NIU Knocks Off No. 14 Buffalo in DeKalb
Tuesday's Scoreboard
Northern Illinois 77, #14 Buffalo 75
Akron 70, Central Michigan 67
Miami 71, Ball State 65
Ohio 81, Western Michigan 76
Kent State 87, Toledo 85 (OT)
Bowling Green 80, Eastern Michigan 67
Stories Courtesy of The Associated Press
Northern Illinois 77, #14 Buffalo 75
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. -- Noah McCarty banked in a game-winning basket with 2 seconds to play, and Northern Illinois upset No. 14 Buffalo 77-75 on Tuesday night.
The Huskies reserve took a feed from Trendon Hankerson for the layup seconds after Buffalo had tied the game on a 3-pointer by C.J. Massinburg.
Dante Thorpe scored 23 points and Eugene German added 20 as Northern Illinois (11-8, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) ended a two-game skid and claimed its first home win over a ranked team since 1972.
Massinburg scored 23 points for the Bulls (17-2, 5-1 MAC), who saw their seven-game winning streak snapped. Jeremy Harris had 15 points, Nick Perkins added 12 and Jayvon Graves scored 10.
Northern Illinois' last win over a ranked team anywhere was in 1973 over Oral Roberts at the Chicago Stadium. A year earlier, the Huskies beat No. 5 Indiana in DeKalb.
The Huskies led 73-66 with 1:26 remaining before Massinburg rallied Buffalo by scoring nine points in just over a minute, hitting two 3-pointers and making three free throws. Northern Illinois' biggest lead was 10 points early in the second half.
Akron 70, Central Michigan 67
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio -- Tyler Cheese had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead Akron to a 70-67 victory over Central Michigan on Tuesday night.
The Chippewas never led but kept within single digits in the second half, and Dallas Morgan's 3-pointer pulled them to 67-65 with 14 seconds to play. Cheese made a pair of free throws on the next possession, and Jimond Ivey added one more with four seconds to go.
Akron (11-8, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) avenged an 88-86 overtime road loss to Central Michigan on January 8, and improved to 3-0 at home in conference play. Central Michigan (14-5, 3-3) has lost three of its last four games since having its seven-game win streak snapped.
Cheese was 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and one rebound shy of his career best. Ivey finished with 15 points and Loren Cristian Jackson chipped in with 12.
Larry Austin Jr. scored 19 points to lead four in double-figure scoring for the Chippewas. Robert Montgomery had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Miami 71, Ball State 65
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Bam Bowman scored 16 points, Darrian Ringo added 15 with six assists and five steals, and Miami (OH) held off Ball State 71-65 on Tuesday night after the Cardinals hit 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
Dalonte Brown made three 3s and scored 13 points and Nike Sibande added 11 points for the Redhawks (10-9, 2-4 Mid-American Conference), who hit 9 of 24 3-pointers and shot 51 percent but were outrebounded 36-27.
Tayler Persons' jumper put the Cardinals up 45-44 after a 12-4 run, but the Redhawks were back on top after Bowman's 3 and they led 65-60 on Brown's 3 with 1:10 to play. Trey Moses made 1 of 2 and Tahjai Teague made a dunk and the Cardinals closed to 69-65 with two seconds left, but Ringo's free throws iced it.
Brown's 3 put the Redhawks up 15-13 and sparked a 9-0 run capped by Jalen Adaway's dunk and they led 40-33 at halftime.
K.J. Walton scored 16 points, Teague added 15 with nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks, and Persons and Moses had 11 apiece for Ball State (11-8, 2-4), which shot 41 percent.
Ohio 81, Western Michigan 76
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- Behind a team-high 16 points from senior guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) and a career-high nine assists from freshman guard Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.), the Ohio men's basketball team (10-8, 2-4 MAC) would recover from an early14-point deficit, defeating Western Michigan (6-13, 0-6 MAC), 81-76, Tuesday evening (Jan. 22) inside the Convocation Center.
"28 field goals and 22 assists, that's the narrative of tonight for me," said fifth-year head coach Saul Phillips. "We talked about moving the ball more. We talked about scoring more off cuts and passes that make other people better, and that's what we got on the offensive end. Defensively, between Flowers hitting bombs and Dugan getting us pretty good inside, I haven't said this in a while, but we did just enough defensively to get by tonight. Our offense actually pulled us out of the fire. I know we can defend. We've defended a good chunk out of the year. This is encouraging because I think that's still our strength. The ball got moved around, we hit shots, because they were good shots. It was a good team win tonight."
Kent State 87, Toledo 85 (OT)
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -- Jaylin Walker tied a career high with 36 points, making seven 3-pointers, and Kent State rallied from a 17-point, second-half deficit to beat Toledo 87-85 in overtime on Tuesday night.
Kent State took its first lead, 85-83, with 1:16 remaining as C.J. Williamsonstole it, raced down the court and his behind-the-back pass led to Antonio Williams' fast-break dunk.
Marreon Jackson made two free throws with 41.3 to go to tie it at 85. But Walker sank a floater in the lane with 26.8 left and Toledo was off on two shots at the other end. Williamson was fouled at 7.2, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Jaelan Sanford was off on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
It was Walker's second straight 30-plus game for Kent State (15-4, 4-2 Mid-American Conference) and the fourth of his career.
Luke Knapke scored 22 points, Sanford added 17, and Nate Navigato had 16 for Toledo (15-4, 3-3).
Willie Jackson made 1 of 2 free throws to give Toledo a 79-77 lead with 52.7 to go in regulation, but Walker tied it on a floater in the lane. The Rockets missed two shots on their next possession and Walker's three-quarters heave was short.
Bowling Green 80, Eastern Michigan 67
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Justin Turner scored 19 points, Demajeo Wiggins had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Bowling Green won its 10th straight game with an 80-67 victory over Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night.
Bowling Green (14-5, 6-0 Mid-American Conference) is off to its best start in league play since the 1961-62 team won seven straight. BGSU is one of just four teams in the country with active winning streaks of at least 10 games, including Hofstra, Tennessee and Michigan State.
Jeffrey Uju and Dylan Frye each scored 11 points for BGSU.
Bowling Green led 36-27 at the break with nine points from Wiggins and eight by Turner, including a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer.
James Thompson IV had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead five starters in double-digit scoring for Eastern Michigan (8-11, 2-4). It was his eighth double-double of the season.
Last season, Bowling Green won two overtime games against Eastern Michigan, overcoming double-digit deficits in both.
