CINCINNATI 103, MIAMI 76
FLORIDA 82, OHIO 48
NORFOLK STATE 81, BOWLING GREEN 75
AKRON, Ohio – In a back-and-forth battle, the Akron Zips landed the decisive blows in a strong second half that gave them a 66-54 win over Wright State Wednesday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
It was the 100th win at Akron for head coach John Groce
Trailing by two coming out of intermission, Akron stunned the Raiders with a 16-2 run to open the second half. Senior guard Xavier Castañeda sparked the run with eight points and the Zips forced Wright State into 1-of-9 shooting along with three turnovers over a span of 5:12.
After that stretch, Akron never trailed again and banked its sixth victory of the season. Defense was the constant that powered the win, as the Zips (6-4) forced 14 turnovers and Wright State shot just 36.5 percent from the field. The blue and gold converted those turnovers into 12 points as part of a 13-2 edge in fast break scoring.
Castañeda led Akron with 19 points, freshman guard Tavari Johnson contributed 14 points, four steals and his first career blocked shot while junior forward Sammy Hunter tied his season-best with 13 points in the win. Junior forward Enrique Freeman narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The second-half surge was possible in large part because Hunter was a one-man offensive wrecking crew in the opening 20 minutes.
The junior forward rained triples before the half, making three of his six attempts from distance before the break. All came in a 5:36 span that saw Hunter tally 11 of his team's points in a 13-6 burst that allowed Akron to take control of the contest.
Wright State (5-6) was able to battle back late in the frame, leading by as many as five before a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Castañeda brought the Zips within two (30-28) at the half.
Senior guard Tray Calvin led Wright State with 16 points and sophomore center A.J. Braun added 12 in a losing effort.
By MIKE SMITH
CINCINNATI, OH -- Hosting Cincinnati scorched the nets, hitting 63.3 percent from the field overall and 60.0 percent on treys as the Bearcats blasted Miami 103-76 Wednesday at Fifth Third Arena.
Mekhi Lairy led the RedHawks with 20 points, followed by . . . CONTINUE
TAMPA, Fla. – The Ohio Bobcats (5-5) returned to action on Wednesday in the Victorinox Tampa Tip-Off, falling to Florida (7-4), 82-48, inside Amalie Arena.
Overall, Ohio shot 31.4 percent from the field, 21.4 percent from three and 56.5 percent from the line, while Florida shot 51.9 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three and 76.2 percent from the line. Florida outrebounded Ohio, 39-26, while the Bobcats forced 14 turnovers and had six steals.
Individually, Ohio was led by freshman guard AJ Brown with 14 points, going 5-of-7 from the field and 20of-4 from three. Graduate student Dwight Wilson III added 13 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Jaylin Hunter scored nine points and dished out three assists. Freshman guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) also added five points for the Bobcats.
Florida won the tip and got on the board first with a jumper. Wilson III then tied the game with a layup of his own before the Gators went on to take a 9-2. Wilson III then picked up another jumper to help cut the Florida lead to 11-4 going into the first media timeout.
With the Bobcats struggling offensively, UF built up a commanding 42-18 halftime advantage. Overall, Ohio shot 22 percent from the field and were 6-of-9 from the line, while Florida shot 50 percent from the field. The Gators hit 4-of-11 from three and were 14-of-17 from the line.
Florida remained in command during the second half, outscoring Ohio 40-30 over the final 20 minutes.
For Florida, Kowacie Reeves scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Kyle Lofton added 15 points and seven assists.
NORFOLK, Va. - Bowling Green went down to the wire against Norfolk State on Wednesday night, but the Spartans eventually moved their current home win streak to 16 games with an 81-75 victory over BGSU. The loss moves BGSU to 4-6 on the season with three home games upcoming to conclude the non-conference schedule.
The Falcons were paced by Kaden Metheny's eight three-pointers, matching his career-high and ending the night with 28 points. Samari Curtis added a double-double for the Falcons with 11 points and a career-high 10 assists, marking the first points and assists double-double for the Orange and Brown in nearly two years. The double-digit offensive efforts rounded out with 10 points from Leon Ayers III, while Rashaun Agee led the team in rebounding with six boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
~~ The Falcons built up a 38-34 halftime lead, but NSU rallied back in the second period to take the verdict.
~~ Metheny and Curtis picked up where they left off early in the second half with another Metheny triple to go up 41-37, but Norfolk State moved out in front with a 7-0 run to give them a 44-41 lead.
Samari Curtis converted an and-one opportunity, drawing a layup on a drive to the bucket, to tie up at 44-44 to begin a trading of baskets between the two teams.
~~ Norfolk State took a slim lead into the first stoppage of the second half with a 53-50 score at the media timeout.
~~ A 5-0 run later in the half pushed the Spartans' lead to 61-52, but Anthony McComb III answered with his first collegiate three to end the run. Kaden Metheny hit a three the next time down the court for the Falcons to bring the score back to a one-possession game at 61-58 Norfolk State.
~~ The Spartans stretched their lead back to a seven-point lead at 67-60, but the Falcons closed it to a one-possession game again at 69-67 and eventually one point at 73-72.
~~ Bowling Green kept it close, but the Spartans stayed in front to claim an 81-75 win.