Western Illinois 69, Ball State 62
South Alabama 82, Miami 71
DePaul 88, Central Michigan 75
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Western Michigan came out on the short end of a defenisve battle Tuesday, falling to Seattle 59-55.
In the third place game of the 2019 NIT Season Tip-Off the Western Michigan men’s basketball team fell in a defensive battle to Seattle, 59-55 on Tuesday inside HP Fieldhouse at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
It was a defensive battle throughout as neither team shot over 40 percent from the field while both teams had single-digit three-pointers. Only once did the lead reach double digits as WMU and Seattle battled to three ties and two lead changes.
The duo of junior Michael Flowers and redshirt junior Brandon Johnson were the lone Broncos to score in double figures as Johnson led the Broncos with 19 points. Johnson was 7-of-15 from the field against the RedHawks to go along with nine rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass.
Flowers was right behind Johnson with 16 points in 32 minutes of action. The Southfield, Mich., native was 5-of-15 from the field, 2-of-6 from beyond the three-point line and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Flowers also registered five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The two teams traded three point baskets to begin the second half before the RedHawks countered with five straight points to take a 35-27 lead at the 14:23 mark. Seattle gained a double-digit lead at the 10:30 mark after making five of their next field goals.
Down the stretch the Bronco offense got hot thanks in large part to Flowers who scored eight straight points including a four-point play with 30 seconds left to cut the deficit down to three. However, missed shots coupled with Seattle making three of its final four free-throws secured the 59-55 victory for the RedHawks.
(Courtesy of WMU Athletics)
Western Illinois 69, Ball State 62
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Fresh off a record-setting 3-point shooting performance against Howard on Saturday, Ball State (4-3) came out ice cold from beyond the arc versus Western Illinois (2-4). The Cardinals missed their first 13 attempts from beyond the arc, allowing Western Illinois to race out to a 20-point first half lead on the way to 69-62 victory.
Ishmael El-Amin finally connected from long range with 2:22 remaining in the opening half. That play seemed to ignite the Ball State offense, as Brachen Hazen and El-Amin hit two more 3-pointers before halftime to help the Cardinals slash the deficit to 34-23 at the break.
Ball State eventually leveled the score at 59 on a Kyle Mallers 3-pointer with 3:49 showing on the clock. Western Illinois, however, put a halt to the rally with 3-pointers from C.J. Duff and Kobe Webster on its next two possessions. Following the big 3-pointer from Mallers, the Cardinals missed their final six shots from the floor.
El-Amin posted career highs in points (21) and 3-pointers (5) to lead all players. Tahjai Teague chipped in with his 17th career double-double. He tied his personal high with 14 rebounds.
Webster led four Western Illinois players in double figures with 18 points. Zion Young and James Claar each posted double-doubles.
This was the first meeting between the two schools since 1993.
(Courtesy of BSU Athletics)
South Alabana 82, Miami 71
ESTERO, Fla -- Miami used a 10-0 run to tie the score in the second half, but a 13-4 answer by South Alabama allowed the Jaguars to come away with a 82-71 victory in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Tuesday. The RedHawks fall to 4-2 as their four-game win streak comes to an end. USA improves to 5-2.
After committing 20 turnovers on Monday, Miami took much better care of the basketball on Tuesday, finishing with only 10. The RedHawks also hit 10 three-pointers in the contest. However, they could not overcome a hot-shooting South Alabama team that finished 31-for-52 (59.6 percent) from the field and held a 31-19 rebounding advantage.
Brown led four in double figures for the RedHawks with 15. Sibande scored 13, while Coleman-Lands Jovic had 10 each. Josh Ajayi led South Alabama with 21 points, while Chad Lott had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
USA went into the break with a 36-33 lead and extended its advantage to seven to begin the second half before three-pointers from Jovic and Bowman cut the deficit to three at 42-39 with 17:23 to go. Each time USA threatened to pull awy, Miami would hit a key basket. Brown drained a three to make it 52-47 before a 7-2 run gave South Alabama a 59-49 lead with 10:06 remaining.
On the ‘Hawks next possession, Coleman-Lands drained a three. A turnover by the Jaguars led to a layup for sophomore guard Mekhi Lairy. USA turned it over again on its next possession and was called for a technical foul. Coleman-Lands calmly sank both free throws and followed it up with another triple to tie the score at 59. All told it was a 10-0 run in 1:42 that saw the game tied with 8:24 to go.
(Courtesy of Miami Athletics)
DePaul 88, Central Michigan 75
CHICAGO -- DePaul outscored Central Michigan, 56-25, in the second half to hand the Chippewas an 88-75 loss on Tuesday at the Blue Demons' Wintrust Arena.
CMU is 5-2, while DePaul improved to 7-0 for the first time since 1986-87.
How It Happened
CMU turned in a sensational first half, knocking down five of its 12 3-point attempts in seizing a 50-32 lead at the break.
But it was all DePaul in the second half as the Blue Demons outscored the Chippewas, 29-10 in the first eight-plus minutes of the half to surge ahead, 61-60.
The Chippewas went seven-plus scoreless minutes as the Blue Demons extended their lead to nine, 71-62, with under six minutes remaining. CMU never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Leaders
Dallas Morgan hit six of his 11 3-point attempts to lead the Chippewas with 20 points, while Rob Montgomery added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Numbers
CMU shot 48.6 percent from the floor including 41.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half. Those numbers dipped to 25.8 percent and 16.7 percent in the second half.
While Morgan hit six 3-pointers, one shy of his career high, the rest of the Chippewas finished one for 13 from long range.
South Alabama quickly responded with five straight points. A layup from Bowman pulled Miami to within three, but a 12-2 answer from the Jaguars gave them a 76-63 advantage with 3:18 remaining and effectively put the contest away.
(Courtesy of CMU Athletics)