Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 96, Toledo 87
Bowling Green 71, Northern Illinois 58
Central Michigan 69, Ball State
Eastern Michigan 83, Ohio 79
Kent State 77, Western Michigan 76
Miami 84, Buffalo 69
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 96, Toledo 87
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Akron men's basketball team recorded its first win at Toledo since January 23, 2013 as six Zips scored in double figures in a 96-87 win against the Toledo Rockets on Tuesday.
The Zips (24-6, 16-1) were led by Shammah Scott, who had 16 points, five assists and two steals. Tavari Johnson tacked on 14 points and two steals and Nate Johnson helped out with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. This was the 18th game this season Akron has seen four or more players hit double figure scoring in a game.
The Akron offense was strong from downtown, making 13 threes on 24 attempts. Tavari Johnson hit four treys for the Zips in the contest. Akron has connected on 10 or more 3-pointers in 17 games this season.
Akron moved the ball well against the Rockets, collecting 21 assists on 32 made baskets. The Blue and Gold have recorded 20 or more assists in 14 games.
After jumping out to a 12-10 advantage, Akron went on a 9-0 run with 13:41 left in the first half to increase its lead to 21-10. The Zips then added 10 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 45-24 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down eight shots to account for 24 of its 45 points.
The Zips then held on for the victory in the second half. Akron got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 19 of its 51 total points.
The Zips conclude the regular season at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday, March 7 for a 7 p.m. start against Buffalo on Senior Day.
Bowling Green 71, Northern Illinois 58
Box Score
DeKALB, Ill. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team tallied their fourth-straight win as well as their fourth-straight road win, topping Northern Illinois Tuesday (March 4) in a 71-58 final. The Falcons were paced by strong defensive play in the game, holding the Huskies to just 29.8-percent from the field and 28.2-percent from three. The defensive outing was complemented by four Falcons registering double-digit points in the contest on top of 45 team rebounds for the Orange and Brown. The Falcons are now 8-9 within the MAC. A win in Friday's (March 7) regular season finale at home would punch BGSU's ticket to Cleveland in the MAC Tournament. Full scenarios will be available in the game preview ahead of Friday's contest.
For the Falcons, Derrick Butler and Marcus Johnson led the charge in the first half, each with 14 points, including four three-pointers from Butler. In the second half, Javontae Campbell and DaJion Humphrey took over with Humphrey scoring all 11 of his points in the second half. As for Campbell, he scored 13 of his 19, hauled in seven of his eight rebounds and tallied three of his four assists all in the second. Campbell topped the final stat sheet with 19 points followed by 17 from Johnson, 14 from Butler and 11 from Humphrey.
The Falcons won the opening tip and tallied the first points of the game with a layup from Marcus Johnson. NIU later connected on a three for their first basket with a 3-2 score in the early going.
A similar sequence followed with Johnson hitting a jumper before an NIU three, creating a possession advantage for the Huskies. A layup from Javontae Campbell knotted the score at 6-6.
The two teams began trading three-pointers. Derrick Butler hit a three followed by an NIU three. Butler was able to work with a layup, but another NIU three came on the next possession for a 12-11 Northern Illinois lead at the first media timeout.
After the timeout, Johnson made two at the line for the Falcons to swing the score back to Bowling Green. Butler followed with a pair of threes for an 8-0 BGSU run and 19-12 advantage.
The Huskies ended the run with a pair of threes, pulling within one, 19-18, at the under-12 media break with all 18 of their points coming from behind the arc.
The three-point barrage for the Huskies continued after the break, adding another for a 9-0 run and their first 21 points from deep.
For the Falcons, Butler ended the NIU run with his fourth three of the game, but another Northern Illinois triple put the Huskies back in front 24-22 at the under-8 break.
Out of the timeout, a layup from Campbell off a Jamai Felt steal tied the game at 24-24. Campbell added another the next trip down to reclaim the lead for the Falcons.
The Falcons kept the run going with a three from Johnson and later a layup for a 9-0 BGSU run and 31-24 lead.
A three from Northern Illinois ended the BGSU run, but Wilguens Jr. Exacte answered with a quick layup followed by another Johnson three, pushing the lead to 36-27 at the final media timeout of the half.
Out of the timeout, the Huskies made a layup, their first non-three of the game with 1:34 left in the first half. A second layup trimmed the score to 36-31 at the halftime break.
DaJion Humphrey opened the second half with a three for the Falcons, but Northern Illinois responded with one of their own.
The Huskies later added a layup and a free throw on a separate possession, cutting the lead down to 39-37. Another NIU layup tied the score at 39-39 at the first media timeout of the second half. After the timeout, a Johnson free throw put the Falcons back in front, 40-39.
Humphrey added three at the line after drawing a foul behind the arc. A Campbell layup followed for a 6-0 BGSU burst, building the lead back to 45-39 with NIU taking a timeout.
Northern Illinois ended the run with two at the line. Campbell matched the points with a layup on the BGSU end for a 47-41 lead at the under-12 timeout.
NIU sank a three out of the timeout to cut the lead down to a possession. A free throw later brought the score to 47-45. An alley-oop inbound from Campbell to Felt halted the momentum for the Huskies.
Two more at the line for Northern Illinois continued the back-and-forth, but another Campbell-to-Felt alley oop matched the points. Humphrey followed with a three to push the BGSU advantage back to 54-47.
Humphrey drew a foul on a rebound and made both ends of a one-and-one, creating a 7-0 BGSU run and 56-47 lead at the under-8 media timeout.
After a scoreless drought for both teams, the Huskies made two at the line. For the Falcons, Felt got a layup to go off a Campbell dish. Campbell added another layup for a 60-49 BGSU lead at the under-4 timeout, coming from an NIU called timeout with Bowling Green on an 11-2 run spanning over seven minutes of game time.
NIU ended the Falcon stretch with one at the line after the timeout. Campbell responded with two at the line for Bowling Green. The back-and-forth continued with a Northern Illinois layup and two at the line for a 62-54 score and a BGSU timeout.
A lob pass found Campbell all alone just beyond half court, beating the press for a layup. Down the stretch, Campbell added three at the line for a 67-54 advantage.
The Huskies made two at the line, but Johnson responded with two free throws for the Falcons. Braelon Green made two as well before an NIU dunk for a 71-58 final.
The Falcons will be back at the Stroh Center on Friday (March 7) for the regular season finale. Bowling Green will host Western Michigan in a 7 p.m. tip with key MAC Tournament implications on the line. A win for BGSU would clinch a spot in the MAC Tournament.
Central Michigan 69, Ball State
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind.—Jakobi Heady scored nine points in the final 2:32 and Central Michigan came all the way back from a 21-point second half deficit to register a dramatic 69-67 men's basketball victory over Ball State Tuesday evening at Worthen Arena.
Heady finished off a 3-point play to tie the game at 63-63 with 2:06 to go. After Ball State's Jermahri Hill scored a layup, Heady answered again with a driving layup of his own to tie the game at 65-65. Ball State turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and Heady gave CMU its first lead of the game, 67-65, with 46 seconds to play. Ball State's Mickey Pearson tied the game at 67-67 with 34 seconds after he converted two free throws.
But Heady and the Chippewas would not be denied. Central Michigan set him up with the ball and he swished a jumper with eight seconds left for the game-winning basket. Ball State's final shot missed its mark and the Chippewas earned an impressive road victory after leading for a total of 45 seconds.
It was a tale of two halves for Central Michigan. After shooting just 31 percent in the first half and trailing by 17 points at halftime, the Chippewas shot 66.7 percent (18-27) from the floor in the second half and outscored Ball State 47-28. Central Michigan trailed by as many as 21 points (43-22) with 19:01 to play.
Heady scored nine of his 18 points in the final minutes and converted 7-15 shots to go along with six rebounds. Pritchard also scored 18 points with a game-high six assists and seven rebounds, and center Ugnius Jarusevicius added 13 points on 4-10 shooting while battling foul trouble. He played the majority of the second half with four fouls. The Chippewas turned to Quentin Heady and DeCorion Temple, who came off the bench to score a career-high six points on two field goals and two free throws. Itt was Temple's contribution on the defensive end that made the difference.
The win keeps Central Michigan's postseason hopes alive as it attempts to earn a berth into the 2025 MAC Tournament. With the victory, Central Michigan improves to 14-16 overall and 7-10 in the MAC, while Ball State drops to 14-16 overall and 7-10 in the MAC. The Chippewas are now tied with Ball State for ninth place in the standings with identical 7-10 records. Western Michigan and Bowling Green, two teams CMU holds head-to-head tiebreakers against, are both one game ahead in eighth place with 8-9 records.
One game remains on Friday as Central Michigan closes out its 2024-25 regular season as it hosts Northern Illinois for Senior Night at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena. Seniors Jakobi Heady and Anthony Pritchard will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.
Ball State was led by Hill's game-high 21 points, while Pearson finished with 11.
In establishing a 17-point halftime lead (39-22), Ball State converted 53.3 percent (16-30) of its first half shots. Central Michigan hit just 1-10 of its 3-point shots and finished with 32.1 percent (9-28) on field goals.
Ball State used a 13-0 run to take a commanding 24-7 first half lead. Pearson started the scoring with a turnaround jumper, Joey Hart followed with a 3-pointer, TJ Burch made a jumper, Hill hit a 3-pointer, and TJ Burch hit a 3-pointer for a 24-7 lead with 9:28 to play in the first half.
Ball State extended its lead to 15 points, 32-17, on a 3-point play by Jeremiah Hernandez at the 3:08 mark. The Cardinals closed out the half when Juanse Gorosito scored on a driving layup at the buzzer for the 17-point lead.
After Ball State pushed its lead to 21 points early in the second half, Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to cut the lead down. Cayden Vasko scored on a turnaround jumper, Jarusevicius hit a 3-pointer, Pritchard finished off a driving layup, and Jarusevicius scored on a hook shot and all of a sudden the Chippewas trimmed the lead down to 43-31 with 16:11 to play.
Another 9-0 run by Central Michigan fueled by two Jakobi Heady free throws, a Pritchard turnaround jumper and Vasko 3-pointer. Then Pritchard took it all the way to basket for a layup and Ball State led 55-52 with 6:54 to play.
A steal and layup by Quentin Heady cut the deficit down to one point, 55-54 at the 6:24 mark, but the Cardinals answered with a 6-0 run as Hill registered a 3-point play on a driving layup and Ethan Brittain-Watts hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 61-54 with 4:06 to play.
It marked Central Michigan's third straight victory over Ball State in Muncie and avenged an 82-80 home loss to the Cardinals on Jan. 21.
Eastern Michigan 83, Ohio 79
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team secured a Mid-American Conference Tournament berth as the Eagles topped Ohio University, 83-79, Tuesday, March 4, inside the Convocation Center.
With a seed still to-be-determined, the Eagles earned their first MAC Tournament berth since 2020 and first appearance in Cleveland for the MAC Tournament since 2018. With the win, Eastern was able to clinch the bid with losses by Ball State University and Western Michigan University, earning at least the No. 7 seed.
Although EMU was unable to hold a 15-point first-half lead, Eastern never trailed in the game as it was led Christian Henry (Chicago, Ill./The Skill Factory/Panola College), who scored 23 points.
With Jalen Terry's (Flint, Mich./Beecher/Oregon/DePaul) 15 points, Da'Sean Nelson's (Toledo, Ohio/Robert S. Rogers/Kilgore College/DePaul) 14 points, Arne Osojnik's (Ljubljana, Slovenia/Dream City Christian) 13 points, and Yusuf Jihad's (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington/Oakland) 10 points to mark EMU's second game with five scorers with 10-plus points this season.
Eastern started hot out of the gates, holding a 9-2 lead through four minutes.
The Eagles used a 6-0 spurt to lead 24-12 and an 8-0 run to take a 32-17 advantage, their largest lead of the contest.
The rest of the half did not go Eastern's way as Ohio netted the game's next 13 points as the Bobcats' 21-6 run over the final 6:11 resulted in a 38-38 tie at halftime as EMU spread eight fouls over its top three scorers in the opening half.
Despite the struggles to close the first half, Eastern was not rattled, opening the second frame with three-pointers from Terry and Osojnik.
The Bobcats quickly tied the game but the Eagles used a quick 7-2 spurt to regain control of the contest before OU came back within one point at 51-50 at the 14:41 mark.
Eastern used a 12-3 run, highlighted by triples from Jihad and Henry, to take a commanding 73-61 lead with 5:42 left.
The Bobcats were able to cut their deficit to five with 1:53 remaining but Eastern's impressive 17-of-19 (89.5%) free throw shooting proved valuable down the stretch as the Eagles converted six free throws in the final 26 seconds as EMU had a trio of 1-and-1 opportunities.
Eastern Michigan travels to Kent State University for a game Friday, March 7, at 7 p.m. With a win, Eastern could earn as high the No. 3 seed.
Kent State 77, Western Michigan 76
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Kent State Men's Basketball (20-10, 10-7 MAC) survived a Tuesday night thriller on the road against Western Michigan University besting the Broncos by a final score of 77-76. Delrecco Gillespie recorded his third career double-double, and Jalen Sullinger led the blue in gold in scoring with 31.
The game was a back-and-forth from the opening tip as Sullinger led all scorers with 18 points at the close of the first 20 minutes. Kent State led 42-39 at the break. The Flashes extended their lead to seven in the opening five minutes of the second. Despite the lead Western Michigan continued to hang around into the late minutes. Willis Jr. hit a driving layup to take a one-point lead for WMU with 4:04 left to play. Kent State responded with a run of their own as Jamal Sumlin, Delrecco Gillispie, and VonCameron Davis making key shots. Following another go ahead WMU shot, Cian Medley drew a foul with just four ticks left on the clock. He made the pair of free throws clinching the win as the Broncos missed a buzzer beating jumper.
The win was Kent State's 20th of the 2024-2025 season. It marks the ninth time the Golden Flashes have had 20 or more wins under the direction of Head Coach Rob Senderoff. Jalen Sulllinger's 31 points were just one shy of his career high of 32, which he has achieved twice this season. The first time he dropped 32 was in KSU's previous meeting with Western Michigan on Jan. 14. Gillespie led the Flashes with 18 boards matching his career high from earlier this season while also scoring 18 for his third double-double of the season and his career. Davis scored 11 points for his 22nd double-digit performance of the season.
Kent State will complete their regular season on Friday, March 7 at home against Eastern Michigan University. Tipoff between the Golden Flashes and Eagles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Our Kent State Men's Basketball Seniors will be honored during pregame.
Miami 84, Buffalo 69
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Miami University men's basketball team rolled past Buffalo 84-69 Tuesday night at Alumni Arena. Peter Suder led Miami with 15 points, while four other RedHawks scored in double digits. Tyson Dunn (16) led the Buffalo Bulls in scoring. Miami rises to 22-8 (13-4 MAC), while Buffalo falls to 9-21 (4-13 MAC). With this victory, the Red and White have clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament.
Buffalo jumped out to a 7-2 lead at the start of play. Suder, Mekhi Cooper and Reece Potter each sank a three to even the score at 11 apiece. The RedHawks then scored seven unanswered points to pull ahead 18-11. The Bulls fought their way back to trail 22-20 with 9:48 left in the first half.
The RedHawks responded with back-to-back triples from Kam Craft and Eian Elmer to hold on to a 28-20 lead. A jumper and a couple of interior shots from Luke Skaljac made it 39-31 with halftime approaching. Cooper and Suder each made a shot from beyond the arc to enter halftime ahead 47-35.
Craft made his second three and Suder added a fastbreak layup plus the foul to give Miami the first six points of the second half. Suder continued to score for the RedHawks, adding a jumper and layup to lead 59-44. A deep shot from Skaljac and numerous layups gave Miami its first 20-point lead of the game at 66-46 with 12:36 remaining.
The Bulls outscored Miami 15-7 to come within 12 points at 73-61. The Bulls came no closer, as Miami used a flurry of layups and free throws to seal an 84-69 victory.
The RedHawks return home to host Ball State in their final regular-season game on Friday, March 7 at 6 p.m. in Oxford, Ohio. This game has been selected for a national telecast on ESPNU.
