Ball State Holds Off Akron to Win in Double Overtime
Saturday's Scoreboard
Ball State 111, Akron 106
Western Michigan 79, Northern Illinois 72
Toledo 101, Bowling Green 75
Eastern Michigan 58, Miami 48
Kent State 84, Central Michigan 76
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press
Ball State 111, Akron 106
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Tayler Persons and Tahjai Teague each scored 26 points, Trey Moses poked the ball away from Akron's red-hot Jimond Ivey with four seconds left and Ball State held on for a wild, 111-106 double overtime victory on Saturday, its first series win against Akron since 2004.
Ivey scored a career-high and stadium-record 48 points, breaking the previous Worthen Arena scoring record of 41 set by Bonzi Wells and Earl Boykins, both of whom went on to careers in the NBA.
He scored back-to-back 3-pointers to bring Akron back in regulation, drained a seemingly laser -guided 25-footer that banged through off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded to tie at the end of the first overtime. Ivey scored a 3 and a layup back-to-back to bring Akron from six points down to 107-106 with 26 seconds left in the second OT.
Ishmael El-Amin scored four of his seven points in the second overtime, including a layup that pushed the Ball State lead to 109-106 with nine seconds left. Ivey didn't get the chance for a second miracle shot however, tightly double-teamed just past half court and losing the ball out of bounds as Moses poked it free.
Neither team led by more than eight in a battle that went through 17 ties and 12 lead changes.
Moses scored 22 points with 11 rebounds for the Cardinals (13-8, 4-4 Mid-American Conference), Kyle Mallers added 18 and Sean Sellers 10. Teague pulled down 12 rebounds.
Malcolm Duvivier scored 22 points and Daniel Utomi 11 before each fouled out. Virshon Cotton scored 13 points.
Western Michigan 79, Northern Illinois 72
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Thomas Wilder scored 25 points with five assists, Josh Davis added 15 points with three 3-pointers, including a game-breaking 3, and Western Michigan beat Northern Illinois 79-72 on Saturday after both teams shot 60 percent or better in the second half.
After 11 lead changes, Bryce Moore, Jason Whitens and Davis each hit 3s for a 50-47 Broncos lead, but Dante Thorpe's tip-in put the Huskies up 55-54 and the lead continued to change hands.
Western Michigan turned a flagrant foul on Levi Bradley into a five-point play, including Davis' go-ahead 3-pointer with 9:05 left. The Broncos pulled ahead on an 11-4 run capped by Moore's 3 and sealed it with six free throws in the final 2:03 after shooting 60 percent from the field.
Brandon Johnson scored 13 points, Drake LaMont had 12 and Moore 11 for the Broncos (12-9, 4-4 Mid-American Conference), who led 31-27 at halftime.
Eugene German scored 21 points, Bradley added 20, and Dante Thorpe had 10 for Northern Illinois (10-11, 3-5), which shot 61.5 percent in the second half.
Toledo 101, Bowling Green 75
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Tre'Shaun Fletcher poured in 26 points on 12-for-15 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Toledo to its seventh-straight victory with a 101-75 win over Bowling Green on Saturday night.
Nate Navigato added 17 points and Jaelan Sanford and Luke Knapke had 14 each for Toledo, which shot 67 percent from the field and controlled the glass 39-24.
Trailing by three midway through the first half, Bowling Green exploded with a 42-15 run to take a 54-30 advantage into intermission. It was the largest halftime lead and first triple-digit game of the season for the Rockets (15-6, 7-1 Mid-American Conference).
Bowling Green (12-9, 3-5) opened the game with a 3-pointer from Matt Fox to spark a 9-2 run and continued to hold the lead for nearly nine minutes before going cold. Toledo's Dylan Alderson tied the game at 15-all with a 3-pointer with 11:23 to play and then Fletcher hit the go-ahead jumper, sparking the Rockets' breakaway run.
Dylan Frye, Justin Turner and Derek Koch scored 13 points apiece for Bowling Green. Antwon Lillard and Daeqwon Plowden each added 11 points.
Eastern Michigan 58, Miami 48
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio -- Paul Jackson had 10 of his 15 points in the second half, James Thompson IV finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Eastern Michigan beat Miami of Ohio 58-48 on Saturday.
Elijah Minnie hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:17 left to make it 53-47 and finished an alley-oop off Jackson's assist to extend the lead to eight with 48 seconds to go.
The Eagles (12-9, 3-5 Mid-American Conference) trailed 30-29 at halftime and took control early in the second with 13 straight points to lead 42-32.
The RedHawks (11-10, 4-4) closed within 45-43 after Nike Sibande and Dalonte Brown hit back-to-back 3s to cap an 11-3 run and trailed 50-47 with 1:39 left before Minnie's late baskets helped Eastern Michigan pull away.
Minnie added 12 points for the Eagles.
Brown had 17 points and Sibande scored 10 for the RedHawks.
Kent State 84, Central Michigan 76
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Kevin Zabo had 22 points, Jaylin Walker added 21 and Kent State overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Central Michigan 84-76 on Saturday.
Zabo's 3-pointer with 1:27 left made it 74-67 and Micah Peterson extended the lead to 78-69 on a pair of free throws at 1:01. The Chippewas got within five on Matt Beachler's 3 with 38 seconds left, but the Golden Flashes (11-10, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) made 3 of 4 free throws to hold on for the victory.
Kent State took the lead for good at 61-60 on Adonis De La Rosa's first of a pair of free throws and Walker's 3-pointer with 4:32 left capped a 9-2 run at 69-62. De La Rosa added 14 points.
The Golden Flashes erased most of their 41-32 halftime deficit with an 8-1 run to start the second period and overtook the Chippewas (13-8, 2-6) at 49-47 before the 15-minute mark.
Shawn Roundtree led five in double figures for Central Michigan with 17 points.
