BGSU Shuts Down Western Michigan en Route to Ninth Straight Win
Saturday's Scoreboard
Bowling Green 79, Western Michigan 48
Kent State 78, Northern Illinois 68
Miami 68, Akron 61
Ball State 83, Central Michigan 72
Stories Courtesy of The Associated Press
Bowling Green 79, Western Michigan 48
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Dylan Frye had 14 points, with four 3-pointers, seven rebounds and five assists, Justin Turner added 13 points and Bowling Green beat Western Michigan 79-48 on Saturday for its ninth straight victory.
BGSU (13-5, 5-0 Mid-American Conference) is off to its best start in conference play in 57 years and has won 10 consecutive home games for the program's best effort since the 1999-00 team went 12-0 at Anderson Arena.
Antwon Lillard chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds for Bowling Green. Turner entered having scored 20-plus in five consecutive MAC regular-season games but was just 5 of 13 from the field.
The Falcons started the game on a 9-0 run and held WMU to 21-percent shooting (6 of 28) in the first half for a 30-17 lead.
Seth Dugan had eight points and nine rebounds for Western Michigan (6-12, 0-5), which has lost five straight.
Kent State 78, Northern Illinois 68
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -- Jaylin Walker scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Kent State used a 50-point second half to beat Northern Illinois 78-68 on Saturday.
Antonio Williams scored 13 points with five assists for the Golden Flashes (14-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) and Akiean Frederick scored 12. Kent State won its second straight and now has tallied six wins in its last eight contests.
The Huskies led 30-28 at intermission, and shortly into the second half, Walker buried a 3-pointer and threw down a dunk and the Golden Flashes led the rest of the way. Lacey James' free throw with 14:46 left reduced the Huskies' deficit to 37-35 before Kent State went on a 12-4 run and they led by double-digits for most of the remainder.
Eugene German led Northern Illinois (10-8, 3-2) with 22 points and five rebounds, Levi Bradley scored 12, James 10 with 10 rebounds and Dante Thorpe pitched in 10.
Miami 68, Akron 61
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team (9-9, 1-4 MAC) beat Akron (10-8, 2-3 MAC) by a 68-61 margin on Saturday. Darrian Ringo scored 16 points and totaled nine assists. Bam Bowman picked up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Nike Sibande scored the first two points of the game on a layup before Akron put up six-straight to take a 6-2 lead with 16:50 remaining in the first half. Miami answered with an 8-0 run, started by a three-pointer from Abdoulaye Harouna.
Akron put together a 9-2 run to decrease Miami's lead to five. The RedHawks led 59-54 with 1:09 to play. Ringo and Jalen Adaway each made two free throws to increase Miami's lead to 63-54 with 44 seconds remaining. Scoring was capped at 68-61 as the buzzer sounded.
Miami travels to Ball State on Tuesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Ball State 83, Central Michigan 72
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- All wins may count the same, but they don't necessarily all feel the same. Both because of the situation and the challenge of the opponent.
There was a sense the Ball State men's basketball team needed this one Saturday against MAC West Division co-leader Central Michigan.
And with a focused defensive effort against one of the nation's highest-scoring teams and an efficient offense performance bolstered by K.J. Walton'scareer-high 24 points, the Cardinals got it.
Ball State (11-7, 2-3 MAC) dealt the Chippewas just their second home loss of the season with an 83-72 victory, winning at McGuirk Arena for the third time in the past four years.
