AMHERST, NY -- Buffalo hit a school-record 19 threes as the Bulls demolished Ohio 114-67 Tuesday. Jayvon Graves led the way with 26 points and connected on 7-of-9 attempts outside the arc. C.J. Massinburg nearly matched that with 23 of his own and hitting 8-of-11 from the field (3-of-6 on treys). Freshman Jeenathan Williams came off the bench to score 13 points and grab a game-high eight caroms in 16 minutes of action.
Sophomore Jason Carter and senior Doug Taylor scored 16 and 10 points, respectively. Teyvion Kirk added 10 to the ‘Cats cause.
After entering the game ranked seventh nationally in scoring (84.8 ppg), UB will likely take a nice leap in that statistical category. Meanwhile, the No. 25-ranked Bulls (23-3, 11-2 MAC) won their fourth straight while sending Ohio (11-14, 3-10 MAC) to its sixth consecutive loss.
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MIAMI 69, BALL STATE 66
OXFORD, Ohio -- The RedHawks made 15-of-16 free throws after intermission to hold off a furious Ball State second half rally Tuesday at Millett Hall . The Cardinals, who recorded 14 steals in the game, were down by 14 (62-48) with 7:27 remaining, but MU would not hit another field goal the rest of the way. All seven points came at the charity stripe.
After Ball State pulled within one (67-66) with five seconds left, Mekhi Larry knocked down two free throws. Persons launched an off-balanced deep three to beat the buzzer, but it was off the mark.
Nike Sibande (17), Bam Bowman (12) and Precious Ayah (11 points, 13 rebounds-- both career highs) led Miami (14-12,6-7 MAC). Senior Person (16) and K.J. Walton reached double figures for Ball State (14-12, 5-8 MAC).
It’s been an up-and-down February for MU, which has neither won nor lost two in a row. The RedHawks were coming off a disappointing overtime loss at Western Michigan Saturday. They lost a second-half lead in that one and were trending down again Tuesday. Nike Sibande’s 3-point goal at 11:35, in fact, was the last RedHawk field goal of the evening.
Ball State, trailing 58-46 after Nike’s triple, wasn’t exactly hitting on all cylinders, either. The Cardinals were still making field goals, and that enabled them to slowly cut into the hosts lead. Ironically, though, some missed free throw opportunities undermined BSU’s comeback. Ball State made 9-of-16 charity tosses (56.2%) after intermission.
The visitors twice pulled within one point in the final minute. Two Persons free throws at :29 made it a 65-64 game. When MU beat pressure into the front court, Ball State fouled Bowman. He made both free throws.
There were 20 seconds left, but Miami turned up its own defense. Although persons scored on a short jumper, there were now just five seconds left. When BSU fouled again, Lairy put the game away with two final free throws.
"I liked our resilience," Ball State head coach James Whitford said. "We had a lot of things going against us. We were missing free throws, missing shots. But we really hung in there. I thought we fought. I thought our bench really helped us, and I thought Brachen, in particular, gave us great life."
NOTES:
>> Already limited, Miami lost the services of Delonte Brown in the first half. He went out with an injury and did not return.
>> Precious Ayah, who has battled injuries himself while at Miami, has been showing flashes of his potential in recent games. He stepped up another rung or two against BSU, registering a double-double and playing 20 minutes. He owned 13 rebounds as the ‘Hawks outrebounded Ball State 38-34.
>> The Cardinals K.J. Walton and Tahjai Teague combined for seven steals.
>> Persons was Ball State’s leading scorer in the second half, hitting 3-of-6 from the field on the way to nine points.
>> The Cardinals went 5-of-25 (21.7%) beyond the arc, while MU hit 7-of-20 (35%) from long range
YPSILANTI, Mich -- The Eagles outscored Toledo 20-8 at the foul line on the way to EMU’s third win in its last four outings. Toledo, meanwhile, dropped a second-straight game for just the second time this season. Buffalo edged the Rockets Saturday.
Eastern’s Elijah Minnie led all scorers with 23 points -- 12 of those coming from beyond the arc. He also had nine boards. Paul Jackson hit 3-of-4 triple tries on the way to 19, while James Thompson IV contributed 14 for the Eagles (12-14, 6-7 MAC).
Toledo (20-6, 8-5 MAC) put three in double figures: Marreon Jackson (14), Nate Navigato (13) and Willie Jackson (10)
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CENTRAL MICHIGAN 84, KENT STATE 74
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich -- The Eagles limited KSU to 1-of-14 on treys and 39.3 percent from the floor while picking up their second consecutive victory and ending a two-game Flashes win streak.
Central Michigan (18-8, 7-6) also forced 22 turnovers, although the Chips registered 18 of their own.
While KSU (19-7, 8-5 MAC) was struggling mightily from distance, CMU connected on 9-of-17 (52.6%) and was 50 percent from the field overall. The Flashes made 39.3 percent overall.
Four Central Players reached double figures in a balanced scoring effort; Shawn Roundtree (20), Robert Montgomery (19) Larry Austin Jr. 17 and Kevin McKay.
Phillip Whittington (18) topped KSU, followed by Jaylin Walker (14) and Antonio Williams (13).
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BOWLING GREEN 73, AKRON 69
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The first player in school history to ready 1,000 points before his junior season hit two really big points Tuesday at sophomore Justin Turner led BG past Akron 73-69.
It was the third straight win for Bowling Green (19-7, 11-2 MAC) and third consecutive loss for Akron (14-12, 6-7 MAC).
Akron led 29-25 at the half, but BGSU rallied to take the lead. Loren Cristian Jackson tied the contest on a three with 19 seconds left. After Turner’s layup with .9 seconds moved the Falcons in front, they added a pair of free throws for the final margin.
Four Falcons reached double figures. Turner, who made 9-of-15 from the field overall and 3-of-6 treys, led the way withy 23. He was followed by Dylan Frye (16), Daeqwon Plowden (10) and Michael Laster (10).
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