Lillard Scores Career High in Win Over WMU
Tuesday's Scoreboard
Bowling Green 85, Western Michigan 72
Toledo 63, Akron 52
Kent State 70, Miami 67
Ball State 72, Northern Illinois 71
Stories Courtesy of The Associated Press
Bowling Green 85, Western Michigan 72
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Antwon Lillard scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Bowling Green beat Western Michigan 85-72 on Tuesday night to remain atop the Mid-American Conference East standings.
Dylan Frye added 20 points with four 3s for the Falcons (16-6, 8-1), who have their first 8-1 start in MAC play since 1961-62 and claimed first place after beating then-No. 18 Buffalo 92-88 last Friday. Demajeo Wiggins scored 15 points with 10 boards and Michael Laster dished seven assists.
Bowling Green hit 12 of 28 3-pointers, led by Lillard's five, and scored 21 points off 22 Broncos' turnovers.
Trailing 43-36 at halftime, Western Michigan closed to 45-41 on Michael Flowers' fast-break layup early in the second half but the Falcons pulled away after scoring seven straight and led by 18 on Frye's free throw with 1:52 left.
Michael Flowers scored 24 points with five 3-pointers and Seth Duganadded 17 with 11 rebounds for Western Michigan (6-16, 0-9), which has lost nine straight. Patrick Emilien scored a season-high 15 points with nine boards.
Toledo 63, Akron 52
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Jaelan Sanford scored six of his 17 points in the final three minutes to help Toledo pull away from Akron 63-52 on Tuesday night.
Akron led most of the second half until Spencer Littleson drained a 3 to give the Rockets a 45-44 advantage with 6:42 left. Luke Knapke scored underneath, Sanford hit a jumper for 56-50 lead and Sanford closed the scoring with four straight free throws to secure the win.
Nate Navigato added 11 points to go with six rebounds and four assists for Toledo. Knapke and Littleson finished with nine points and six rebounds apiece.
Toledo (19-4, 7-3 Mid-American Conference), which has won seven of its last eight games and sits atop the West Division in the conference standings, will face the East Division leader Bowling Green (16-6, 8-1) on Saturday.
Tyler Cheese had 19 points and Loren Cristian Jackson added 11 for Akron (13-9, 5-4), which was held to 18-of-64 shooting (28 percent).
Kent State 70, Miami 67
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -- Jaylin Walker sank four free throws in the final 22 seconds and finished with 27 points and Kent State held off Miami (Ohio) 70-67 on Tuesday night.
Walker made 13 of 14 free throws and added nine rebounds for the Golden Flashes (17-5, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) in a game where the final 15 points came from the foul line.
Jalen Adaway hit a 3-pointer with 5:11 left to play to give the RedHawks (12-11, 4-6) a 61-59 lead. It was Miami's last basket. Akiean Frederick scored the last bucket for Kent State with 4:17 remaining to knot the score at 61. The RedHawks nailed six straight free throws in a 56-second span to take a 67-64 lead with 1:38 to go. But Jaylen Avery sank two from the foul line with 1:14 left and Walker added four more to preserve the win.
Frederick tallied 12 points and five rebounds off the bench, while Antonio Williams scored 11. Kent State improved to 8-0 this season in games decided by five points or less.
Nike Sibande topped the RedHawks with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Ball State 72, Northern Illinois 71
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. -- Tayler Persons hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points, including the game-winning free throw with two seconds left, and Ball State beat Northern Illinois 72-71 on Tuesday night to end a four-game skid.
The Cardinals led 27-25 at halftime and extended it to 45-34 on Persons' 3-pointer, but the Huskies closed to 47-45 after scoring six straight and led 56-55 on Lacey James' layup with 5:20 left. The lead changed hands until Trey Moses' 3-point play sparked a 9-0 run and Ball State led 66-59 on Josh Thompson's 3-pointer with 1:39 left.
NIU closed to 70-69 on Levi Bradley's second-chance layup and tied it at 71 on Eugene German's layup with four seconds to go before Persons made 1 of 2 foul shots for the win. Bradley grabbed the rebound with two seconds left but time expired.
Trey Moses added 22 points with 10 rebounds and Tahjai Teaguescored 14 with 13 boards for Ball State (12-11, 3-7 Mid-American Conference), which made 18 free throws to the Huskies' eight.
German scored 17 points, Dante Thorpe had 15 and Bradley and James 12 each for NIU (12-11, 5-5).
