Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Ball State 76, Ohio 71
Kent State 87, Toledo 84
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 76, Ohio 71
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men's basketball team rode another strong performance from Armoni Zeigler and clutch free throw shooting by Devon Barnes to a 76-71 win over Ohio on Friday night at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals got out to a 28-13 lead, took a 44-31 edge into halftime and never trailed in the contest, but the visiting Bobcats got within one point on three occasions in the final two minutes. Zeigler hit a shot with 1:07 to play to put the Ball State ahead 71-68 before an Ohio layup got the visitors back to a one-point deficit at 71-70. After the two teams traded single free throws, Barnes scored the game's last four points at the free throw line in the final 20 seconds to clinch the win for the Cardinals.
Zeigler tallied 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal a game after scoring 30 points, while Davion Hill (19 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals) and Barnes (12 points) followed in double figures for Ball State (5-13, 1-5 Mid-American Conference).
Mason Jones chipped in seven points, four rebounds and two assists, and Elmore James IV and Cam Denson had five and four points, respectively. Freshman Preston Copeland hauled in seven rebounds on the night.
Twenty of Zeigler's points were scored in the first half including a pair of free throws in the closing seconds of the opening period to give the hosts the 13-point advantage going into the locker room. Ohio (10-9, 4-3 MAC) quickly closed its deficit to six points at 46-40 to force a Ball State timeout, but the Cardinals steadied and eventually built the lead back up to 14 points on a 3-pointer from Hill with 8:26 to play for a 64-50 edge.
Aidan Hadaway and Jackson Paveletzke paced Ohio with 22 points each on a night the Bobcats were limited to 25 percent shooting (4-16) on 3-pointers.
Ball State committed two fewer turnovers (12-10), but Ohio grabbed one more rebound (31-30). The Cardinals held edges in points off turnovers (16-11) and bench points (23-0).
The hosts went 43.1 percent (22-51) from the field including 36.8 percent (7-19) from distance and 80.6 percent (25-31) at the foul line. Ohio hit 48.1 percent (26-54) of its field goal attempts and 78.9 percent (15-19) on free throws.
Next up for the Cardinals is a Tuesday night road game at Central Michigan.
Kent State 87, Toledo 84
Box Score
KENT – Kent State Men's Basketball (14-4, 5-1 MAC) earned their fifth MAC win of the season on Friday night downing the University of Toledo by a final score of 87-84. After trailing at halftime, the Golden Flashes scored 52 second half points to come back and snatch the win from the Rockets. Four KSU player tallied double-digits in the contest.
The two ball clubs went basket for basket out of the gate with both teams making things difficult for the other. Kent State trailed sitting at 14 points close to five minutes before orchestrating a run to tie the game back up at 19, then 21. Brenden Moss, Delrecco Gillespie, and Dezmon Briscoe closing the gap with late second half shots. Kent State trailed by six points after the first 20 minutes. The Flashes began to storm back five minutes into the second as Gillespie blocked a dunk on one end following it up with a layup on the other end to make it a three-point game at 15:30 left to play. Cian Medley hit a three to tie the game a 53 before taking their first lead of the second half on a Rayvon Griffth tip-in. Kent State went on a 7-3 run to push the lead to 68-62. The Rockets closed the gap to one possession with under 1:41 to play. Gillespie and Jahari Williamson kept the foot on the gas for Kent State in the closing seconds as the Flashes closed it out on foul shots. 87-84 was the final.
With the victory, Kent State extended their winning streak over Toledo to four straight games. Delrecco Gillespie continues to lead the nation in double-doubles posting his 15th of the season with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Williamson heated up down the stretch dropping five threes on the way to 19 points. He continues to lead the Flashes in three-point percentage (.493). Medley dished out nine assists and dropped 11 points. The Golden Flashes are 21-3 when Cian Medley has five or more assists dating back to last season. Rob Whaley Jr. posted his 10th double-digit game of his season and KSU career.
Kent State Men's Basketball will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 20 hosting Miami (OH) University in the M.A.C. Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. between the Golden Flashes and RedHawks.
