Akron 80, Miami 51
Ball State 61, Eastern Michigan 43
Central Michigan 81, Western Michigan 67
Northern Illinois 63, Ohio 47
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Akron 80, Miami 51
The Zips shot 53.9 percent from the field and 53.1 percent outside the arc while holding the RedHawks to just 14 field goals on the evening.
The RedHawks (15-17, 7-11 MAC) shot 25.0 percent from the floor, 17.9 percent on threes and 58.1 percent at the line while falling to their fourth straight loss.
Nike Sibande was the only Miami player in double figures, tallying 25-points.
Loren Christian Jackson paced Akron (17-15) with 25, followed by Daniel Utomi (20) and Jimond Ivey (14).
The Zip move on to face No. 18 Buffalo Thursday (noon) at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
BALL STATE 61, EASTERN MICHIGAN 43
The visiting Cardinals (16-16, 6-12 MAC) stormed back from a 29-23 halftime deficit, holding Eastern Michigan (15-17, 9-9 MAC) to 14 second half points on the way to a 61-43 victory.
Junior Tahjai Teague led Ball State with 15 points. He was joined in double figures by Tayler Persons and Ishmael El-Amin with 12 apiece.
Paul Jackson (12 points) and Kevin McAdoo paced the Eagles, who connected on just 29.4 percent from the field (15-of-51). They were also 5-of-21 (23.8%) on threes and 8-of-16 (50%) at the charity stripe).
Ball State, winning for just the second time in its last seven outings, advances to face No. 3 seed Bowling Green in Thursday’s MAC tourney nightcap (30 minutes after 6:30 p.m. game ends) at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 81, WESTERN MICHIGAN 67
The Chippewas pulled away in the second half to defeat Western Michigan for the second time in three days.
Senior center Seth Dugan, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Broncos Friday, topped both those numbers with 29 points and 17 boards in Monday’s MAC tourney opener. Michael Flowers chipped in 13 and Kawanise Wilkins came off the bench for 10 points and seven rebounds.
Overall, WMU (8-24, 2-16 MAC) had a big 53-40 advantage on the boards, but the Broncos shot just 33.3 percent from the floor (25-of-75).
CMU (22-10, 10-8 MAC) had two more field goals (27-of-64, 42.2%), four more treys (11-of-29, 37.9%) and six more FTs.
Four Chippewas reached double figures: Larry Austin Jr (24 points, 13 caroms), Shawn Roundtree (20 points), David DiLeo (14 points) and Dallas Morgan (10 points).
Central Michigan advances to meet MAC Tourney No. 4 seed Kent State Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland (30 minutes after noon game ends).
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 63, OHIO 47
The hosting Huskies shot 56.1 percent overall and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from outside the arc on the way to a 19-point win over Ohio (14-17, 6-12 MAC).
Eugene German led the way for NIU with 23 points, followed by Dante Thorpe (18) and Lacey James (14).
The Huskies (16-16, 8-10 MAC) owned 11 more field goals and seven more treys than Ohio, which hit 38.9 percent overall and made just two triples (2-of-18, 11.1%). The Bobcats shot more twice as many free throws and made 10-more, but it was not enough to overcome Northern’s other shooting advantages.
The Huskies grabbed an early lead. Ohio pulled within one at 12-11 with 12:33 left in the first period, but NIU reached a double digit lead (35-24) with 3:32 remaining. It was a 44-28 Huskie advantage at the break, and NIU outscored Ohio 36-33 in the final period.
Northern advances to meet No. 2 MAC Tourney seed Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena (6:30 p.m.)