UC SAN DIEGO 66, EASTERN MICHIGAN 63
BUFFALO 86, CANISIUS 66
SAN JOSE STATE 67, BALL STATE 65
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio (3-3) finished a sweep of the Bobcat Battle Sunday, defeating Alabama State (1-7) 72-58.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 45.9 percent from the field, 32.3 from the three and were 6-of-9 from the line. They recorded 17 assists and five steals in comparison to the Hornets' six assists and eight steals and out-rebounded their opponent, 42-33.
Senior guard Miles Brown led the team with 18 points, going 7-of-10 in field goals. Sophomore AJ Clayton was a close second, scoring 13 points. Senior forward Ben Roderick had 11 points on the game, going 3-for-4 on free throws while junior center Gabe Wiznitzer set a career-high for rebounds with eight.
The Bobcats opened strong, taking a quick 6-0 lead with back-to-back threes from senior guard DeVon Baker and Brown. With 18:54 left in the half, Alabama State put their first two points up on the board, but Brown quickly put up another three points for the Bobcats.
Ohio scored eight of the next 12 points, extending their lead to 17-6. After an Alabama State three followed by an Ohio jumper, the Hornets shot the first free throws of the game with 12:19 left in the half, cutting the Bobcats' lead to eight points. Coming out of the timeout, Brown made a second-chance layup, putting the score at 21-11. Ohio scored 11 of the next 17 points, ending with a three from Roderick, giving the Bobcats 32-17 lead.
Alabama State scored first out of the timeout, but the Bobcats quickly answered with six points of their own. The two teams continued to go back and forth, with Ohio maintaining their 17-point lead. Brown scored with a two-point jumper with 1:05 left in the half, putting the Bobcats ahead 45-27.
At the half, the Bobcats shot 48.6 percent from the field, 45 percent from the three and hadn't recorded any free throws, while Alabama State was 34.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from the three and 4-of-46 from the line. Ohio out-rebounded the Hornets, 23-15, while the Bobcats had 14 assists and three steals to Alabama State's four assists and four steals.
Alabama State closed Ohio's lead to 10 points during the second half, but the 'Cats did not allow ASU to come within single digits.
Brown was named tournament MVP. He was joined by Roderick on the all-tournament team
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - Sophomore Emoni Bates collected his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds as Eastern Michigan fell to the University of California San Diego Tritons, 66-63, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Sunday. With the loss, the Eagles fall to 1-6 on the season while the Tritons improved to 3-4.
In addition to Bates' double-double, the Green and White were led by sophomore Tyson Acuff, who totaled 16 points and five assists. Sophomore Noah Farrakhan also added nine points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Eastern Michigan forced 15 Tritons turnovers while committing just nine themselves in Sunday's game, tying for the fewest miscues the Eagles have committed this year. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 16 points on the other end of the floor. Sophomores Jalin Billingsley and Luka Savicevic led the way individually with two steals each, both of which tied their respective career highs.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan struggled out of the gate, falling behind, 34-27, heading into halftime. UC San Diego kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 50-38 advantage before Eastern Michigan went on a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit to 50-45 with 7:58 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept their comeback going, pulling to within one on several occasions with less than two minutes to play, but the Tritons managed to hold on for the 66-63 win.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bulls (3-4, 0-0 MAC) defeated Big 4 rival Canisius (2-4, 0-0 MAAC) on Sunday afternoon, 86-66. With the win, Buffalo has now won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
In dominant fashion, the Bulls led for a total of 31:07 and had their largest lead of the season of 23 points. Buffalo shot at a rate of 48.5%, 32-of-66, in the game. The Bulls' stifling defense held Canisius to 22.2% from three-point range as they went 8-for-36.
The Bulls were disciplined as they only had 14 fouls in the contest, three of which occurred in the first half. Canisius only got to the free throw line 15 times, the fewest allowed attempts by the Bulls this season.
In the first half of action, Buffalo spread the wealth as five players had at least five points. Curtis Jones led all scorers with nine points going into the half as both Devin Ceaser and LaQuill Hardnett had seven points. Armoni Foster and Zid Powell added five points each. Buffalo had an 11-0 run toward the end of the first half, that was their largest run of the game.
C. Jones got hot in the second half as he went 5-for-8 including three three-pointers. He led all scorers with 22 points. This marked the third straight game he's scored 22 points. C. Jones added six rebounds and five steals on the day. The Bulls have now had a 20-point scorer in four straight games. Jonnivius Smith finished with a career-high 10 points as he had two monstrous slam dunks. Smith snatched seven rebounds for the Bulls and had two blocks.
Both Isaiah Adams and Foster finished with five assists each.
NASSAU, The Bahamas – Ball State closed out the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship with a contest against San Jose State on Sunday. Jalen Windham, Payton Sparks, and Demarius Jacobs all recorded 14 points, but the Cardinals fell on a last-second shot 67-65.
Sparks recorded his second-straight game with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sparks added a team-high three assists with a block. Jacobs has posted double-digits in seven of the team's eight contests with his 14 points. Jacobs led the team with two blocks to go along with four rebounds and one steal. Windham notched his sixth game in double figures with his 14 points. Windham added a rebound and an assist. Jarron Coleman finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block.
The game started as a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to extend a lead more than three points. With 14:20 left in the half, San Jose State held a 9-6 lead, but Ball State bounced back and took a 12-11 lead with 11:04 left until the break.
The contest continued to be close as neither team was able to get lead of more than four points, until the Spartans managed to take an eight-point lead, 26-18, with 2:40 left in the half. The Cardinals were able to cut the deficit to seven, 31-24, at the half.
After San Jose State scored the second half's first bucket and extended its lead to nine, 33-24, Ball State clawed back. BSU went on a 7-0 run and pulled within two, 33-31. The Spartans were able to gain a five-point lead on several occasions. The Cardinals continued to battle and were able to take a 43-42 lead with 12:45 left in regulation.
San Jose State managed to take a six-point lead with 10:20 left on the clock. As earlier in the game, the Cardinals were resilient and regained the lead, 55-54, with just under six minutes left in regulation. The teams traded the lead four more times, before Ball State was able to take a three-point lead, 63-60, with just under three minutes to play.
With just 18 seconds left on the clock, Robert Vaihola gave the Spartans a two-point lead, 65-63. The Cardinals advanced the ball to half court before calling a timeout with 13 seconds left to play.
When play resumed, Jaylin Sellers was able to get open driving to the hoop and was fouled as he went up for a layup. Sellers knocked down both free throws to tie the game, 65-65, with eight seconds to play. However, Vaihola was able to make a layup off an offensive rebound to give San Jose State a 67-65 lead with 1.8 left in regulation. The Cardinals tried to get a last-second shot up, but the full-court pass was intercepted and time expired.
Vaihola and Omari Moore tied for a game-high 15 points for the Spartans. Vaihola led the team with eight rebounds, while Moore led the squad with five assists. Trey Anderson added 11 points, while Alvaro Cardenas and Ibrahima Diallo eached chipped in with 10 points.