Toledo Snaps Bowling Green Home Win Streak
Saturday's Scoreboard
Toledo 78, Bowling Green 71
Buffalo 90, Central Michigan 76
Ball State 79, Western Michigan 59
Eastern Michigan 57, Northern Illinois 49
Miami 79, Ohio 59
Stories Courtesy of The Associated Press
Toledo 78, Bowling Green 71
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Chris Darrington had 20 points as Toledo topped Bowling Green 78-71 on Saturday night.
Nate Navigato had 14 points for Toledo (20-4, 8-3 Mid-American Conference), which earned its fifth consecutive victory. Jaelan Sanford added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Knapke had 11 points for the visiting team.
Dylan Frye had 17 points for the Falcons (16-7, 8-2). Demajeo Wiggins added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Daeqwon Plowden had 11 points.
Justin Turner, who led the Falcons in scoring heading into the contest with 19 points per game, scored only 9 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
Toledo plays Buffalo at home on Friday. Bowling Green plays Central Michigan at home on Tuesday.
Buffalo 90, Central Michigan 76
Box Score
AMHERST, N.Y. -- Battling through injuries and playing without one of its best players for a half, No. 23 Buffalo was resilient and rallied for its 22nd straight win at home.
Jeremy Harris had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Bulls overcame an 18-point first half deficit, their largest of the season, to beat Central Michigan 90-76 on Saturday.
"It speaks to our character," Buffalo coach Nate Oats said. "What we were able to do when our backs are against the wall and we're not playing well."
CJ Massinburg, who has an injured right shoulder, poured in 18 points after playing tentatively in a scoreless first half. Dontay Caruthers added 16 points after missing a week of practice with a foot injury that required him to use crutches just a few days earlier.
Buffalo (20-3, 8-2 Mid-American Conference) got 10 points and six rebounds in the second half from senior center Nick Perkins. The Bulls' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer was benched for first 20 minutes for violating team rules in the locker room following the team's last game, a 92-88 loss at Bowling Green on Feb. 9.
"He was great for us in the second half," Oats said. "His attitude has been great all week. It was literally nothing big. Just wanted to help him grow up and be a man a little bit. And I thought he responded."
Perkins' absence was notable early as the Bulls struggled to defend the basket and control the boards. Central Michigan used a 24-4 run to build an 18-point advantage in the first 12 minutes. Buffalo closed the gap before halftime and pulled away with a 16-0 run in the second half.
"Just an effort thing," Massinburg said. "Once we were able to start playing hard and see the ball go through the net and get a steal, then we were able to get it rolling."
Shawn Roundtree Jr. scored 26 points to lead the Chippewas (16-7, 5-5). He made 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
Ball State 79, Western Michigan 59
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Kyle Mallers had a career-high 22 points plus 10 rebounds as Ball State romped past Western Michigan 79-59 on Saturday.
Tayler Persons had 15 points for Ball St. (13-11, 4-7 Mid-American Conference), which broke its four-game home losing streak. Brachen Hazen added 11 points. K.J. Walton had 11 points for the home team.
Seth Dugan had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Broncos (6-17, 0-10), whose losing streak stretched to 10 games. Michael Flowers added 15 points. Josh Davis had 14 points.
Ball State faces Akron at home next Saturday. Western Michigan plays Northern Illinois at home on Tuesday.
Eastern Michigan 57, Northern Illinois 49
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)– Knotted at 45 with fewer than four minutes remaining in regulation, the Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team closed out the contest with a 12-4 run to secure a hard-fought 57-49 victory over Northern Illinois University Saturday, Feb. 9, inside the Convocation Center.
Redshirt junior Boubacar Toure(Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) split a pair of free throws to put the Eagles (10-13, 4-6 MAC) back in front for good, before redshirt senior Paul Jackson (Stone Mountain, Ga.-Martin Luther King Jr. (Eastern Kentucky) added a layup on EMU's next possession to build a 48-45 edge with 3:07 left in the second. NIU (12-12, 5-6 MAC) added a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one, but Jackson responded with a three-point play to stretch the lead to 51-47 with 2:44 on the clock.
The Huskies knocked down a jumper to once again make it a one-possession game, but Jackson added another layup to restore EMU's four-point cushion with 2:03 to go in the final frame. After Jackson set up senior James Thompson IV (Baton Rouge, La.-Parkview Baptist) on an alley-oop in the final minute of regulation, the Green and White used free throws the rest of the way to snap a two-game skid.
Head coach Rob Murphy has won all 10 regular season meetings against NIU within the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. In all, EMU has won 15 of its last 16 regular season home tilts against the Huskies dating back to the 2006-07 campaign.
Jackson scored 20 of his team-leading 23 points in the second half, while pacing the Green and White with eight assists and three steals. Fellow redshirt senior Elijah Minnie (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Lincoln Park (Robert Morris)) notched 11 points, three blocks, and two swipes, while redshirt freshman Tariq Silver(Clarksville, Tenn.-Northwest) marked his first career start with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
The Eagles finished 43.2 percent (19-of-44) from the floor, as the Huskies ended the afternoon at a 34.7 percent clip and shot a woeful 1-of-13 from downtown. EMU out-blocked NIU, 9-2, and overmatched the visitors in assists (9-8), steals (8-5), and fast-break points (8-4).
EMU relied exclusively on the long ball in the early stages, as Minnie opened the scoring from beyond the arc before Silver added a pair of triples to give the Eagles a 9-5 lead with 16:31 left in the opening half. NIU bounced back to level the score at nine apiece, but redshirt sophomore Ty Groce (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Lincoln) drained a corner three to put the Green and White back in front, 12-9, with 14:40 to go in the first period.
Trailing 13-12, the Eagles replied with a 9-0 run to build their largest lead of the contest, 21-13, with 8:40 to go in the opening stanza. Silver knocked down a corner three of his own and set up Minnie on an alley-oop to cap the run, prompting NIU to burn a timeout.
The Green and White trailed 27-24 coming out of the break, but opened the second half with an 8-2 run to grab a 32-29 lead with 16:47 left in the frame. NIU's foul trouble gave EMU more opportunities at the charity stripe, allowing the Eagles to open up a 39-34 advantage with 9:42 to go in the second. However, the Huskies repeatedly played catch-up as the contest headed into its final media stoppage.
Eastern Michigan looks to make it two-straight as it hits the road and travels to Athens, Ohio, Tuesday, Feb. 12 for a 7 p.m. tip against Ohio University.
Miami 79, Ohio 59
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University men's basketball team claimed a 79-59 win over Ohio on Saturday afternoon inside Millett Hall in the annual Battle of the Bricks. The win moves the RedHawks to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in MAC play while the Bobcats fall to 11-11, 3-7. This is Miami's biggest win over OU since the RedHawks beat Ohio 73-49 back in 2008.
Miami great Wayne Embry was honored throughout the game as Miami Athletics celebrated Wayne Embry Day. Embry was a 1958 graduate from Miami who still ranks 12th all-time in scoring with 1,401 points and second in rebounds with 1,117 boards.
Four RedHawks finished in double figures, led by Bam Bowman's career high 23. Darrian Ringo (14), Nike Sibande (13) and Jalen Adaway (10) also scored at least 10 points, while Abdoulaye Harouna just missed out, scoring nine.
The RedHawks dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Bobcats 47-29 and outscored OU by 13 from the foul line. Miami connected on 24-of-31 free throws, while Ohio was just 11-of-21 from the line. Bowman had a season-high 12 rebounds and Dalonte Brown added 10 boards.
Miami raced out to an 8-3 start, capped by a four-point play from Harouna to begin the contest. The Bobcats answered back with a three-point basket to close the gap to 8-6, but a 15-4 Miami run pushed the lead to 23-10 with 9:33 remaining in the first half.
Ohio cut Miami's advantage to 36-25 after back-back three pointers with 3:44 left in the half, but that was where Bowman took over. The junior scored nine straight points for the RedHawks to stretch the lead to 45-27. Mekhi Lairyclosed the first half scoring with a jumper from the foul line to send the teams to their locker rooms with Miami leading 47-27.
