TOLEDO 69, CANISIUS 68
BALL STATE 88, EVANSVILLE 69
UIC 62, WESTERN MICHIGAN 56
TULSA 70, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 63
KENT STATE 67, CLEVELAND STATE 58
ATLANTA – The Buffalo Bulls (5-5, 0-0 MAC) lost to the Tulane Green Wave (6-3, 0-0 AAC) on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls dropped the contest, 88-63, snapping their four-game win streak.
Buffalo struggled in the first half, making just nine of their 29 shots. Three of which were from three-point range. Tulane cashed in on the Bulls' 10 turnovers, scoring 11 points off them. The Green Wave only had two first half turnovers, finishing with just five.
The Bulls offensive struggles carried over into the second half. Buffalo finished with 61 shots from the floor where just 19 fell (31.1%). From beyond the arc, the Bulls finished 4-for-16.
Tulane was 5-of-11 from three in the first half while shooting 15-for-32 from the floor. The Green Wave finished with 11 threes and 31-for-66 from the floor. The Green Wave lead the game for 38:21 and never trailed.
Tulane made Buffalo play at a slow pace. The Bulls came into the game ninth in the country in fastbreak points, averaging 19.20 per game. Buffalo had one fastbreak point in the first half, finishing the game with nine.
LaQuill Hardnett recorded his second double-double of the season and third of his career. He finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Isaac Jack also finished with 10 rebounds. Hardnett and Jack are the first duo since Josh Mballa and David Skogman to both have double digit rebounds in a game.
TOLEDO 69, CANISIUS 68
TOLEDO, Ohio – Junior RayJ Dennis scored a career-high 29 points, including the Rockets' final 16 points of the game, to help the Toledo men's basketball team pull out a 69-68 victory over Canisius in Savage Arena on Saturday afternoon. The victory kept the Rockets (7-3) unbeaten in four home contests this season.
Dennis also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, dished out a game-best six assists and connected on a career-high 15 free throws in 20 attempts.
Senior JT Shumate was the only other Rocket in double digits, finishing with 20 points before fouling out with 2:43 to play. Shumate's 20-point outing was the fourth-straight game he has topped the 20-point plateau and the seventh this season.
The Golden Griffins (2-7) limited Toledo to season lows in points (69), field-goal percentage (38.9), three-point FGs made (3) and three-point FG% (.200). Canisius shot just 37.7 percent in the defensive battle and 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from three-point range.
The Rockets knocked down 11 of their last 12 free-throw attempts and registered season highs for free throws made (24) and free-throw attempts (36).
UT trailed for only 50 seconds in the first half, but Canisius scored the final five points of the half to leave Toledo with a 32-29 halftime advantage.
The visitors took their first lead of the second half, 37-36, on Youri Fritz's layup at the 15:49 mark. The lead then exchanged hands three times over the next five minutes before Millner slammed one home to put an exclamation point on a 9-1 burst for a 47-42 advantage with 10:55 to play.
The Golden Griffins responded with a 13-2 spurt to go ahead 55-49 with 6:07 remaining.
RayJ Dennis' three-point play followed by two more free throws brought the Rockets within 59-58 two minutes later.
JT Shumate fouled out with 2:43 left when he was whistled for a flagrant foul. J. Fritz hit one of two free throws and Tahj Staveskie added a basket on the ensuing possession to give the visitors a 64-60 lead.
Dennis tied the score at 64-64 on the Rockets' next two trips up the court with a jumper in the paint and two free throws with 1:13 to play. He then hit three of free throws to increase UT's margin to 67-64 with seven seconds left.
Canisius never had a chance to tie the score in the final seconds due to the Rockets fouling before the Golden Griffins could get a three-point shot off.
BALL STATE 88, EVANSVILLE 69
MUNCIE, Ind. – Jaylin Sellers produced his third game of the season with 20 points or more, as he posted a game-high 20 points for Ball State on Saturday. The Cardinals defeated the Evansville Aces 88-69, as four BSU players finished in double figures. Ball State moved to 6-4 overall, while Evansville fell to 3-9.
Sellers led the way with 20 points and added four rebounds and an assist. Payton Sparks finished with his fourth double-double in five games. Sparks went for 18 points and brought down a game-high 12 rebounds. He also added an assist and a block.
Jarron Coleman tallied 15 points for his ninth-straight contest in double digits. He added four rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Basheer Jihad collected 12 points, his first double-digit effort of the season, to go along with a career-high seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Coleman and Mickey Pearson Jr. tied for a game-high two blocks. Coleman along with Demarius Jacobs tied for a game-high three steals.
Evansville opened the game by scoring the game's first three points. The Cardinals answered with the next eight points, including a 3-pointer by Sparks.
The Aces went on a 13-9 run and cut their deficit to 17-16 with 11:25 left in the first half. The Cardinal started to pick up the intensity on the defensive end of the court and the game started to tilt in favor of Ball State. BSU produced an 11-0 run that spanned 5:47 of game time and extended its lead to 28-16. Things did not get any easier for Evansville the remainder of the half as Ball State took a 42-28 lead into the half.
The Cardinals started the second half on a 14-6 run, capped off by an outstanding hustle play by Coleman to save a missed BSU shot from going out of bounds. He jumped in the air over the baseline and threw the ball back to Sellers. Once Coleman reestablished himself inbounds, Sellers kicked it to Coleman for the corner 3-pointer. BSU held a 56-34 lead with 14:30 left in regulation.
Evansville went on an 11-2 run that ended with 12:17 left to play and cut the Ball State lead to 58-45. The Cardinals ramped up the energy and went on a 25-10 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 83-55, with 4:43 left on the clock.
The Aces ended the game on a 14-5 run, but the early Cardinal lead gave BSU the 88-69 victory.
As a team, Ball State shot 31-of-40, 77.5 percent, from the free-throw line. For the season, the Cardinals have made more free throws (180) than BSU opponents have attempted (164). Ball State came into today's contest 19th in the NCAA with an average of 24.0 free throws per game.
The Cardinals' physicality led to 28 points in the paint and 18 second-chance points. Ball State committed fewer turnovers than Evansville, which led to a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers for BSU.
Marvin Coleman led Evansville with 17 points along with three rebounds, three assists, and two rebounds. Kenny Strawbridge finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Antoine Smith Jr. chipped in with a 14-point game and added seven rebounds. Preston Phillips led the Aces with nine rebounds.
UIC 62, WESTERN MICHIGAN 56
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan senior forward Tafari Simms had a game-high 24 points and secured a career-high 12 rebounds as the Broncos fell to UIC, 62-56, on Saturday at University Arena.
Trailing 58-41 with less than five minutes remaining, Western Michigan (3-7) embarked on a 13-0 run, which included eight points from Simms, to trim the deficit to four, 58-54, with under a minute to play. UIC (6-4) withstood the Bronco rally, and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the victory. WMU held the Flames without a field goal for the final 4:26 of the game.
Simms' 24 points marked his highest total as a Bronco, and it came 10-of-14 shooting, including 3-for-4 on three-pointers. The senior's 12 rebounds established a new career best, and gave him his second career double-double.
Markeese Hastings also grabbed 14 rebounds for Western Michigan to help the hosts dominate on the glass, 51-22. WMU's 51 total rebounds set a new season high, while its 18 offensive rebounds tied the season high, which was set earlier in the week against Concordia.
The Flames jumped out to the early advantage, as the visitors grabbed the first eight points of the contest. UIC pushed the margin as high as 14 in the opening stanza, and went into the halftime locker room with a 30-18 lead.
UIC slowly added to its advantage throughout the majority of the second half, with the margin climbing up to 17, 58-41, with 4:26 to play.
Both teams were held below 40.0 percent from the field, as the Broncos connected on 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the floor, while UIC shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55). After a tough first half, Western Michigan bounced back to hit an even 50.0 percent (16-of-32) of its field goal attempts after halftime.
TULSA 70, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 63
TULSA, Okla.-- In a hard-fought, back-and-forth contest featuring runs and leads by both teams, host Tulsa made all the plays down the stretch as it claimed a 70-63 men's basketball win over Central Michigan Saturday at the Reynolds Center.
Senior Brian Taylor led Central Michigan with a game-high 14 points (5-11 FG) with five rebounds, freshman Reggie Bass came off the bench to score 12 points to go along with five assists, and four rebounds, and senior Miroslav Stafl finished with a season-high 11 points (3-4 FG). Central Michigan converted 19 of 22 free throws, including 16 of 18 in the second half alone. The Chippewas shot just 35.8 percent (19-53) from the floor.
Tulsa (3-6) was led by Keyshawn Embery-Simpson and Sam Griffin (3-7 3FG), who both scored 13 points and Tim Dalger, who finished with 12. The Golden Hurricane shot 44.6 percent (25-56) from the floor, hit eight 3-pointers, and registered 13 steals on 18 CMU turnovers.
With the score deadlocked at 61-61 with 3:32 to play, Tulsa outscored Central Michigan 9-2 down the stretch to seal the victory. The host Golden Hurricane held the Chippewas without a field goal over that timeframe and converted five of their six free throw attempts. An Embery-Simpson jumper gave Tulsa the lead, Dalger followed with two free throws, and Pritchard hit a fadeway jumper on the baseline for a 67-61 Tulsa lead with 45 seconds to play. After CMU's Bass hit two free throws, Tulsa closed out the game by hitting three free throws and holding the Chippewas scoreless.
Making the start for Central Michigan was Stafl, Ajiboye, Majerle, Taylor and Jesse Zarzuela. Majerle made his first career start. Sophomore Kevin Miller missed his fifth consecutive game and the Chippewas fell to 0-4 vs. NCAA Division I opponents without Miller on the floor.
KENT STATE 67, CLEVELAND STATE 58
Cleveland, Ohio - Kent State extended its record to 7-3 Saturday by beating Cleveland State 67-58.
Miryne Thomas started the game by pouring in two threes to get the Flashes on the board. In the first minutes of the game, the Flashes led the Vikings 6-1 and only allowed the Vikings to score off free throws. Thomas recorded 12 points and chipped in five rebounds.
Despite the team running into foul trouble, they got the job done. Cleveland State went to the line 27 different times throughout the game shooting 70.4 percent in free throws. Deante Johnson challenged the Flashes' defense, with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds.
Malique Jacobs ran the court posting a team-high 18 points and cleaning the boards with seven rebounds. The defenders once again could not stop Sincere Carry, scoring double-digits for the ninth time this season with 16. The redshirt senior posted a game-high six assists and shot perfectly from the free-throw line.
The Golden Flashes battled and brought home the win they needed before going into MAC play. Coach Senderoff expressed "Winning a game like this is similar to winning a game in the MAC. This win meant a lot to us as a team."