Saturday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 105, Eastern Michigan 81
Ball State 91, Bowling Green 69
Miami 91, Western Michigan 71
Ohio 108, Northern Illinois 70
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 105, Eastern Michigan 81
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Seven Zips scored in double digits while head coach John Groce recorded his 150th victory at Akron in a 105-81 victory over Eastern Michigan on the road Saturday.
Along with seven Zips scoring in double digits, all 11 Zips that appeared against the Eagles scored. Tavari Johnson also became the first Zip since Dru Joyce to record a double-double in points and assists. T. Johnson recorded 10 points and 10 assists against the Eages. Joyce recorded the feat on Nov.27, 2004 when he scored 12 points and dished out 13 assists against Hampton.
Akron's 105 points marks just second time an opponent has surpassed 100 points in the 377 games at the George Gervin GameAbove Center (since 1998-99). Florida Atlantic scored 101 points, Dec. 4, 2022, making the 2023 Final Four.
The Zips (10-5, 3-0) were led by James Okonkwo, who had 17 points while going 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Isaiah Gray tacked on 13 points and three steals and Nate Johnson helped out with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Akron was effective at shooting the ball against Eastern Michigan, hitting over 60 percent of their shots (37-of-61).
The Zips also recorded a season-high 54 points in the paint and 47 points from the bench.
The Akron offense was very productive from deep, making nine threes on 21 attempts. Bowen Hardman was the most prolific shooter for the Zips, draining three treys in the contest.
The Akron defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Saturday's game, forcing 15 Eastern Michigan. Those takeaways turned into 27 points on the offensive end of the floor. Johnson's four steals led the way individually for the Zips.
After falling behind 11-4, Akron went on a 10-0 run with 17:51 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Seth Wilson, to take a 14-11 lead. The Zips then added 13 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 54-38 advantage. Akron got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 23 of its 54 total points.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Marvin Musiime-Kamali's jumper, to grow the lead to 66-50 with 14:52 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 105-81 win. Akron took care of business in the paint, recording 28 of its 51 points in the lane.
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena for a two-game home stand starting with the Toledo Rockets coming to town on January 14 for a 7 p.m. start.
Ball State 91, Bowling Green 69
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team went on a 15-0 scoring run late in the second half to pull away for a 91-69 win over Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena in a game presented by Reed's Plumbing.
The Cardinals (8-7, 2-1 Mid-American Conference) led 42-26 at halftime before the visiting Falcons (6-9, 1-2 MAC) clawed their way back to trail 64-58 with five minutes to play. After Ethan Brittain-Watts hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for Ball State and Bowling Green responded with a layup, the hosts rallied for 15 straight points in just over two minutes to claim an 82-60 edge following a Jeremiah Hernandez triple with 2:49 left.
Juanse Gorosito and Brittain-Watts also hit 3-pointers during the offensive outburst, which allowed the Cardinals to win their fifth game in sixth tries.
Payton Sparks went for a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double in just 24 minutes, while Gorosito (16 points, two assists) and Mickey Pearson Jr. (16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks) were the next leading scorers for Ball State in its second-highest scoring output of the season.
Hernandez (14 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals), Jermahri Hill (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Brittain-Watts (10 points, four assists) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals. This made it Ball State's first game with six scorers in double digits since Nov. 19, 2022 against IU-South Bend.
The hosts stretched a 17-12 edge to a 31-14 advantage with a 14-2 rally midway through the first half. Gorosito bookended the stretch with 3-pointers and ended the opening period with three triples and 11 points.
Javontae Campbell led the Falcons with 13 points, but Bowling Green was limited to 40.3 percent (25-62) shooting from the field including 29.6 percent (8-27) from distance.
Ball State won the rebounding battle (37-31) and committed one fewer turnover (14-13). The Cardinals shot 58.9 percent (33-56) on field goals, 41.2 percent (7-17) on 3-pointers and 81.8 percent (18-22) at the foul line. The field goal percentage was a season-best for a team that has the longest active streak of games (six) with at least 70 points among MAC teams.
Next up for Ball State is a 7 p.m. road game on Tuesday at Ohio (9-6, 3-0 MAC).
Miami 91, Western Michigan 71
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio– The Miami University men's basketball team soared past Western Michigan 91-71 Saturday afternoon. Kam Craft led all players with 23 points, while three other RedHawks scored in double figures. Miami jumps to 11-4 (3-0 MAC) on the season, and the Broncos are now 3-12 (0-3 MAC). With this victory, the RedHawks begin conference play 3-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
The RedHawks used a quick start to jump ahead of the Broncos 11-4 with just under five minutes of action played. An offensive rebound from Peter Suder led to a Brant Byers triple from the left corner at 16-8. A Craft jumper gave the RedHawks their first double-digit lead of the game at 18-8. Reece Potter converted a pair of free throws and tipped in a layup to extend Miami's lead to 26-10.
Byers knocked down his second three of the game and then used a one-hand slam dunk to bring the home fans to their feet at 32-14. A transition layup from Evan Ipsaro pushed the RedHawks' advantage over 20 points at 38-17. A combination of threes from Craft and Potter made it a 47-21 ballgame. In the final minute of the half, Craft added another shot from behind the arc and Ipsaro put in a floater to enter the intermission with a 31-point lead at 54-23.
Craft opened the second half of play by sinking two shots from deep, while Suder and Byers added points from the free-throw line to make it 63-32. Layups from Ipsaro and Eian Elmer kept Miami in control at 67-36. Numerous mid-range shots from Miami and Byers' third three of the game made it 78-49 with just seven minutes to play.
Mekhi Cooper fed Elmer for a high-flying dunk over a Western Michigan defender at 84-59. With 1:40 remaining, Craft sunk his fifth three of the game. The Red and White finished out play with a few free throws to take a 91-71 victory for a third consecutive conference win.
The RedHawks continue conference play by traveling northwest to Northern Illinois Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. ET.
Ohio 108, Northern Illinois 70
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio — Senior forward AJ Clayton's (Roseville, Ohio) impressive day led lifted Ohio over Northern Illinois (4-11, 0-3 MAC) 108-70 Saturday afternoon. The win marked the first time Ohio (9-6, 3-0 MAC) scored 100 or more points against a MAC opponent in regulation since 1997.
Ohio scored first on a clean pass to junior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) in the paint. Moments later, Clayton notched his 1,000 career point on a crisp 3-pointer.
3-pointers seemed to be the theme for Clayton, who set a new career high today. His 9-for-10 performance from beyond the arc featured the most he'd made in a game thus far. It also marked the most individual 3-pointers in a game for a Bobcat since Jordan Dartis knocked eight against Eastern Michigan in 2020. Overall, the Bobcats shot 17-for-31 (54.8%) from beyond the arc.
Clayton's 31-point performance also lifted him above Jason Preston in career points at Ohio. The senior now sits at 41st all-time.
There wasn't a point where the Bobcats didn't have the lead after the opening drive. Clayton's synergy combined with a 19-point performance from junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) powered the Bobcats to score 100 or more points in regulation over a MAC opponent for the first time in The Convo.
Ohio finished the afternoon 37-for-60 (61.7%) from the field. It also shot 17-for-25 (68%) from the line, with graduate student Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) going 6-for-6. Mitchell also scored a season-high 15 points. He finished 3-for-7 from the field with three 3-pointers.
Mitchell and Paveletzke tied for the most assists on the afternoon with five each.
The Bobcats were led by Hadaway on defense. He finished the day with 11 rebounds — his second-most of the season — en route to a strong team defensive outing.
Ohio will be back in action on Tuesday against Ball State. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. in The Convo and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
