Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 90, Buffalo 58
Ball State 82, Central Michigan 80
Eastern Michigan 94, Ohio 87
Kent State 83, Toledo 64
Miami 84, Bowling Green 76
Western Michigan 72, Northern Illinois 70
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 90, Buffalo 58
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Akron men's basketball team shot over 57 percent from the field and 52 percent from three-point range on the way to a 90-58 win against the Buffalo Bulls on the road Tuesday.
The Zips increased their winning streak to six straight to begin MAC play. Akron has won six-straight to begin conference action in back-to-back seasons.
The Blue and Gold have also scored 85 or more points in the past five conference contests. Akron has scored 85 or more points in 10 games this season and is 10-0 on the year when doing so.
The Zips (13-5, 6-0) had five players score in double figures, led by Tavari Johnson, who had 20 points and five assists. Nate Johnson added 18 points and nine rebounds and James Okonkwo chipped in as well with 11 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Gray and Marvin Musiime-Kamali both recorded 10 points against the Bulls. Musiime-Kamali set a career high in scoring.
Akron shared the ball well in Tuesday's game, racking up 21 assists on 35 made field goals. Tavari Johnson's five assists led the Zips and Shammah Scott also chipped in with four assists of his own.
The Akron defense held Buffalo shooters to only 30.4 percent from the field, including 25 percent from three-point range. The Bulls did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only eight offensive rebounds and scored five second chance points while Akron pulled down 42 defensive rebounds. Amani Lyles was a force on defense, recording a career high four blocks to lead the Zips.
After falling behind 2-0, Akron went on a 13-0 run with 18:49 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Nate Johnson, to take a 13-2 lead. The Zips then added four points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 40-25 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down eight shots to account for 24 of its 40 points.
Following intermission, Akron kept widening that lead, expanding it to 52-33 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Okonkwo's layup, to grow the lead to 61-33 with 11:43 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 90-58 win. Akron took care of business in the paint, recording 30 of its 50 points in the lane.
The Zips will host the Miami RedHawks on Saturday. January 25 at 2 p.m. in a battle of undefeated MAC teams at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Ball State 82, Central Michigan 80
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Jeremiah Hernandez hit three free throws in the closing seconds to propel the Ball State men's basketball team to an 82-80 win over Central Michigan on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena.
The Cardinals (9-9, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) trailed 50-37 to the Chippewas (8-10, 2-4 MAC) early in the second half before scoring 31 of the next 40 points to take a 68-59 advantage at the 5:38 mark following two free throws by Juanse Gorosito. Central Michigan's Jakobi Heady tied the score at 79-79 on a layup with 19 seconds to play before Hernandez was fouled on a 3-point attempt from the left wing with 4.2 seconds on the clock and drained all three free throws.
Hernandez tallied 15 points and two rebounds for the game, while Mickey Pearson Jr. scored a team-high 16 and added five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
Ball State trailed 41-33 at halftime but shot 66.7 percent (14-21) from the field, 60 percent on 3-pointers (6-10) and 83.3 percent on free throws (15-18) in the second half to take down the host Chippewas, who entered Tuesday's matchup winners in their last two games.
Payton Sparks (14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks) and Pearson also made a pair of free throws each in the final 80 seconds to help the Cardinals pull out the road win. Jermahri Hill (14 points, five assists), Ethan Brittain-Watts (13 points, five rebounds) and Gorosito (10 points, three rebounds, two assists) also scored in double figures for the visitors.
Central's Quentin Heady scored a game-high 17 points, but the hosts made just 4 of 17 field goal attempts and committed five turnovers in the more than 10-minute Ball State stretch that turned the game across the middle portion of the second period.
For the game, the Cardinals shot 54 percent (27-50) from the field including 45 percent (9-20) on triple and made 76 percent (19-25) of its free throw attempts. Ball State made 11 straight free throw attempts to end the game. The Chippewas finished with a 46.4 percent (32-69) mark on field goals, 36.8 percent (7-19) from distance and 69.2 percent (9-13) at the foul line.
Central Michigan had one more rebound (33-32), but Ball State won the battle of the boards 15-12 in the second half to lead the Cardinals to their second road MAC win of the season in three tries.
Ball State stays on the road with a 4:30 p.m. ET (3:30 CT) game at Northern Illinois on Saturday.
Eastern Michigan 94, Ohio 87
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team put together a stellar offensive showcase en route to topping Mid-American Conference preseason favorite Ohio University, 94-87, Tuesday, Jan. 21, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Eastern used a 50-point first half to build a 15-point halftime lead as Da'Sean Nelson (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul) finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block. Jalen Terry (Flint, Mich. Beecher/Oregon/DePaul) had 17 points, seven assists, and four assists in a performance while Arne Osojnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian) scored 16 points, 14 of which came in the first half, while adding three steals and five rebounds.
Christian Henry (Chicago, Ill./The Skill Factory/Panola College) rounded out Eastern's top performers with 18 points.
Eastern started hot from the floor, putting in four of its first six attempts from three-point range to open up an 18-11 lead through six and a half minutes.
Ohio fought back with a quick 5-0 spurt before the Eagles continued their impressive shooting display, building their largest lead of the half at 47-31 prior to closing the half ahead 50-35.
A 7-0 run early in the second frame translated into Eastern's largest lead of the contest at 65-44 with 15 minutes remaining.
Ohio came within 14 on three different occasions in the next nine minutes before a dunk at the 5:20 mark drew OU to within 10 at 80-70. The Bobcats continued their late surge, coming as close as 88-83 with 51 seconds to play.
Despite being unable to cross half-court in the required 10 seconds three times in the closing minutes, Eastern iced the game in conventional fashion, converting six free throws in the final 50 seconds.
Eastern Michigan hosts the University at Buffalo for a 2 p.m. game Saturday, Jan. 25, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Eastern is seeking three-straight MAC wins for the first time since the 2019-20 season, when they won three straight conference games at Central Michigan, Feb. 11, 2020, and home wins against Western Michigan and Kent State, Feb. 15, and Feb. 18, 2020.
Kent State 83, Toledo 64
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – Kent State Men's Basketball defeated the Rockets of the University of Toledo on Tuesday night by a final score of 83-64. Sophomore guard Cian Medley dropped a new career high as the Golden Flashes earned their third conference win on the season.
The first bucket did not fall for either squad until 17:32 with Kent State striking first with a three. The Flashes led the Rockets for the opening 10 minutes going on a 16-10 run by the second media timeout. Cian Medley dropped double-digits quickly in the ballgame on the back of four first half threes. The Flashes utilized great defense holding Toledo to just 30 points in the first half leading by 14 at the break. Kent State kept their foot on the gas in the second matching the Rockets basket per basket. With 13:27 left to play Medley set a new scoring career high surpassing his previous 15 points. With 5:33 left to play VonCameron Davis drained a pair of free throws to give KSU their biggest lead of the night at 20. The Golden Flashes kept their cushion intact down the stretch outscoring the Rockets 39-34 in the second half earning the 19-point victory.
Tuesday was win No. 17 for the Kent State program all-time in Toledo, and the 57th win against the Rockets overall. As a team Kent State shot 56.6% from the floor and went 11-11 from the charity stripe. Just one game after matching his career high, Medley dropped a new one scoring 22, going 7-12 including 4-7 from behind the arch. It was the highest single game point total of his college career so far. Davis tallied another double-digits performance with 19 as did fellow senior Sulligner with 12 for his 12th. Marquis Barnett racked up 13 on his way to his fourth double-digit performance Jamal Sumlin grabbed eight rebounds in the game tallying a new career high and leading the Flashes for the first time this season.
Kent State Men's Basketball will be back in action Friday, Jan. 24 on the road against Ohio University. Tipoff between the Golden Flashes and Bobcats is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game is KSU's second flexed game of the season and will be broadcast on ESPNU. For more information on Kent State men's basketball, fans can follow the team on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Miami 84, Bowling Green 76
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team edged past Bowling Green 84-76 Tuesday night. Mekhi Cooper led the RedHawks (14-4, 6-0 MAC) in scoring with 14 points, while Kam Craft (13), Brant Byers (12), Peter Suder (11), Antwone Woolfolk (11) and Eian Elmer (10) scored in double figures. Derrick Butler and Trey Thomas each led the Falcons (7-11, 2-4 MAC) with 17 points. With this win, the RedHawks have now won eight straight games for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Bowling Green began the game with a 7-2 advantage over the Red and White. The RedHawks responded by knocking down a pair of threes, and Reece Potter added a dunk to take their first game lead at 12-11. Potter went on to find Byers cutting to the basket for a dunk that led to a traditional three-point play to keep the Red and White ahead 19-16.
The Falcons looked to pull away at 23-19 before Craft laced a triple and Woolfolk put in a layup. The score was knotted at 26 apiece when Craft made a floater and added a free throw after getting fouled. Byers scored the next seven points for Miami to hold on to a three-point lead at 36-33. The Red and White entered halftime trailing 40-39.
The Falcons opened the second half of play by stretching their lead to 47-41. Miami answered with a run of its own, as Craft helped Miami even the score at 49-49 after scoring a turnaround jumper. Potter scored a left-handed hook shot and added a shot from the top of the three-point line to give Miami its first lead of the second half at 56-54. After stealing the ball from a Bowling Green player, Evan Ipsaro threw a long pass down the court to Cooper for a two-handed jam that brought the crowd to its feet at 60-56. Miami looked to close out the game, finishing off a 13-0 run to make it a 69-56 ballgame.
Bowling Green began to full-court press the RedHawks with just under five minutes to play, where Cooper then threaded the ball down the court for another Byers dunk. The RedHawks held onto a seven-point lead at 75-68 with 3:49 to go. The Falcons came within one at 75-74, but a jumper from Cooper and a layup from Suder kept the RedHawks ahead 79-76. Suder sealed the game with a pull-up jump shot from beyond the arc to give Miami an 82-76 lead with 35 seconds remaining. Ipsaro ended the game by making some free throws to edge past the Falcons 84-76.
The RedHawks continue conference play by heading northeast to face off with Akron Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m.
Western Michigan 72, Northern Illinois 70
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team had five players score in double-figures and held off a late rally from Northern Illinois to grab a 72-70 victory over the Huskies on Tuesday night at University Arena.
For the sixth time this season it was Chansey Willis Jr. who led Western Michigan (5-13, 2-4 MAC) in scoring, as the junior netted 18 points. JaVaughn Hannah tallied 17 points, Donovan Williams scored 15 in his first start of the campaign, and the duo of Max Burton and Markhi Strickland chipped in 10 points apiece. WMU had 17 assists on 23 field goals, with Willis handing out a season-high tying seven, and Hannah adding a career-high five helpers.
The Broncos dominated on the glass to the tune of a 42-27 advantage. Of those 42 boards, 19 came on the offensive end for the Brown and Gold. Burton secured a team-leading nine rebounds, and four others snagged at least five boards for WMU.
Western Michigan and NIU (4-14, 0-6) traded the lead back and forth nine times in the opening 10-plus minutes. With the Huskies holding a 17-15 edge, WMU reeled off 10 in a row to spark a 16-2 surge which put the hosts in front, 31-19, with six minutes to play in the first half. The margin was once again at 12, 39-27, as the teams headed to the locker room.
In the early stages of the second half, the Broncos extended their advantage to 15, 46-31. At 49-36, Northern Illinois put together a 15-2 run to get back even, 51-51, at the 8:41 mark. Western Michigan responded with the next six, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Burton.
The Huskies refused to go away, and once again tied the contest up at 59-59. With the visitors holding a 66-65 edge, Western Michigan got layups from Burton and Willis to go back ahead, 69-66, with 90 seconds remaining. Northern Illinois got back to within a point a couple of times in the final minute, but Willis hit three clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds to help the Brown and Gold hang on for the victory.
The Broncos connected on 23-of-60 (38.3 percent) from the floor for the evening, while NIU went 24-of-54 (44.4 percent) from the field.
Western Michigan hits the road for its next two contests, starting on Saturday evening as it travels up to Mount Pleasant to face Central Michigan. Tip between the Broncos and Chippewas is slated for 7 pm on ESPN+.
