Six MAC Teams Win In Final Non-Conference Games
Friday's Scoreboard
Eastern Michigan 67, Rochester College 48
Toledo 85, Penn 72
Akron 86, Concord 49
Ohio 65, Northwestern Ohio 58
Ball State 75, Florida A&M 54
Central Michigan 91, Lawrence Tech 73
Iowa 98, Northern Illinois 75
Stories Courtesy of the Associated Press/MAC Sports Information
Eastern Michigan 67, Rochester College 48
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Paul Jackson and Kevin McAdoo scored 12 points apiece and Eastern Michigan wrapped up its nonleague season with a 67-48 win over NAIA Rochester on Friday.
The Eagles (9-4), who are 10-0 against the Royals over the past seven seasons, took charge give minutes into the game with an 11-3 run making it 19- midway through the first half. A14-4 run pushed it up to double figures before the Eagles scored the last seven points of the half for a 45-22 lead.
Eastern Michigan shot 52 percent and held the Royals to in the first half before coasting in.
Cap Wilson had 14 points and Kash Blackwell 10 for the Royals, who used the game as an exhibition.
Toledo 85, Penn 72
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA -- Tre'Shaun Fletcher scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, Jaelan Sanford added 19 points and Toledo pulled away in the final six minutes to defeat Penn 85-72 on Friday.
There were 15 ties and eight lead changes with Marreon Jackson breaking the last tie with a 3-pointer with 5:59 to go that put the Rockets ahead 64-61. Toledo missed its next two shots but made its final five, including a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk by Nate Navigato.
The Rockets (8-5) also made six free throws in the final minute and was 12 of 13 in the second half, to go with 18 for 25 shooting, including 4 of 5 behind the arc. It is the second straight game they shot at least 70 percent in the second half. Navigato finished with 14 points and Jackson 12.
Ryan Betley had 20 points, 11 in the first half when Penn (9-5), which had a four-game winning streak snapped, led 37-33. Darnell Foreman added 16 points and Max Rothschild had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Akron 86, Concord 49
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio -- Malcolm Duvivier hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and six assists, Jimond Ivey also scored 24 points and Akron beat Division II Concord University 86-49 on Friday night.
Duvivier, a graduate transfer from Oregon State, and Ivey combined for 14-of-23 shooting. Daniel Utomi added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Akron (7-5).
Ivey hit a 3 to open the scoring and the Zips never trailed, using runs of 10-2 and 11-0 before scoring 13 of the final 15 first-half points to take a 44-16 lead into the break. Concord trailed by at least 28 throughout the second half.
Tommy Bolte, the only Concord player to score in double figures, had 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting. The Mountain Lions made just 18 of 66 (27 percent) from the field, including 4 of 20 on 3-pointers.
The Zips hit 12 of 25 from 3-point range and outrebounded Concord 48-33. Emmanuel Olojakpoke grabbed 11 boards and Eric Parrish had 10 rebounds -- both career highs -- for the Zips.
Ohio 65, Northwestern Ohio 58
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (7-5) closed out the non-conference portion of its 2017-18 schedule with a 65-58 win over Northwestern Ohio on Friday (Dec. 29) at the Convocation Center.
"We need to play much better than that," said fourth-year head coach Saul Phillips. "There's a jillion reasons why it may have occurred. All of them are excuses. All I'm interested in is not playing that way again."
Graduate forward Kevin Mickle (Brooklyn, N.Y.) provided the Bobcats with a game-high 15 points off of the bench, going 7-of-13 from the field. He has now finished in double figures in each of the last four games and seven times this season. Mickle also posted three rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes of work.
"Shooting the ball more," said Mickle of the reasons for his success on the offensive end. "Playing a little more extended. Running the floor well. Actually adding more moves and combos coming off my left shoulder. Seeing the floor, seeing the court with a point guard-type vision. Going out and in, or in and out. Basically, being more versatile in the game."
Freshman guard Teyvion Kirk (Joliet, Ill.) achieved his first career double-double with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to set a new career high. He also chipped in three assists while playing all 40 minutes. Kirk has finished in double figures in points a team-high 10 times this year.
"I can be very versatile," said Kirk. "Scoring, rebounding, assists. I just try to do everything for the team, whatever they need me to do. Plus with rebounds, it starts a break by itself with me being a point guard."
Senior guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) returned to the starting lineup after missing one game with an injury, totaling 12 points, two rebounds and two assists over 32 minutes. He has reached double digits in points in each of his last eight games. Junior forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) notched nine points, six rebounds and a block in 22 minutes. Junior guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) compiled eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in 32 minutes of work.
The Bobcats took a 36-30 lead into halftime after shooting 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes of play. Kirk went 4-of-7 for 11 points while Mickle scored nine points off of a 4-of-6 effort from the floor.
Ohio's lead swelled to double digits for the first time with just over 18 minutes remaining when a layup by Taylor put the Bobcats up by a 41-30 count. The Bobcats outscored the Racers by a 24-14 margin over the opening 12:27 of the second half, with a rim rocking fastbreak slam dunk by Mickle off of a steal putting Ohio up by a game-high 16 points at 60-44 with just over seven minutes to go.
Northwestern Ohio would not go away quietly, though. The Racers went on a 9-0 run to make it a four-point contest with 3:28 left, with a pair of baskets by senior forward Daniel Page and a three-pointer by senior guard Sadeeq Bello powering the rally. The Bobcats went nearly six minutes without scoring a single point until Laster finally broke the slump by draining a corner trey off of a cross-court skip pass by junior guard/forward Gavin Block (Lincoln, Ill.) to give Ohio a seven-point lead at 63-56 with 1:45 remaining. Senior forward Corbin Pierce made a layup on Northwestern Ohio's next possession to make it a five-point affair with just over a minute to go, but the Racers were forced to foul Laster on Ohio's next trip down the floor. Laster sank a pair of freebies with 56 seconds left to seal the win.
Ball State 75, Florida A&M 54
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Tahjai Teague scored 16 points and Ball State defeated Florida A&M 75-54, winning its eighth straight in a final nonconference game Friday night.
Trey Moses scored 10 points with 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (9-4) and Tayler Persons scored 10 points with four assists.
Ball State held a 39-30 advantage on the boards and outscored Florida A&M 24-16 in the paint and 15-6 on second-chance points.
Desmond Williams scored 20 to lead the Aggies (1-15). Marcus Barham added 18 with three of the team's four 3-pointers.
Ball State drained 10 3-pointers with Jeremie Tyler going 3 for 3 from distance. Kyle Mallers and Sean Sellers hit two each.
The Cardinals win streak is their longest since winning ten in a row in the 1999-2000 season.
Florida A&M trailed 30-26 at halftime as Ball State made only eight field goals -- six of them 3-pointers -- in the first half before shooting 53 percent after the break.
Central Michigan 91, Lawrence Tech 73
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In two days, it will be a new year. In four days, it will be a new season.
And there is little that the Central Michigan men’s basketball team did during November and December to suggest that there isn’t a whole lot of promise going forward.
The Chippewas closed the nonconference portion of their schedule on Friday by running past NAIA Lawrence Tech, 91-73, at McGuirk Arena.
The win, CMU’s third straight, lifted the Chippewas to 11-2. The 11 nonconference wins is a program record, and the Chippewas entered Friday’s game ranked No. 21 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Now, it’s turn-the-page time. The Chippewas open Mid-American Conference play at home on Tuesday, Jan. 2, against Ohio (7-5).
“We’re turning the corner, it’s a new season, everyone’s 0-0 in the conference, we’re all tied with each other,” said CMU sophomore David DiLeo, who hit seven of his 10 3-point attempts en route to a game-high 25 points in leading the Chippewas past Lawrence Tech. “We need to continue to build off of what we started in the nonconference and keep it rolling.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve got an undefeated team going against a winless team, you’ve got to come ready to play. It’s whoever wants it more, really. Whoever goes out and wants a W is going to get it.”
DiLeo went 5-for-6 from long range in helping stake the Chippewas to a 61-36 halftime lead. Lawrence Tech (1-14) never got closer than 18 in the second half, allowing CMU coach Keno Davis to utilize all 14 of his players.
Cecil Williams added 20 points and Shawn Roundtree had 16 for the Chippewas, who made 11 of their 21 first-half triple tries and finished 15-of-43 from long range. The 15 3-pointers was their second-highest total of the season.
They outrebounded the Blue Devils, 39-31, and forced 17 turnovers while committing just seven, their second-lowest total of the season. Luke Meyer led CMU with eight rebounds, while DiLeo had three steals, tying his season high.
Ty’rese Searles scored 27 points and Devonte Myles had 21 for Lawrence Tech, which finished 17-of-32 from 3-point range (53.1 percent).
“I’m really pleased with what this team’s been able to accomplish through the nonconference part of the season,” CMU coach Keno Davis said. “To come out 11-2, just about everyone in the country would like to go into their conference schedule 11-2.
“The attitude’s been great, the work ethic’s been great. We know that there’s going to be tough nights; we haven’t had many of them yet. We understand where this team is going and where this program’s going. We’re not there yet, but if we can keep that attitude and that effort where it’s been each and every day, I’ll be pleased with the final result.”
Iowa 98, Northern Illinois 75
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A once-heavy snowfall started to die off outside, but for Northern Illinois in Carver-Hawkeye arena against Iowa, it felt like a blizzard on Friday night.
The Hawkeyes' hot shooting and stingy defense blanketed the Huskies in Iowa's 98-75 win.
"We were really smart with our passes and we pushed the ball in transition but not really forcing anything," Jordan Bohannon said. "And we really didn't make any silly mistakes with the ball."
The Hawkeyes (9-6) tied a program record with 34 assists, knocked down shots at a stellar rate, and found balanced scoring as they coasted for a win over the Huskies (7-6).
Luka Garza had 25 points and didn't miss a shot on eight attempts, while Tyler Cook finished 6 of 7 for 17 points -- an effective one-two punch from the big men.
"Whenever I go in there, I'm going to play as hard as I can," Garza said. "Whatever happens, happens. That's how I've always played in my career."
Garza's shooting included three 3-pointers, something head coach Fran McCaffery hasn't seen out of too many forwards with a 6-11 frame.
"His energy level was phenomenal," McCaffery said. "You watch him run and attack the glass at both ends, every possession. He was moving without the ball very well (and) posting hard. . He had 25 points in 16 minutes. You don't see that very often."
In its losses -- both in nonconference and initial Big Ten games -- Iowa found itself falling behind early, but against Northern Illinois, it was a complete switch.
Right from the get-go, everything clicked for the Hawkeyes. Iowa jumped out to a 13-0 lead within the game's first three minutes.
The Huskies elected not to handle Cook with double teams at the start of the game, and he took advantage, outmuscling single defenders for points in the paint. Northern Illinois did double team him as the game wore on, but not before Iowa built a considerable lead.
Cook knocked down a pair of uncontested jump shots during that quick three-minute stretch, something uncommon from the sophomore who has more typically relied on his strength and post proficiency.
But Cook may be looking that way more often in the future.
"It opens up the floor for not only myself, but for the rest of the guys," Cook said. "I get guys to close out on me and then (it opens the floor) for other guys as well. The more I take and make that shot, the more I think it'll open up the game for myself."
The rest of the first half followed suit. The Huskies could not keep up with the Hawkeyes, whose open shots proved to be too much for Northern Illinois. Iowa's record-setting assist total equated to transition buckets and makes from all over the court.
