Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 80, Northern Illinois 70
Buffalo 75, Central Michigan 79
Kent State 75, Bowling Green 57
Miami 89, Eastern Michigan 80
Toledo 86, Ohio 83
Western Michigan 74, Ball State 71
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 80, Northern Illinois 70
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill, - Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson combined for 40 points while Isaiah Gray recorded a double-double to help push the Akron men's basketball team to an 80-70 road victory at NIU Tuesday.
The Zips remain perfect in conference and move to 8-0 in the MAC. The 8-0 start is the best start to conference action under the direction of head coach John Groce.
The Zips (15-5, 8-0) had four players score in double figures, led by T. Johnson, who had 21 points and four assists. Nate Johnson added 19 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks and Isaiah Gray chipped in as well with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Shammah Scott added 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.
This was the 11th game this season that Akron has had four or more players score in double figures.
Gray pulled down three offensive rebounds to pace the Akron offense which grabbed 14 boards and turned them into nine second chance points.
Akron's defense held Northern Illinois to only 39.3 percent shooting from the field. The Huskies did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with five offensive rebounds and managed six second chance points while Akron cleared 34 defensive rebounds.
After playing to a 24-24 tie, Akron went on a 9-0 run with 7:03 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Marvin Musiime-Kamali, to take a 33-24 lead. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 37-33 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 37 points.
Following intermission, Akron kept widening that lead, expanding it to 47-42 before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 52-42 with 15:11 to go in the contest. The Zips held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 80-70 win. Akron got out on the break in the period, scoring 17 fast break points.
The Zips travel to rival Kent State on Friday, January 31 for a battle with the Golden Flashes on CBS Sports Network.
Buffalo 75, Central Michigan 79
Box Score
Recap coming soon…
Kent State 75, Bowling Green 57
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – Four different Golden Flashes tallied double-digits on Tuesday night as Kent State Men's Basketball defeated Bowling Green State University 75-57. Sophomore guard Cian Medley tallied his first career double-double, and VonCameron Davis led the Flashes on the score sheet for
The Flashes and Falcons battled to a 7-7 game by the 14:35 mark. Kent State got out in front with a 19-10 run. Marquis Barnett and VonCameron Davis were the first two Flashes to crack double-digits doing so in the first half. The blue and gold led 41-23 after the first 20 minutes. Kent State was able to hold off an early second half barrage from BGSU. Kent State led by as much as 25 in the second half ultimately leading by a minimum of 15 for the rest of the game. KSU led by 18 when the clock hit all zeros.
Medley's double-double consisted of 12 points and 10 assists, which led the Flashes. It was his fifth double-digit game of the season. Davis' 24 points were his 51st double-digit performance of his career. Jalen Sullinger continued his high scoring ways with 18 points coming in second for KSU on the stat line. Barnett was honored during pregame for recently surpassing 1,000 career points prior to adding 10 more to his total over the course of the night. Delrecco Gillespie led the Flashes in rebounding with seven. It was his sixth time leading KSU in that category this season.
The Golden Flashes will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 31 to renew their rivalry with the University of Akron Zips. It is the third of Kent State's flexed games this season being broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Tipoff in the M.A.C. Center is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. For more information on Kent State men's basketball, fans can follow the team on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Miami 89, Eastern Michigan 80
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio– Antwone Woolfolk scored a career-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds for his first career double-double as the Miami University men's basketball team defeated Eastern Michigan 89-80 Tuesday night.
The RedHawks (15-5, 7-1 MAC) placed a total of six players in double figures and snapped EMU's three-game win streak. Christian Henry led the Eagles (10-10, 4-4 MAC) with 25 points.
Woolfolk scored the first two baskets for Miami to get the home team off to a good start. Brant Byers followed two free throws with an emphatic dunk to put the RedHawks on top 11-8. Miami re-took the lead at 24-21 on back-to-back buckets from Mekhi Cooper.
Woolfolk buried his first three-pointer as a RedHawk to give Miami a 29-27 advantage with 5:43 to play in the half. After an Eastern Michigan triple, the Red and White ripped off a 14-3 run to take control. A Cooper layup gave Miami the lead for good, and Reece Potter drained a shot from long range on the next trip to stretch the margin. An Ipsaro layup and another three-pointer by Potter sent Miami to the locker room with a 47-38 cushion.
The RedHawks scored the first 12 points of the second half to break the game open, including three-pointers from Byers and Kam Craft. Free throws from Evan Ipsaro and a feed from Ipsaro to Woolfolk for a dunk made it 62-42 with 14:30 left in the contest.
Peter Suder kept the offense rolling for Miami with a two-point jumper and a three on consecutive possessions to force an Eastern timeout at 67-49. A 15-5 run pulled EMU back within single digits, but Suder buried a clutch three-pointer to give Miami the momentum back at the five-minute mark. The RedHawks pushed the lead to 77-64 on a tough driving layup by Cooper and made enough free throws down the stretch to secure an 89-80 victory.
Miami will host rival Ohio Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Battle of the Bricks as part of a women's/men's doubleheader for One Miami Day presented by E&H Ace Hardware. The community is invited to access complimentary tickets courtesy of President Greg and Dr. Renate Crawford with the promo code ONEMIAMI at MiamiRedHawks.com/promos.
Toledo 86, Ohio 83
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – Six Rockets scored in double figures to lead the Toledo men's basketball team to a key road win on Tuesday evening, an 86-83 triumph at Ohio. The victory pushed the Rockets (12-8, 6-2 MAC) a game ahead of the Bobcats (11-9, 5-3 MAC) into third place and kept UT within striking distance of first-place Akron (15-5, 8-0 MAC).
It was the Rockets' seventh-straight win over the Bobcats as well as their seventh-consecutive win in Athens.
Bryce Ford, Seth Hubbard, Sam Lewis and Sonny Wilson each tallied 15 points for the Rockets, while Isaiah Adams and Javan Simmons chipped in 10 points apiece.
Toledo shot 53.1% from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from three-point range. Ohio converted 44.9% of its shots and was 42.1% (8-of-19) behind the three-point arc.
Hubbard and Simmons topped Toledo with nine and eight rebounds, respectively, to help the Rockets to a 40-33 advantage on the glass.
Three different Rockets – Adams, Hubbard and Simmons – each tallied a team-high four assists, while Adams and Jaylan Ouwinga blocked two shots apiece.
AJ Brown and Jackson Paveletzke led Ohio with 22 points apiece.
Toledo's 7-0 lead start to the game was answered by a 13-2 Bobcat spurt.
The Rockets rallied and took a 23-22 lead on Seth Hubbard's three-point play at the 12-minute mark. Elmore James' three-pointer put Ohio back in front, 28-25, less than two minutes later.
Three-pointers from Bryce Ford and Sonny Wilson keyed an 8-0 spurt that put Toledo ahead 38-31and forced Ohio to call timeout 4:15 before halftime.
Wilson extended the Rockets' lead to 45-35 with a layup at the 1:35 mark.
Toledo led by a 47-39 margin at halftime. Seth Hubbard led UT with 15 points with shooting 59.4% from the field.
Ohio fought right back with a 10-0 spurt to open the second half and take a 49-47 lead.
Sam Lewis' three-pointer ended the run at the 15:52 mark and gave UT a 50-49 advantage. The Rockets held that lead for four minutes when Ajay Sheldon's layup put Ohio ahead, 62-61.
Wilson then scored four points during a 6-0 spurt for a 67-62 cushion that Toledo wouldn't relinquish.
Ohio then closed to within a point. 70-69, on AJ Brown's three-pointer with 7:16 to play, but Isaiah Adams answered with a triple of his own.
Adams came up with another big basket to put Toledo ahead 80-76 after the Bobcats trimmed their deficit to two with four minutes remaining.
Bryce Ford hit two free throws with six seconds left to put UT ahead 86-82. Ohio had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but its desperation three from halfcourt was off the mark.
The Rockets will begin a three-game homestand when they host Northern Illinois (5-15, 1-7 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 1. Toledo will then host Buffalo (7-13, 2-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 4 and James Madison (12-9) on Saturday, Feb. 8.
Western Michigan 74, Ball State 71
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+.
