Mid-American Conference

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- CJ Massinburg had 43 points and 14 rebounds as Buffalo pulled off another big upset against a power program, stunning No. 13 West Virginia 99-94 in overtime Friday night.

Jeremy Harris added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls in the season opener for both teams. Buffalo grabbed attention last March when the 13th-seeded Bulls blew out No. 4 seed Arizona 89-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

This time, the Bulls (1-0) rallied with a late 15-4 surge to force overtime before outscoring the Mountaineers 15-10 in the extra period.

It was the first time West Virginia (0-1) lost its home opener since a 91-84 defeat against Northeastern in 2003.

Jayvon Graves added 14 points for Buffalo, and Nate Perkins scored 10 off the bench.

Lamont West led West Virginia with 22 points and nine rebounds. James "Beetle" Bolden scored a career-high 21.

Buffalo had a 29-14 edge in offensive rebounds.

ROCHESTER, Mich.  – Senior Jaelan Sanford poured in 30 points and junior Willie Jackson tallied a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lift Toledo to a season-opening 87-86 victory at Oakland.
 
Three more Rockets – senior Nate Navigato, junior Luke Knapke and sophomore Marreon Jackson – scored 11 points each to join Sanford and Jackson in double figures. Knapke also grabbed nine boards, while Jackson dished out a team-high five assists.
 
Sharing game scoring honors with Sanford was Oakland's Xavier Hill-Mais with 30 points and nine boards.
 
Toledo was efficient shooting the basketball throughout, finishing with a 60.0 FG%, a 50.0 three-point FG% (6-of-12) and an 84.0 FT% (21-of-25). Oakland shot 50.0 percent from the field, 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range and 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the charity stripe.  
 
The game was filled with ebbs and flows as Toledo fell behind 19-5 in the game's first six minutes before rallying to within a single point, 37-36, at halftime. The Rockets didn't take their first lead until a 13-1 spurt gave UT its largest lead of the night, 72-64, with 6:28 remaining. Toledo couldn't secure the win though until Oakland's Brailen Neely missed the second of two free throws with 4.0 seconds remaining.
 
The Rockets will return to action tomorrow night for their home opener vs. Wilberforce. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.?

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Eastern Michigan University men's basketball battled through Drexel University's three-point attack to win, 66-62, kicking off Education Day at the Convocation Center, Nov. 9.

EMU (2-0) started out strong, but Drexel (0-1) kept the contest close with its three-point scoring, making 13 long-range attempts on the day, and outshooting Eastern 38.2 to 26.3 percent. The Eagles made up for the disparity from downtown by outscoring the Dragons 32 to 14 in the paint.

Drexel scored five quick points to tie the game with only 1:06 remaining. Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) turned the tide back in the Green and White's favor, snagging a rebound and dropping in clutch free-throws to shut down the Dragons.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Dragons 37 to 33, led by senior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, LA-Parkview Baptist) and Toure, who both recorded 11 boards. Toure notched his second consecutive double-double to start the season, pairing his rebound total with 13 points.

Redshirt senior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)) led Eastern in scoring for the second-straight game with 20 points, including a nine-point run in the beginning of the second-half. He also contributed six assists and four rebounds to the Eagles' win. Redshirt sophomore Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) ran away with three steals, which led the Eagles, and added seven points and six rebounds. Sophomore Kevin McAdoo (Pontiac, Mich.-West Bloomfield), playing in his first game this season for EMU, provided the team with 10 points and two steals.

Eastern forced Drexel into 12 turnovers while also swatting five shots and swiping five steals. EMU held the overall advantage in shooting percentage (45.6 to 36.8), while the Dragons led the day in three-point (38.2 to 26.3) and free throw percentage (70 to 60).

Eastern Michigan returns to action in the Convocation Center Sunday, Nov. 11, when it welcomes Goshen College to town for a 2 p.m. contest.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Head coach Keno Davis earned his 100th career win at Central Michigan as the Chippewas defeated Chicago State, 101-60, Friday in McGuirk Arena.

CMU improves to an unblemished 2-0, while the Cougars fall to 0-3.

"I'm really proud of our team's ability to play as hard as they did not just from the opening tip, but throughout 40 minutes," Davis said. "Guys were taking full advantage of every minute on the court to be able to play at a really high level offensively and really work on the defensive end."

Five CMU players finished with double-digit point totals. Senior Larry Austin Jr. lead the Chippewas with 17 points and nine assists, sophomore Matt Beachler added a career-high 16 points off the bench, Kevin McKay posted 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while reserves Romelo Burrell and Dallas Morgan added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

"Our depth of talent gives us a chance to continue to get better," Davis said. "It was nice to be able to see a lot of guys get an opportunity to show what they can do on the court and show what they need to improve on as the season goes on."

The Chippewas showcased game action for 14 players, with 11 players making up CMU's 101 points.

QUEENS, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team went toe-to-toe on Friday (Nov. 9) night with a St. John's University squad that is expected to go to the NCAA Tournament. However, the Red Storm prevailed late, beating the Falcons by a final score of 84-80 inside Carnesecca Arena.
 
The Falcons had the ball in the final seconds down just two points, but a turnover led to two St. John's free throws that iced the game. Big East Preseason Player of the Year Shamorie Ponds (21 points) and All-SEC transfer Mustapha Heron (26 points) led St. John's

DEKALB, Ill. – Senior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while senior guard Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) added a career-best 24 points but Northern Kentucky outlasted the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team, 88-85, in double overtime at the NIU Convocation Center. 

The Norse shot 58.3 percent combined in the two overtimes (7-of-12), including 4-of-6 from three-point range, to earn the three-point road win. 

"Unbelievable double overtime game, one that I told my team will probably did enough to win and lose," said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. "We hit big shots to force overtime, we got up in that first overtime by six and seemed like we were a possession away from putting it away but that's just how basketball is. 

"The good thing is went get to play Northern Kentucky again and hopefully we will go down there and return the favor. It was a heck of a game, we got a lot of good basketball out of a lot of guys, we just came up a little short tonight."

Senior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to record his second career double-double. 

With his 25 points and 12 rebounds, Bradley posted his second consecutive double-double, and the ninth of his career, while also eclipsing the 1,000 career point plateau. The senior from Milwaukee appeared in his 100th consecutive game on Friday night and has now scored 1,100 career points. 

A 10-2 run by Northern Kentucky late in the second half gave the Norse a five-point lead, 65-60, entering the final minute of regulation time. Thorpe made a floater with 49 seconds left to trim the Norse lead to three and, after the Huskies got a defensive stop, the Washington, D.C., native drained a trifecta with 13 ticks remaining to pull the Huskies even at 65.

NIU got another stop on the final possession of regulation as the game went to overtime. 

In the first extra period, the Huskies got off to a great start as Thorpe made a free throw before Bradley followed with a pair of free throws and an old-fashioned three-point play as the Huskies took a 71-65 lead. Northern Kentucky answered with eight of the next 10 to even the game at 73, as Zaynah Robinson, who didn't score in regulation, made back-to-back triples to pull the Norse even. 

Bradley then made a jumper with 26.6 seconds to play to put the Huskies back in front by a pair, but Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Drew McDonald answered with a basket for Northern Kentucky to tie the game at 75 with 14.8 seconds left. 

The Huskies had a chance to win it in overtime, but Thorpe was whistled for an offensive foul as the game went to a second overtime period. 

In the second extra frame, it was Northern Kentucky that got off to the hot start as the Norse scored the first six to take an 81-75 lead with 2:51 left. 

NIU continued to chip away at the Northern Kentucky lead and Thorpe brought the Huskies within three, 86-83, with a pair of free throws with 49 seconds to play. On the following possession, Bradley drew a charge to give the ball back to NIU. The senior from Milwaukee then grabbed an offensive rebounds and scored on the put-back, bringing the Huskies within one, 86-85, with 5.5 seconds to play. 

Following a Huskie foul, Robinson made a pair from the line as Northern Kentucky escaped with a three-point victory. 

McDonald scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Norse; Tyler Sharpe and Dantez Walton each added 16 while Robinson scored all 13 of his points in the two overtime periods. 

Neither team led by more than four in the first half until NIU closed the opening 20 minutes with a 9-0 run to take a 35-27 lead into the intermission. Northern Kentucky answered with a 14-0 run early in the second half to reclaim the lead, 42-39. 

The two teams then went back-and-forth, with no lead larger than four, until the 10-2 Northern Kentucky run that gave the Norse a five-point lead entering the final minute of regulation. 

NIU and Northern Kentucky will meet again on Thursday, December 20, in the second game of an in-season home-and-home in Highland Heights, Ky.

The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday, November 17, when they host Illinois Tech at 2 p.m. The NIU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be hosting a canned food drive for Salvation Army when the Huskies host the Scarlet Hawks.