Ball State Tops EMU For 9th Straight Win to Open MAC Play
Wednesday's Scoreboard
Ball State 72, Eastern Michigan 62
Western Michigan 87, Akron 75
Central Michigan 75, Ohio 50
Buffalo 104, Toledo 94
Miami 77, Bowling Green 72
Northern Illinois 75, Kent State 61
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press
Ball State 72, Eastern Michigan 62
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Kyle Mallers had 17 points, Trey Moses scored 13 with 10 rebounds and Ball State rolled to a ninth straight victory, beating Eastern Michigan 72-62 in a Mid-American Conference opener on Tuesday night.
Mallers hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor and snagged seven rebounds for the Cardinals (10-4), while Tahjai Teague chipped in with 12 points, eight boards and four assists.
Elijah Minnie scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half for the Eagles (9-5), who led 36-31 at intermission. Paul Jackson added 14 points, but made just 5 of 18 shots as Eastern Michigan shot 39 percent from the field.
Jeremie Tyler scored six points during an 18-11 run to open the second half, and Ball State grabbed a 49-47 lead with 9 minutes to play. It was the Cardinals' first lead since 9-7. Jackson hit two free throws to pull the Eagles even, but Moses and Mallers teamed up to score 12 in a game-ending 23-13 run to ensure Ball State has an opportunity for its first 10-game win streak since the 1999-00 season.
Ball State's bench outscored the Eagles' bench 23-0.
Western Michigan 87, Akron 75
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Josh Davis scored 26 points on 10-of-10 shooting, Thomas Wilder added 15 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, and Western Michigan beat Akron 87-75 on Tuesday night in a Mid-American Conference opener to end a six-game skid against the Zips.
Bryce Moore scored 13 points, Reggie Jones added 12 and Drake LaMont scored 11 for the Broncos (9-5), who outrebounded Akron 37-27 and scored 19 points off of 11 Zips turnovers.
Akron led by as many as five points early, but Brandon Johnson's jumper put the Broncos up for good, 16-15, and they pulled away with a 10-2 run capped by Seth Dugan's tip-in for a 33-23 lead. Davis' dunk opened a 12-2 run capped by Wilder's 3 at the buzzer and the Broncos led 47-31 at halftime.
Akron trailed by as many as 16 points in the second half, but closed to 78-69 after Jimond Ivey hit four straight free throws. Davis made a free throw, Moore hit a 3 and the Broncos led by double digits the rest of the way.
Malcolm Duvivier scored 21 points with four 3s, Ivey had 18 points and seven assists, and Daniel Utomi scored 11 for the Zips (7-6), who have yet to win on the road this season.
Central Michigan 75, Ohio 50
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- David DiLeo scored 22 points as Central Michigan opened Mid-America Conference play with a 75-50 win over Ohio for its fourth straight win on Tuesday night.
The Chippewas (12-2) improved to 8-0 at home and knocked off Ohio for the fifth consecutive time.
DiLeo hit 6 of 12 from distance to finish with 7-of-13 shooting. Cecil Williams added 15 points while grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out six assists with two steals and one blocked shot. Shawn Roundtree contributed 13 points and Luke Meyer chipped in 12 for Central Michigan, which has won 11 of its last 12 games.
The Chippewas took an early lead, were up 37-31 at the half, pushed the advantage to 71-43 at the 8:22 mark and coasted home.
Central Michigan made 10 of 28 from distance while limiting Ohio to 3-of-20 shooting from long range.
Mike Laster led the Bobcats (7-6) with 19 points and Teyvion Kirk added 13.
Buffalo 104, Toledo 94
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- CJ Massinburg scored 10 of his 27 points in the final 5:24 to help Buffalo pull away and beat Toledo 104-94 on Tuesday night in a Mid-American Conference opener.
Tre'Shaun Fletcher made three free throws to pull Toledo (8-6) to 84-81. Massinburg answered with a jumper and layup, and was 6-of-6 shooting from the line as the Bulls closed on a 20-13 surge.
Massinburg was 7 of 13 from the field and made all 10 free-throw attempts. Nick Perkins had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season for Buffalo (9-5), which shot 54 percent from the floor and 87 percent on 27-of-31 shooting from the line. Wes Clark added 25 points and Davonta Jordan had 15.
Fletcher scored 27 points to lead Toledo (8-6). Jaelan Sanford chipped in 18 points and Willie Jackson had 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Rockets shot 54 percent from the field, but missed 12 free throws.
Miami 77, Bowling Green 72
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Freshman Dalonte Brown had his second double-double and Darrian Ringo scored 11 points with seven assists and four steals to help Miami (Ohio) beat Bowling Green 77-72 on Tuesday night in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams.
Brown finished with 16 points and career highs of 17 rebounds and three blocks. Rod Mills Jr. added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and Nike Sibande scored 10 for Miami (8-6).
Brown scored the first seven points in a 10-0 spurt that spanned halftime and made it 47-34 with 17 minutes left after Sibande hit a 3. Daeqwon Plowden's dunk pulled Bowling Green (9-5) within two points about 10 minutes later, but the RedHawks answered with a 10-3 run that made it 69-60 with three minutes to go and held on from there. Ringo made two free throws and a layup to give Miami a seven-point lead, then had a steal and an assist on a dunk by Brown before hitting Bam Bowman for a layup to cap the spurt.
Damajeo Wiggins had 18 points and Antwon Lillard scored 15, on combined 13-of-21 shooting, for Bowling Green. The rest of the Falcons made 14 of 41 (31.1 percent) from the field.
Northern Illinois 75, Kent State 61
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. -- Levi Bradley scored 25 points and a tied a career-high with 14 rebounds and Northern Illinois pulled away in the second half to beat Kent State 75-61 on Tuesday night in a Mid-American Conference opener.
Bradley also set a career best with 14-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. Northern Illinois led 33-32 at halftime before Desmond Ridenour's layup put the Golden Flashes up 51-48 with 11 minutes left.
Dante Thorpe responded with a jumper and a layup to ignite Northern Illinois (8-6) on a 16-3 run, and a pair of free throws from Bradley made it 64-54 with just less than five minutes to play.
After Kevin Zabo's 3-point play, Eugene German scored nine of the Huskies's final 13 points to preserve the win. German finished with 20 points and seven rebounds and Thorpe finished with 17 on 8-of-12 shooting.
Jaylin Walker led Kent State (6-8) with 18 points but was 5 of 17 from the field including 1 of 10 from 3-point distance. Zabo scored 17.
