Buffalo Claims Belfast Classic Title
Saturday's Scoreboard
#21 Buffalo 85, San Francisco 81
Ball State 85, IUPUI 75
Toledo 80, Cleveland State 67
Miami 88, Wilberforce 57
Ohio 101, Marshall 84
Kent State 78, Norfolk State 67
Akron 71, Detroit Mercy 59
Northeastern 81,
Eastern Michigan 67
SC Upstate 71,
Western Michigan 66
Hartford 76,
Bowling Green 63
Stories Courtesy of Associated Press
#21 Buffalo 85, San Francisco 81
Box Score
BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Nick Perkins scored 22 points, Jeremy Harrisadded 15 with eight rebounds and No. 21 Buffalo held off San Francisco for an 85-81 victory Saturday in the title game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic.
C.J. Massinburg scored 15 points, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the win, and Montell McCrae added 11 points as Buffalo (7-0) won the matchup of unbeatens to continue its best start since 1930.
Frankie Ferrari scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half for San Francisco (7-1), which had won its first six games for the first time since 1980.
The Bulls led for most of the game but did not seal the win until the closing minute. After Jamaree Bouyea made a driving layup for the Dons to get the game to 78-76, Harris slashed to the hoop for Buffalo's final field goal with 37.5 seconds remaining.
Ball State 85, IUPUI 75
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tahjai Teague scored 19 points with nine rebounds and three steals, Tayler Persons added 16 points with eight rebounds, and Ball State beat IUPUI 85-75 on Saturday for its fourth straight win.
Zach Gunn scored 11 points and K.J. Walton and Kyle Mallers added 10 apiece for the Cardinals (5-3), who shot 56 percent and made 21 of 30 free throws.
Teague's free throws put Ball State up 65-60 and the Cardinals led 79-69 on Maller's 3 with 2:10 to play. Baskets by Teague and Trey Moses gave the Cardinals a 12-point lead and Mallers' free throws with 38 seconds left iced it.
Person's free throw tied it at 36 and he hit two more from the line as Ball State finished on a 10-2 run to take a 44-40 lead at halftime. Persons scored 10 points and the Cardinals made 9 of 14 from the line.
Camron Justice scored 28 points and Jaylen Minnett added 15 for the IUPUI (5-3), which shot 45 percent and saw its three-game win streak end.
Toledo 80, Cleveland State 67
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Jaelan Sanford and Nate Navigato combined for 39 points to help Toledo garner its fifth straight win, beating Cleveland State 80-67 on Saturday afternoon.
Toledo (7-1) will host Detroit Mercy on Wednesday evening. Toledo's only loss was to Horizon League preseason-favorite Wright State 84-74 on Nov. 14.
Sanford had 20 points with six rebounds and four assists. Navigato drilled 5 of 8 from long range to total 19 points. Willie Jackson added 16 while grabbing 11 rebounds and Chris Darrington chipped in 13 points, making 7 of 7 from the line.
The Rockets roared out to a 41-29 halftime advantage.
Cleveland State rallied in the second half to close to 52-49 after Tyree Appleby completed a 3-point play midway in the final half. Toledo gradually pulled away to lead 74-62 following Navigato's fifth trey with 3:25 remaining.
Appleby led Cleveland State (2-7) with 19 points.
Miami 88, Wilberforce 57
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio -- Jalen Adaway scored 18 points and Nike Sibande added another 16 off the bench as Miami (Ohio) cruised past NAIA member Wilberforce, 88-57 on Saturday afternoon.
Miami roared to a 41-23 lead at intermission, shooting 35 of 69 from the field (50.7 percent) and knocking down 10 of 26 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Darrian Ringo dished out 12 assists and collected six steals and the Redhawks forced 22 turnovers by the Bulldogs. Aleks Abrams pulled down 14 rebounds while Miami staked a 48-30 advantage on the boards. Dalonte Browncontributed 14 points.
Tyler Wilson-Hopkins scored 13 points for Wilberforce.
The Redhawks (4-4) travel to face preseason Horizon League favorite Wright State Wednesday.
Wilberforce, which plays as an independent, has now lost eight in a row, all but one on the road.
Ohio 101, Marshall 84
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- Jason Carter matched his career-high with 25 points and added 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals, leading Ohio to a 101-84 win over Marshall on Saturday.
Gavin Block, who was 6 of 7 from 3-point range, and freshman Ben Vander Plasadded 18 points apiece off the bench for the Bobcats (5-2). Teyvion Kirk had 17.
Jon Elmore had 26 points and C.J. Burks 22 for the Thundering Herd (5-2).
Carter's 3-pointer broke a 7-7 tie and started an 8-0 to put the Bobcats in the lead for good. A 10-run put the lead in double figures for good and it was 48-31 at halftime. Carter had 15 points at the half when Ohio shot 51 percent, making 5 of 10 from distance, and Marshall went 5 of 16 behind the arc and shot 36 percent.
A 10-0 run by Marshall made it an 11-point game near the midway point of the second half but Ohio quickly pushed it back to 20.
Kent State 78, Norfolk State 67
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -- Philip Whittington scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Kent State surged to a double-digit lead in the first half and maintained it for a 78-67 win over Norfolk State on Saturday afternoon.
Kent State now has won five straight and is 3-0 all-time against the Spartans.
Whittington has led the Golden Flashes in rebounding in seven of the last eight games and came in averaging just under eight boards.
Whittington converted a layup with 9:49 left to give Kent State (7-1) a 20-10 lead, but Norfolk State rallied to halve the deficit. Kent State pushed it back into double digits and led 30-21 at intermission.
Jaylin Walker had 15 points off the bench and Antonio Williams added 14 points and collected three steals for the Golden Flashes.
Alex Long had 24 points for Norfolk State (4-6).
Akron 71, Detroit Mercy 59
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio -- Jimond Ivey scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Akron notched its third-straight win, beating Detroit Mercy 71-59 on Saturday.
Ivey was 10 of 12 from the field and made all four of his free throws for the Zips (6-2). Daniel Utomi added 13 points and seven rebounds and Channel Bankshad 10 points and five rebounds.
Akron shot 43 percent from the field compared to 30 percent for Detroit Mercy.
The teams were locked 25-25 at the break and battled back and forth early in the second half until a Banks 3-point play sparked a 14-2 run featuring an Emmanuel Olojakpoke dunk and an Ivey 3-pointer that put the Zips on top 53-42 with 6:05 to go. A layup by Ivey gave Akron its biggest lead, 66-51, with 1:38 left.
Antoine Davis scored 27 points to lead the Titans (3-5). Josh McFolley added 19.
Northeastern 81, Eastern Michigan 67
Box Score
BOSTON -- Jordan Roland scored 24 points, Donnell Gresham added 21 with four assists and Northeastern pulled away in the second half to beat Eastern Michigan 81-67 on Saturday in the first meeting of the teams.
Anthony Green scored 13 with nine rebounds and Tomas Murphy added 10 points with seven assists for the Huskies (4-4), who made 19 of 25 free throws.
The Huskies led by as many as five before the Eagles' James Thompson IV tied it at 55 with a jumper. Roland's go-ahead 3 with 10:52 to play sparked a 15-4 run for an 11-point lead with four minutes to go.
Eastern Michigan led by as many as 14 in the first half but went scoreless for 4:11 while the Huskies closed to 37-34 at halftime after Green's layup capped an 11-0 run.
Elijah Minnie scored 24 points and Boubacar Toure added 10 for Eastern Michigan (4-5).
SC Upstate 71, Western Michigan 66
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Deion Holmes scored 25 points and South Carolina Upstate snapped a five-game skid, beating Western Michigan 71-66 on Saturday.
Holmes was 10 of 16 from the field including four from long range for the Spartans (2-6). Malik Moore added 18 points with 10 rebounds, two blocks and four steals and Brandon Martin had 16 points.
South Carolina Upstate shot 47 percent from the field overall compared to 35 percent for Western Michigan, which made 21 attempts from 3-point range but made only three of them (14 percent).
The teams were tied 30-all at the break and the Spartans fell behind early in the second half to trail 48-39 before a Holmes 3-pointer sparked a 13-5 run to close to 53-52 with 7:02 to play. A Moore dunk and a 3-pointer by Holmes helped the Spartans take a 63-60 edge with 2:48 left and they held on for the win.
Seth Dugan scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Broncos (4-4).
Hartford 76, Bowling Green 63
Box Score
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Jason Dunne nailed five from long range to total 19 points and John Carroll added 18 as Hartford held off Bowling Green 76-63 on Saturday afternoon.
J.R. Lynch added 16 points, making 12 of 12 from the line, with three steals and three assists for Hartford (3-6).
The Hawks soared to a 32-23 halftime advantage before Bowling Green rallied. Dylan Frye got the Falcons rolling, hitting two straight from beyond the arc to start a 14-0 run for a 41-40 lead at the 10:59 mark. Hartford retook the lead 44-43 after Carroll drove for a layup with 9:27 left. He followed with another layup and Dunne added a trey as the Hawks pushed their advantage to 61-51 with 3:22 remaining.
Hartford was 9 of 31 from distance while the Falcons hit 7 of 32. Hartford made 24 trips to the foul line, making 23 while the Falcons made 10 of 19.
Justin Turner had 17 points and Demajeo Wiggins added 11 with 14 rebounds for Bowling Green (4-4).
