Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Buffalo 72, Ball State 59
Akron 71, Western Michigan 67
Eastern Michigan 70, Kent State 49
Ohio 77, Central Michigan 69
Stories courtesy of the Associated Press
Buffalo 72, Ball State 59
Boxscore
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Josh Mballa scored 16 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked three shots and Buffalo beat Ball State 72-59 on Tuesday night to win its third straight.
Jayvon Graves scored 16 with 10 rebounds for the Bulls (17-9, 8-5 Mid-American Conference), who outrebounded the Cardinals 51-42 and made 16 of 21 free throws. Jeenathan Williams scored 16 points, Antwain Johnson had 12 and Davonta Jordan 10 with eight rebounds.
Ishmael El-Amin scored 18 points and Jarron Coleman had 15 with four assists for Ball State (14-12, 7-6). Tahjai Teague grabbed 10 rebounds and Kyle Mallers added nine points.
The Bulls evened the season series against the Cardinals with the win. Ball St. defeated Buffalo 88-68 on Jan. 7. Buffalo matches up against Kent State on the road on Friday. Ball St. plays Eastern Michigan at home on Saturday.
Akron 71, Western Michigan 67
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Tyler Cheese scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and Loren Christian Jackson scored 17 and Akron held off Western Michigan for a 71-67 win Tuesday night.
Akron (20-6, 10-3 Mid-American Conference) has won four straight to remain atop the conference standings with Bowling Green (19-7, 10-3). The two meet on Feb. 25.
The Zips led 64-55 with 6:47 remaining after Xeyrius Williams made two foul shots. Brandon Johnson's layup with 15 seconds left brought the Broncos (11-15, 4-9) within 70-67. Christian Jackson made 1 of 2 foul shots with 11 seconds to go to preserve the win.
Akron led 36-29 at halftime.
Michael Flowers led Western Michigan with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists and Brandon Johnson scored 14 with 10 rebounds.
Eastern Michigan 70, Kent State 49
Boxscore
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Ty Groce scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Eastern Michigan beat Kent State 70-49 on Tuesday night to win its third straight and fourth straight at home.
Thomas Binelli added 13 points and Boubacar Toure had 10 points with nine rebounds and two steals for the Eagles (15-11, 5-8 Mid-American Conference), who made 20 of 31 free throws (65%) and shot 50% from the field (23 of 46).
Danny Pippen scored 15 points with 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season for Kent State (17-9, 7-6), which shot 29% from the field (16 of 55). Troy Simons added six assists.
The Golden Flashes scored 21 points in the second half, a season low for the team.
Eastern Michigan plays Ball St. on the road on Saturday. Kent State plays Buffalo at home on Friday.
Ohio 77, Central Michigan 69
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio -- Jordan Dartis shot 7-of-12 from the 3-point range and scored 27 points and Ohio beat Central Michigan 77-69 on Tuesday night for its first win against the Chippewas since 2014.
Ben Vander Plas added 17 points with seven rebounds and four steals and Jason Preston scored 15 with six boards and six assists for the Bobcats (13-13, 5-8 Mid-American Conference), who made 13 of 27 3-pointers (48%). Lunden McDay scored 10 points.
Kevin McKay had 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks for the Chippewas (13-12, 6-6), whose losing streak reached four games. Rob Montgomery added 14 points and 11 rebounds and David DiLeo had nine rebounds.
Ohio faces Bowling Green on the road on Saturday. Central Michigan matches up against Northern Illinois on the road on Saturday.
