6-of-6). Kent State shot 46.7% from the field and 25.9% from the three.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Another suffocating defensive performance by Akron resulted in a second straight road win as the Zips defeated Central Michigan 69-51 at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday night.
Akron had four players score in double figures as 8-of-12 players that played touched the scoring column. Senior guard Xavier Castaneda led the way with 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, while junior Sammy Hunter (12 points) scored double-digits for the third straight game. Graduate Trendon Hankerson and junior Greg Tribble rounded out the top scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Jesse Zarzuela paced the Central Michigan offense with a game-high 20 points.
Akron (12-6, 4-1 MAC) fell behind early as the Chippewas (7-11, 2-3 MAC) used a 7-0 run to start the game. Akron responded with defensive aggression, causing five turnovers by the 12-minute which allowed the visitors take a 13-10 advantage. Five minutes later, the score was tied 22-22 and the Zips held the Chippewas scoreless for four minutes and caused three additional turnovers that led to a 9-0 run. Akron held the Chippewas scoreless for over four minutes and closed out the half on a 14-4 run.
Junior Enrique Freeman scored four of his eight total points during that stretch as seven players touched the scoring column in the first half. Akron shot 52-percent from the floor with a pair of buckets coming from beyond the 3-point arc from Hunter and Hankerson. Akron went 8-of-11 from the charity stripe and led 36-26 at the break.
Freeman and Castaneda tabulated eight points each, while Hankerson and Johnson added five, Tribble and Hunter with four and freshman Amani Lyles registered a layup. Lyles finished the game with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field, including an old-fashioned 3-point play.
In the second half, the Zips picked up where they left off as Hunter buried a 3-pointer just nine seconds into the period. Akron outscored CMU 14-6 to extend the lead to 57-35 midway through the half and led by as many as 27 points (66-39). The Zips forced 10 second-half turnovers, pressuring the Chippewas into 18 turnovers for the game while registering seven steals. Freshman Nate Johnson recorded a team-best three steals and added five points and three rebounds.
Akron won the battle of the boards 37-32 as Freeman led the Zips with nine rebounds. The Zips finished the game shooting 41.8 percent from the field (25 of 55) and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (8 of 26).
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bulls (9-9, 3-2 MAC) defeated the Bowling Green Falcons (8-10, 2-3 MAC) on Tuesday evening 100-71.
In the win, Zid Powell recorded his first double-double of the season. He set career-highs with 27 points scored while snatching 10 rebounds. Curtis Jones and Isaac Jack added 15 points with Jonnivius Smith scoring 11 points. Smith added eight rebounds on the night.
Leon Ayers II led the Falcons with 23 points, followed by Chandler Turner (17) and Samari Curtis (11).
Buffalo dominated in practically every statistical category. The Bulls finished 41-for-73 (56.2%) from the floor making it their fourth game shooting 50% or better. Meanwhile, the Bulls stout defense held BGSU to just 35.2% (25-for-71) from the floor. Bowling Green had made 10 or more three pointers in their last four games, they were held to 4-for-16 from beyond the arc.
On Buffalo's 41 made baskets, 30 were assisted. The 30 assists marked a season-high for the Bulls. In transition the Bulls scored 27 fastbreak points. The Bulls entered the game third in the country averaging 18.18 fastbreak points per game.
For the first eight minutes of the game, Bowling Green kept it a close game. It was a back-and-forth affair as the Falcons' largest lead was three when they led 11-8 with just under 14 minutes to go in the first half. The Bulls then went on a 14-1 run over the next four minutes. A Powell corner three forced the Falcons to call a timeout. Buffalo then finished the half outscoring Bowling Green 40-22. The Bulls entered the half leading 48-33.
It was a total team effort in the second half to shutdown any chance of a Falcon comeback. The Falcons shot under 30% for the half and only made two three pointers. Bowling Green scored 12 of their 38 second half points at the charity stripe. Buffalo forced six turnovers which led to six points on the other end.
Armoni Foster and C. Jones distributed the ball well as they both set career-highs in assists with seven and eight, respectively. Foster also added three steals on the night. Kanye Jones went 2-for-2 from three finishing with eight points and a career-high three rebounds. Kidtrell Blocker had a solid game off the bench scoring nine points, four assists, and three rebounds.
MUNCIE, Ind. – Jarron Coleman led the way with 22 points as the Ball State Cardinals knocked off Western Michigan 71-70 Tuesday at Worthen Arena.
For the first time since the 2010-11 season, Ball State has started a campaign with a 13-5 record. The Cardinals improved to 13-5 and 4-1 in the MAC, while the Broncos fell to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in conference action.
Coleman has scored double digits in 16 of the 18 games this season after his 22-point effort. He added a game-high seven assists, a game-high four steals, tied for a team-high eight rebounds, and did not have any turnovers. Payton Sparks dropped 14 points with eight rebounds and one block. Demarius Jacobs recorded 10 points, three assists, one block, and one steal. Basheer Jihad also tied for a team-high eight rebounds.
WMU's Lamar Norman Jr. led all scorers with 31 points. Markeese Hastings was the only other Bronco in double figures . He notched 12 points to go with nine rebounds. Titut Wright registered 11 rebounds.
The game started out hot for both teams as neither squad missed a shot in the first 2:43 of play. The Cardinals stretched things out a little bit with a 10-2 run as they claimed a 16-8 lead with 13:27 left in the opening stanza.
The Broncos responded with a 12-2 run that lasted 4:08 and took a 20-18 lead with 9:19 left until the break. Ball State ended the first half on a 13-9 run, capped off by an amazing corner 3-pointer by Coleman. BSU took a 31-29 lead into intermission.
WMU came out swinging in the second half and opened on a 7-3 run. Coleman knocked down a jumper, was fouled, and converted the and-1 opportunity to give the Cardinals a 37-36 lead with 16:49 left in regulation. Sparks came down with an offensive rebound that led to a fastbreak. Coleman made a phenomenal behind the back pass for Jaylin Sellers who slammed it home.
Lamar Norman Jr. got hot and knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give WMU a 42-41 lead with 14:46 on the clock. It was a back-and-forth battle for the next 4:23 of game time that saw four lead changes and two ties. The contest was tied at 52-52 with 9:39 left in regulation.
After the Broncos hit a 3-pointer, the Cardinals responded with a 10-0 run that put BSU up 62-55. WMU was able to climb back thanks to an 11-4 run, which knotted the game up at 66-66 with 2:20 left to play.
The Broncos managed to take a 70-68 lead with 49 seconds left to play. Mickey Pearson Jr. cut towards the basket and received a great pass from Coleman. Pearson went up for the driving layup, made it, and was fouled. He had ice in his veins and converted the and-1 opportunity to put Ball State up 71-70 with 35 second on the clock.
The Cardinals picked up the defensive intensity and was stout as it prevented the Broncos from recording the go-ahead basket.
Ball State dominated in the paint and outscored Western Michigan 42-20. BSU also utilized a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
As a team, WMU was able to shoot a perfect 17-of-17 from the free-throw line.
By MIKE SMITH
OXFORD, OH -- After surrendering a double-digit first half lead, Northern Illinois shot 61.5 percent from the field after intermission to register an 81-77 victory over Miami Tuesday at Millett Hall.
With the win, NIU raised its MAC record to 2-3 (6-12 overall). The RedHawks fell to 1-4 in conference play (7-11 overall).
Sophomore guard David Coit led the Huskies, sinking 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 3-of-5 treys on the way to 21 points. Zarique Nutter contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, followed by Kaleb Thornton (13 points) and Anthony Crump (11 points).
"In MAC play, there are some terrific guards," Miami Head Coach Travis Steele said. "Every team has got one or two guys that can really go -- create, play off the bounce, shoot the bal. . . . We tried a little bit of everything (but) we really didn't have any answers for them."
Miami Guard Morgan Safford, who does a . . . CONTINUE