Utomi Notches Double-Double in Win Over Chattanooga
Tuesday’s Scoreboard
Akron 75, UT Chattanooga 70
Western Michigan 65, St. Louis 51
Ball State 81, Oakland City (IN) 57
Kansas 96, Toledo 58
Iona 93, Ohio 88
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press
Akron 75, UT Chattanooga 70
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio -- Daniel Utomi had 24 points with 13 rebounds as Akron remained undefeated at home, beating Chattanooga 75-70 on Tuesday night.
Akron's only loss was at Dayton, 73-60, on Saturday. The Zips (3-1) next play at Marshall on Saturday.
Malcolm Duvivier, who finished with 15, scored 10 straight points midway through the first half to give Akron a 20-11 lead. The Zips were up 39-28 at the break. Emmanuel Olojakpoke opened the second period by slamming home a dunk and Akron led 47-35 at the 14:16 mark.
Chattanooga (3-4) closed to 72-69 after Rodney Chatman's layup with 52 seconds left, but Utomi responded with a 3-pointer to seal the win.
Jimond Ivey was 6 of 9 from the floor for 15 points with three steals for the Zips.
Chatman led the Mocs with 19 points, Nat Dixon added 16 with six assists and Joshua Phillips chipped in 13 points.
Western Michigan 65, St. Louis 51
Box Score
ST. LOUIS -- Thomas Wilder had 16 points and Bryce Moore added 14 as Western Michigan ran away from Saint Louis in the second half for a 65-51 win on Tuesday night.
Wilder, who had his 26th straight game with at least 10 points, had 10 points in the second half. He also finished with three assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Moore was 5 of 6 from the floor, making four from beyond the arc. Brandon Johnson added 10 points for the Broncos (4-3), who have won three of their last four games.
Western Michigan held a slim 23-22 halftime advantage. Saint Louis took an early lead in the second period before Moore drilled a 3 to start a 15-5 run. The Broncos led 50-37 with 7:37 left and coasted to the win.
Javon Bess led the Billikens (3-3), who have dropped three straight, with 14 points.
Ball State 81, Oakland City (IN) 57
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Tahjai Teague scored 16 points on seven of nine shooting, led five players into double figures and Ball State opened a lengthy home stand by controlling the boards in an 81-57 defeat of Division II Oakland City on Tuesday night.
Teague grabbed nine rebounds, including seven off the defensive glass where the Cardinals collected 30 of their 37 rebounds as Oakland City shot just 35 percent from the floor.
Ishmael El-Amin scored 13 points for Ball State, and scored on a 3-pointer to open an 18-4 run that covered nearly seven minutes in the second half that broke open what had been a close game. Kyle Mallers added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Tayler Persons and Sean Sellers scored 11 points each, Persons also had a team-leading four assists.
Andrew Scott led the Mighty Oaks with 18 points and Logan Worthington added 13.
Ball State plays seven of its next eight games at home.
Kansas 96, Toledo 58
Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Devonte Graham's shot hadn't been falling lately, so the Kansas point guard had been content to dish out nearly 10 assists per game, a number that ranked second in the nation.
Well, his shot finally fell Tuesday night.
Graham hit five 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 35 points -- and still racked up five assists without a turnover -- to lead the second-ranked Jayhawks to a 96-58 rout of Toledo and extend the Jayhawks' best start in seven years.
"I've been putting up some shots at night," said Graham, explaining that assistant coach Kurtis Townsend had been telling him to hold his follow-through. "Just listening to him and getting in the gym."
Graham wasn't the only hot hand against the Rockets.
Malik Newman added 17 points, often cruising in for easy layups. Svi Mykhailiuk hit five 3-pointers and had 15 points. And big man Udoka Azubuike dunked his way to 12 points.
The Jayhawks (6-0) finished 12 of 20 from beyond the arc and shot 59 percent from the field, though emptying their bench early kept them from hitting the 100-point mark for the third still game. They also forced 20 turnovers by a Toledo team that had committed 25 total over its last three games.
"That's a very, very good basketball team," Rockets coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I'm not a Kansas basketball historian by any stretch, but in 30 years of coaching, that's as good a team as I've seen.
"They are on ice skates," he said, "and everyone else is in sneakers. They're that fast."
Tre'Shaun Fletcher and Nate Navigato scored 12 points apiece to lead the Rockets (3-3), who have lost three straight overall and 12 straight against ranked teams.
"I thought we did some really nice things," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I thought our shot selection was really good. I think you could count on one hand the number of marginal shots we took."
If you take away a 7-minute stretch of the first half, the Rockets actually hung with Kansas.
Hard to take away a 30-2 run, though.
The Jayhawks led 18-15 when Mykhailiuk knocked down a 3-pointer to get the streak going. Graham scored the next three baskets to make it a 10-0 spurt. Then, after Fletcher scored the only basket for the Rockets, Azubuike flushed back-to-back alley-oop passes for dunks to begin another 20-0 charge.
Mykhailiuk hit a pair of 3s. So did Graham. And by the time Newman drained a 3 with 3:55 left in the half, the Jayhawks had hit 8 of 9 from beyond the arc and built a 48-17 lead.
"We were doing an OK job guarding," Fletcher said, "and it just went south really quick."
The second half wasn't a whole lot better for Toledo.
Graham scored the first five points, the Jayhawks scored the first 13 and their lead had swelled to 72-30 before Navigato hit a 3-pointer for the Rockets' first points of the half.
Graham finally substituted out for the first time in the game.
"He shot it, he handled it, he did what he wanted off the ball screen and he defended well too," Self said. "He hasn't seen the ball go in the hole, so it was good to see that happening."
Graham didn't get much of a break, though, considering the Jayhawks are still using a seven-man rotation with freshman Billy Preston sidelined indefinitely over an off-the-court matter. Neither did the rest of the Kansas starters as they tuned up for a game against Syracuse on Saturday night.
"We have a big one coming up," Graham said. "That's where our focus is now."
Iona 93, Ohio 88
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- TK Edogi scored six of his 20 points off the Iona bench in the final three minutes to spearhead the Gaels' 93-88 win over Ohio Tuesday night.
Edogi knocked down four free throws and got to the basket for a layup after Ohio's Gavin Block hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 83-83.
E.J. Crawford scored 20 points and Zach Lewis and Rickey McGill scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Iona (2-4). But Edogi came off the bench to hit 6 of 10 from the field, knock down 8 of 8 from the free throw line and grab 11 rebounds. Iona finished perfect from the free throw line, 13 for 13.
Mike Laster scored 23 points to lead Ohio (3-3). Block finished with 18 points and Jordan Dartis and Teyvion Kirk added 15 and 14 points, respectively while Doug Taylor grabbed a dozen rebounds and dished out four assists.
