Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 87, Central Michigan 71
Bowling Green 83, Western Michigan 79
Kent State 68, Northern Illinois 50
Miami 80, Ball State 72
Ohio 88, Buffalo 79
Toledo 90, Eastern Michigan 87
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 87, Central Michigan 71
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - The Zips connected on 18 3-point shots while Seth Wilson scored a career-high 18 points in an 87-71 victory over Central Michigan at home Tuesday.
The Zips (9-5, 2-0) had six players score in double figures, led by Seth Wilson, who had a career-high 18 points while shooting .500 from beyond the arc. Nate Johnson added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists and Tavari Johnson chipped in as well with 12 points. Shammah Scott and Sharron Young both scored 12 points each while Isaiah Gray added 11 points.
Akron shared the ball well in Tuesday's game, racking up 21 assists on 30 made field goals. Nate Johnson's four assists led the Zips and Isaiah Gray also added four assists of his own.
The Zips have now won the last 15 home meetings against CMU and stand 25-5 all-time against the Chippewas in Akron.
After falling behind 9-6, Akron went on an 8-0 run with 15:24 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Gray, to take a 14-9 lead. The Zips then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 41-38 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down 11 shots to account for 33 of its 41 points.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 12-0 run, finished off by Nate Johnson's layup, to grow the lead to 56-41 with 15:24 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 87-71 win. Akron shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 46 points.
The Zips travel to Eastern Michigan on January 11 for a 3:30 p.m. start.
Bowling Green 83, Western Michigan 79
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team picked up their first MAC win, and first true road win, of the season, with an 83-79 victory over Western Michigan Tuesday night (Jan. 7) in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Falcons fell behind by as many as 14 in the first half, but an 11-1 stretch to close the first half pulled Bowling Green within four, 42-38. The Falcons continued to press forward in the second half, capturing the 83-79 final down the stretch. Bowling Green overcame a 14-point deficit in the win, the largest comeback win of the season so far for the Orange and Brown. The win puts the Falcons at 1-1 in the early going of the MAC schedule.
Western Michigan won the opening tip, but it was Bowling Green to score first. Trey Thomas got a runner to fall. WMU answered, but a three for Marcus Johnson came next to put the Falcons in front with a 5-2 score.
The Broncos followed with back-to-back buckets. Javontae Campbell added one at the line for the Falcons for a 6-6 tie in the early going. The tie moved to 9-9 at the first media timeout with BGSU's points coming from a Wilguens Jr. Exacte three.
The first points out of the break went to WMU, but the Falcons got five points the next time down the floor. Thomas hit a three and drew a foul. Exacte fought on the glass for the free throw, pushing the ball to Johnson for two and a 14-11 BGSU advantage. The Broncos worked to tie it at 14-14.
Johnson broke the tie with a step-back jumper, but back-to-back layups for Western Michigan swung the score to them, 18-16. A hook shot from Jamai Felt knotted it up before a Campbell layup made it 20-18 at the under-12 media timeout.
Western Michigan made a basket before Derrick Butler and WMU traded pull up jumpers to push the tie to 22-22 at the under-8 break.
An 8-0 run for the Broncos pushed them in front for a 28-22 lead with BGSU taking a timeout. The run carried through the timeout, stretching to 15-0 with a 35-22 score.
Campbell converted back-to-back layups for BGSU followed by Exacte drawing a foul, bringing about the final media timeout of the first half. Exacte split the free throws for a 35-27 score.
Western Michigan utilized a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 41-27. Campbell ended the run by converting an and-one. Butler followed with two at the line for a 41-32 score.
WMU added a free throw, but a 6-0 BGSU run followed. Thomas hit back-to-back threes for the Falcons, cutting the score down to 42-38 with a Bronco timeout. The score held to the halftime whistle with BGSU closing the half with an 11-1 stretch.
The second half scoring started with a three from Western Michigan, sparking a 5-0 run. Butler traded buckets with WMU followed by a 6-0 BGSU run. A jumper from Thomas and layups from both Felt and Butler created the burst, cutting the WMU lead down to 49-46 at the first media break.
WMU stopped the run, but a tip-in from Butler and a layup from Exacte off a Campbell block pulled the Falcons within one, 51-50. Western Michigan added two, but a free throw and layup from Butler tied the game up at 53-53.
Bowling Green pushed in front with a coast-to-coast layup from Braelon Green. WMU matched the bucket for a 55-55 score at the under-12 media break.
Coming out of the break, Exacte worked for a second-chance bucket to put the Falcons back in front. Thomas later followed with a step back three for a 5-0 run, 60-55 BGSU lead and Western Michigan timeout.
The two teams traded layups with BGSU's coming from Johnson, but a 5-0 burst for WMU tied the score at 62-62 at the under-8 media timeout.
Out of the break, WMU moved in front with two at the line, but a Johnson jumper knotted it back up. Thomas got a steal and score to swing the score back to BGSU, but a WMU layup matched for a 66-66 score.
Felt put the Falcons back in front with the back-and-forth, slamming home two points to give BGSU a 68-66 lead at the final media timeout of regulation.
Coming out of the break, Western Michigan made two free throws to tie the score at 68-68. On BGSU's end, Butler drew a foul and made two to push BGSU in front 70-68.
Butler increased the Bowling Green lead with a slam followed by a Johnson jumper the next time down for a 6-0 BGSU run to force a WMU timeout.
Two free throws for WMU cut into the lead, but a Campbell layup matched the two. WMU sank another at the line followed by Thomas hitting two to push the score to 78-71.
Western Michigan made a layup and used their full timeout with 26.9 seconds on the clock and the score at 78-73.
Thomas added two more at the line for the Falcons followed by a WMU layup and a BGSU timeout with the score at 80-75.
The same sequence followed with Butler hitting the free throws this time to move the score to 82-77.
Johnson added another at the line for BGSU followed by a WMU layup to move the score to the 83-79 final.
Bowling Green will remain on the road for their next contest, heading to Muncie, Ind. for a matchup with Ball State on Saturday (Jan. 11) at 2 p.m. The Falcons will then return home for two consecutive home games, beginning with Buffalo on Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.
Kent State 68, Northern Illinois 50
Box Score
DeKalb – The Kent State Men's Basketball team picked up their first Mid-American Conference win of the 2024-2025 season on Tuesday night dominating the Huskies of Northern Illinois University by a final score of 68-50. Two Golden Flashes posted double-doubles, and three tallied double-digit rebounds.
Kent State opened the ballgame on an 8-4 run by the first media timeout. VonCameron Davis quickly pushed his point total to double-digits with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. Shortly after Anthony Morales triggered an NIU timeout with his first points of the night pushing the KSU lead to nine. Kent State's defense was stifling as the blue and gold continued to knock down shots late in the first half taking a 14-point lead into the break. Kent State went back to work in the second half. With 7:41 left to play Davis recorded a new career in scoring dropping his 27th point of the game at the free throw line. He ultimately scored 31 before the final horn. Northern Illinois tallied their final points with 3:44 left in the half. From there Kent State did not allow NIU to score again and pushed the final score to an 18 point difference.
Davis' 31 points were a Kent State career high for the redshirt senior forward. Additionally, with 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals, he tallied his fourth career double-double. Fellow senior Cli'Ron Hornbeak grabbed his third career double-double scoring 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds with three blocks. Marquis Barnett was the third Flash to reach double-digit rebounds with 10. Scoring seven points in the game, Barnett is just three points shy of 1,000 on his college career. Jalen Sullinger also tallied another high scoring game dropping 10 points. Cian Medley led KSU in assists with five.
Kent State will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 10 against the Bulls of the University at Buffalo at 6:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on national television via CBS Sport Network. For more information on Kent State men's basketball, fans can follow the team on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Miami 80, Ball State 72
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – Kam Craft scored a game-high 28 points and the Miami University men's basketball team posted an 80-72 road win at Ball State Tuesday night in Mid-American Conference action. Peter Suder and Eian Elmer added 11 points apiece for the RedHawks (10-4, 2-0 MAC), while Mekhi Cooper chipped in 10. Jermahri Hill and Payton Sparks each scored 20 points for the Cardinals, who fall to 7-7 (1-1 MAC).
Miami grabbed an early 7-1 lead on a pair of buckets by Antwone Woolfolk and Craft's first three-pointer of the night. After a 9-2 run for the Cardinals, Craft made his fourth field goal in as many attempts to pull the Red and White within 19-18 at the under-eight-minute media timeout.
A thunderous dunk by Elmer followed a Suder driving layup and gave Miami the lead for good at 26-23 with five minutes remaining in the half. Elmer connected on a triple from the top of the arc and added a layup a minute later to keep the RedHawks on top at 31-27. Evan Ipsaro scored the visitors' next four points, and then Craft closed the half with a deep three-pointer in the final seconds to send Miami to the locker room with a 38-33 cushion.
Craft picked up where he left off after halftime, draining a three on Miami's first possession and then knocking in two more two-point jumpers on back-to-back trips for a 45-40 lead. Elmer chipped in a steal and breakaway dunk to make it 47-40 with 15:54 left. Reece Potter found Ipsaro and Craft for layups on consecutive backdoor feeds for a 51-45 advantage, and then drilled a straightaway three-pointer at the 12:15 mark to make it 54-49.
Miami continued to find success with backdoor plays, as Woolfolk picked up an assist to Craft and Potter did the same for Suder, with the latter accounting for a 66-60 lead. A driving lay-in from Craft made the score 68-62 at the final media timeout. The RedHawks kept the home team at bay with a backdoor layup by Cooper, again off a Potter assist, followed by a tough turnaround in the paint by Suder at the 2:29 mark to stretch the scoreline to 72-65. Cooper converted four straight free throws down the stretch to match Miami's largest lead at 76-68, and the RedHawks held on from there for an 80-72 final.
Miami shot 55.4% from the field (31-of-56) and held BSU to 43.4% (23-of-53).
The RedHawks picked up their fourth straight win, matching the longest streak under Travis Steele (Feb. 18-28, 2023). Miami is 2-0 to start Mid-American Conference play for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
Potter set a new career high with five assists, and Miami produced 20 or more assists as a team for the fourth consecutive game.
The RedHawks committed under 10 turnovers for the fifth time this season. Suder blocked a season-high two shots.
Craft finished with his second-highest point total of the season and has scored in double figures in 12 of Miami's 14 games.
Miami continues conference play by hosting Western Michigan Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3:30 p.m.
Tickets are available here.
Ohio 88, Buffalo 79
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Led by 27 points from senior forward AJ Clayton and a career-high 16 rebounds from junior forward Aidan Hadaway, the Ohio men's basketball team (8-6, 2-0 MAC) returned to action Tuesday night (Jan. 7), defeating Buffalo (5-9, 0-2 MAC), 88-77, inside Alumni Arena.
Overall, Ohio shot 50.8 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from three and were 14-of-19 from the line, while UB shot 42.6 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from three and were 14-of-22 from the line. Ohio outrebounded UB 45-33. Both teams dished out 19 assists, while Ohio recorded nine steals and forced 13 turnovers.
Individually, Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 27 points, going 10-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from three, while grabbing seven boards and recording three blocks. Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) scored 17 points, going 7-of-10 from the field and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds. Graduate student forward Vic Searls (Hilliard, Ohio) added 10 points, while junior guard Elmore James (Cleveland, Ohio) scored nine points and had five rebounds.
Buffalo won the tip and got on the board first but Ohio quickly tied the game with a layup from Hadaway. The two teams continued to trade baskets with Buffalo taking an 8-5 lead going into the first media timeout. After going down 12-5, the Bobcats went on an 8-2 run to cut the UB lead to 14-13, forcing Buffalo to call a timeout with 8:38 to go in the half. Out of the timeout, a defensive stop from the Bobcats resulted in a transition three by Clayton, putting the Bobcats up 16-14 going into the under-eight media timeout.
Ohio continued the run with Hadaway leading the Bobcats' offense. Behind two scoring plays by Hadaway, the Bobcats took a 27-14 lead before Buffalo ended its five-minute offensive drought. Ohio responded with freshman forward Ayden Evans (Radcliff, Ky.) capitalizing on an alley-oop dunk to give Ohio a 29-16 lead with 3:52 left in the half. Out of the break, free throws from Clayton put the Bobcats up 31-16 before the Bulls got on the board with a jumper. Junior guard Ajay Sheldon's (Dublin, Ohio) fastbreak layup aided Ohio as it continued to dominated offensively for the remainder of the first half, only allowed two baskets by Buffalo. The Bobcats led the Bulls, 37-20 going into halftime.
At the half, Ohio shot 46.4 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and were 9-of-13 from the line, while Buffalo shot 29.4 percent from the field, were 0-for-12 from three and went 0-for-2 from the line. Ohio outrebounded UB, 23-18, while Buffalo dished out seven assists to Ohio's six.
Ohio opened the second half with a jumper from Hadaway. After UB responded with a dunk, a layup from junior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) and threes from redshirt sophomore guard AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) and Clayton helped put the Bobcats up 51-32 going into the first media timeout. Out of the break, the two teams traded baskets and free throws, with layups from Searls and graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.), giving Ohio a 20-point lead with 11:47 remaining in the game.
Out of the break, free throws from Brown and another layup from Hadaway helped increase Ohio's lead to 64-46 with 8:50 to go. As the game progressed, the Bobcats and Bulls traded baskets. Clayton caught fire with eight-straight points, including two threes and a dunk, to put Ohio up 83-66 with under three minutes to go in the game.
In the final minutes of the game, Ohio utilized its bench. Redshirt sophomore guard Ben Estis (Southlake, Texas) hit a three, putting Ohio up 88-71 with 1:26 to go. However, Buffalo went on an 8-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to nine with 7.8 seconds to go. Despite Buffalo's scoring run, the Bobcats were able to get possession and run out the clock, securing the victory.
For Buffalo, Tyson Dunn led the way with 21 points, five rebounds and four steals.
The Bobcats are back in Athens on Saturday, Jan. 11 when they host Northern Illinois. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+. The game is the first on a men's and wome
n's doubleheader with the women's team taking on Kent State at 3:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the men's game.
Toledo 90, Eastern Michigan 87
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – Sophomore Sam Lewis scored a team-high 20 points to lead all five starters in double figures on Tuesday night in Toledo's 90-87 victory over Eastern Michigan in Mid-American Conference men's basketball action in Savage Arena. The victory kept the Rockets (8-6, 2-0) unbeaten in the early stages of league play.
Sophomore Sonny Wilson tallied nine of his 19 points in the final four minutes to hold off a hard-charging Eagle squad (7-7, 1-1 MAC) that took a 74-73 advantage with 2:47 remaining. Wilson followed that with a pair of clutch baskets on the Rockets' next two possessions to put UT ahead to stay.
Sophomore Bryce Ford also had a big night for Toledo, finishing with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Ford knocked down 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc as well. Sophomore Javan Simmons contributed 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams produced 12 points and a team-high six assists.
The Eagles were led offensively by the trio of Jalen Terry (26 pts.), Christian Henry (22 pts.) and Da'Sean Nelson (20 pts.)
Toledo shot 51.7% from the field, 44.4% (8-of-18) from three-point range and 75.9% (22-of-29) from the charity stripe. EMU posted a 55.4 shooting mark, a 43.5 three-point FG% (10-of-23), and 78.9 FT% (15-of-19).
The Rockets registered a 31-29 rebounding advantage and forced the Eagles to commit 16 turnovers leading to a 26-14 point advantage for Toledo in that department.
The Rockets jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but EMU countered with a 13-6 run to knot the score at 15-15 at the 12:06 mark.
Isaiah Adams and Bryce Ford each had a pair of buckets during a 14-0 spurt that gave the Rockets a 31-17 lead with 8:03 to go in the first half.
Da'Sean Nelson hit a layup to cut Toledo's lead to eight and make it 36-28 at the 3:53 mark.
Rockets finished the half on a 10-5 run to take a 46-33 lead into the locker room.
Four Rockets had at least eight points in the first half led by Sam Lewis with 12.
EMU shot 12-23 from the floor, but the Rockets forced 11 Eagle turnovers.
Jalen Terry opened the half with a pair of three-pointers and EMU went on a 14-4 run to trim the lead to 50-47 at the 16:28 mark.
Seth Hubbard hit a jumper at the 11:47 mark to increase Toledo's margin to 58-51.
Eastern cut the lead to two before Bryce Ford hit a pair of triples as part of an 8-0 run with 8:21 left.
Jalen Terry capped a 10-0 burst for Eastern with a three-pointer to tie the game, 66-66, with 7:09 to play.
Eastern took its only lead of the game, 74-73, on a pair of free throws with 2:47 left in the half.
Toledo made seven free throws in the last minute to close out the three-point victory.
The Rockets will host Central Michigan (6-8, 0-2 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 10 at 8:00 p.m. in a nationally televised game on the CBS Sports Network. Toledo will then begin a stretch of playing four of its next five games on the road when it travels to Akron (9-5, 2-0 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
