Saturday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Buffalo 85, Western Michigan 76
Central Michigan 71, Northern Illinois 66
Eastern Michigan 68, Bowling Green 62
Miami 70, Kent State 61
Toledo 93, Ball State 75
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Buffalo 85, Western Michigan 76
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A 53-point first half, their most points in the opening half on the season, propelled the University at Buffalo men's basketball team (6-11, 1-4 MAC) to an 85-76 win over the Western Michigan Broncos (4-13, 1-4 MAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Omar Migues-Hibeljic had a career day at University Arena. He finished with 8 points and was 2-for-3 from three-point range. Tyson Dunn recorded his fifth 20-point performance of the season with 20 points, 8 assists, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Dunn made a career-high 6 three-pointers and is now over 100 assists on the season. Noah Batchelor had his second double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Ryan Sabol continued to score in double figures as he finished with 11 points and a season-high 5 assists. Frederiks Meinarts went 4-for-5 from the floor including 2 threes as he finished with 10 points.
The sharp shooting Bulls were 15-for 32 from three-point range. The 15 threes are tied for seventh in program history for most made threes in a game. The last time the Bulls made 15 threes was against Kent State on Feb. 21, 2020.
The Bulls nearly led wire-to-wire as they never trailed after going down 2-0 to start the game. Buffalo led for 39:14 as the Broncos had the lead for just 27-seconds. The Bulls' offense was on fire in the first half as they made 64.3% (18-of-28) from the floor and 62.5% (10-of-16) from three-point range. Buffalo's lead reached 23 points with 8:48 to go after a Dunn three-pointer. Up 42-19, the Broncos gained momentum as they outscored Buffalo, 20-11 headed into the half.
Leading 53-39 out of the locker room, the Bulls had a tough start to the second half. Western Michigan started the half on a 10-0 run to make it a 53-49 ballgame. The Bulls were 0-7 from the floor in that stretch. The Bulls flipped the switch as they padded their lead back to double digits. After a rough start to the half, the Bulls made nearly half their shots as they were 11-of-24 (45.8%) from the floor. Buffalo's defense held on for the victory.
The Bulls are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 21st as they travel host the Akron Zips (12-5, 5-0 MAC) on Blue Out Alumni Night. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
Central Michigan 71, Northern Illinois 66
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill.—Jakobi Heady (16 points) and Cayden Vasko (season-high 15 points) led four players in double-figure scoring and Central Michigan used a 15-0 first half run to take control, then fended off Northern Illinois the rest the way for its second consecutive win, 71-66, on Saturday at the NIU Convocation Center. With the win, Central Michigan improves to 2-3 in the MAC and 8-9 overall, while Northern Illinois drops to 0-5 in the MAC and 4-13 overall.
On a two-game win streak, Central Michigan looks forward to next week when it hosts Ball State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and then rival Western Michigan for the Toilet Paper Toss on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for Toilet Paper Toss, but you must act soon. The Chippewas will now play four of their next five games at home and CMU is 4-2 at home this year and has won 11 of its last 14 contests in McGuirk Arena.
Trailing by 13 points, Central Michigan outscored Northern Illinois 19-2 over the last 8:22 of the first half. The rally gave the Chippewas a commanding 35-29 halftime lead that it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way. Included in that was the 15-0 run that helped give the Chippewas control of the game. The run was fueled by Vasko's three 3-pointers. CMU's Bryan Ndjonga started the run with a jumper, Vasko followed with a 3-pointer, Kyler VanderJagt hit a jumper, then Vasko threw down another 3-pointer, Ndjonga scored on a layup, and Vasko gave CMU the lead 29-27 with his third 3-pointer of the game.
Central Michigan overcame 13 3-pointers by Northern Illinois and a 22-point outing by Quaran McPherson. The Chippewas outrebounded NIU 44-26, including a season-high 16 offensive rebounds, shot 48.3 percent (29-60) from the floor, and had 18 assists on 29 field goals.
Heady converted 8-16 shots en route to his team-high 16 points and also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Vasko hit 3-3 3-pointers, all in the key first half run en route to 15 points and five assists. Kyle VanderJagt made several key offensive plays, hit 5-9 shots and 2-4 3-pointers and ended up with 13 points, and Anthony Pritchard finished with 13 points, a season-high nine assists, and six rebounds.
Central Michigan closed out the first half with a six-point lead (35-29) after outrebounding NIU 24-15.
Northern Illinois opened the game on fire as it hit eight of its first 11 3-point field goals through the game's first 11 minutes. The Huskies used an 8-0 run to take an early 14-9 lead at the first half's 13:44 mark. Minutes later, NIU went up 24-11 when James Dent converted a 4-point play and McPherson hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 10-0 run.
The Huskies took a 27-14 lead on another 3-pointer by Jayden Mott with 8:58 to play in the first half. That's when Central Michigan went on its 15-0 run.
The second half featured a back and forth game but Central Michigan led the entire way. The Chippewas went up by seven points (65-58) with 4:45 to play on a Cayden Vasko turnaround jumper and Bryan Ndjonga layup after receiving a pass from Kyler VanderJagt. Minutes later, Vasko scored on another key driving jumper for a 67-60 lead.
Northern Illinois missed five consecutive free throws in the game's last two minutes as CMU closed out the game with free throws and baskets of its own.
Central Michigan started Jakobi Heady, Quintin Heady, Vasko, Jarusevicius, and Pritchard for the second straight game.
Eastern Michigan 68, Bowling Green 62
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team topped Bowling Green State University, 68-62, in a thrilling Mid-American Conference game inside the Stroh Center Saturday, Jan. 18.
Jalen Terry (Flint, Mich. Beecher/Oregon/DePaul) had 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in a performance that was highlighted by a dagger three-point shot to put Eastern up six with 14 seconds left. Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian) tallied 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Osojnik also matched career highs with three steals and two blocks.
Christian Henry (Chicago, Ill./The Skill Factory/Panola College) scored 17 points to led EMU in scoring.
BGSU opened the game with a quick 5-0 spurt before Eastern responded with a 21-7 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 21-12 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
The Falcons trimmed the Eagles' lead to three with a jumper at the 1:41 mark as Eastern settled for a 29-26 lead at halftime.
Bowling Green netted 10 of the first 14 points in the second half to take a 36-33 lead.
The teams traded buckets until three-pointers by Osojnik on back-to-back possessions gave Eastern a 48-44 advantage and a three-pointer from Henry pushed the Eagle edge to 54-47 with eight minutes left to play.
A three-point play by Terry helped EMU match its largest lead of the contest at 62-53 with 4:54 left prior to a 9-1 BGSU run to bring the Falcons within one point at 63-62.
Da'Sean Nelson (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul) put in two free throws with 1:07 to go before Terry hit a dagger three-pointer from the wing with 14 seconds left to put the game away.
Eastern Michigan hosts MAC preseason favorite Ohio University for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Miami 70, Kent State 61
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team claimed its seventh straight victory (the largest win streak since the 2005-06 season) against Kent State 70-61 Saturday afternoon. Brant Byers led Miami (13-4, 5-0 MAC) in scoring for the second consecutive game with 15 points, while Eian Elmer (14), Mekhi Cooper (12) and Antwone Woolfolk (10) added double figures. Cian Medly led the Golden Flashes (11-6, 2-3 MAC) with 15 points.
Elmer and Woolfolk opened the game by combining for the RedHawks' first 12 points, giving them a 12-8 edge over the Golden Flashes. Byers put in a layup and deep three to hold off Kent State at 17-12. Kent State evened the score at 20 apiece for the first time since the start of the game with 8:25 remaining in the first half.
Elmer sunk his second three of the day to reclaim a 23-20 advantage. Kent State answered by taking its first lead at 24-23. Numerous free throws and a Byers shot from behind the three-point line sent the RedHawks into halftime trailing 41-32.
The Red and White started the second half on an 8-0 run to make it a one-possession game at 41-40. A block from Peter Suder led to a transition layup for Elmer, giving the RedHawks their first lead of the second half. Woolfolk put in a pair of layups for Miami to hold on to a 49-46 lead with 12:38 remaining.
Suder found Luke Skaljac cutting to the basket for a pump fake layup to remain ahead 56-50. Leading 56-52, Cooper and Byers knocked down a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions. Cooper gave Miami a double-digit lead after making a physical layup over a defender at 64-54. The RedHawks did not look back, taking a 70-61 road victory.
The RedHawks continue conference play by returning home to host Bowling Green Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.
Toledo 93, Ball State 75
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – Sophomore Sam Lewis tied his career high with 21 points and fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams poured in a season-high 20 points to lead the Toledo men's basketball team to a dominating 93-75 road win over Ball State on Saturday afternoon in Worthen Arena.
The victory moved the Rockets (10-7, 4-1 MAC) into a third-place tie in the Mid-American Conference standings with Ohio, one game behind league co-leaders Akron (12-5, 5-0 MAC) and Miami (13-4, 5-0 MAC).
Sophomore Javan Simmons registered his first double-double for the season for the Rockets to join Lewis and Adams in double figures. He finished with 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Sophomores Sonny Wilson and Bryce Ford tallied 15 and 12 points, respectively, with each grabbing seven boards.
Toledo and Ball State were both efficient offensively, shooting 53.7% from the field. The Rockets also committed just five turnovers on the afternoon, its fourth game this season with five or fewer miscues.
Simmons' work on the boards helped the Rockets dominate the Cardinals on the glass by 37-26 margin, leading to a commanding 26-7 advantage in second-chance points.
Senior Payton Sparks paced the Cardinals with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Neither team led by more than two points until Payton Sparks put the hosts up 10-6 less than five minutes into the game. Seth Hubbard's jumper capped off a 6-0 run that put the Rockets in front, 24-20, with nine minutes left in the half.
Toledo took the lead for good, 31-28, on Andre Lorentsson's three-pointer at the 4:51 mark.
Sonny Wilson's layup extended the Rockets' cushion to 42-36 a minute before halftime before UT settled for a 44-40 advantage at intermission. Isaiah Adams led the Rockets in the half with 11 pts.
Sam Lewis scored seven points in the first five minutes after halftime to extend Toledo's lead to 58-49.
Adams' driving layup gave UT its first double-digit advantage, 62-51, at the 13:37 mark. A three-pointer from Adams two minutes later increased the Rockets' margin to 70-57.
Toledo's lead didn't dip below 10 points for the remainder of the contest.
The Rockets return home to host Kent State (11-6, 2-3 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The Rockets will then visit arch-rival Bowling Green (7-10, 2-3 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 24 and Ohio (10-7, 4-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 28 before returning home to host Northern Illinois (4-13, 0-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 1.
