Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Miami 119, Wilberforce 69
Western Michigan 127, Aquinas 71
Niagara 69, Buffalo 63
Saint Mary’s 66, Kent State 46
Iowa 103, Northern Illinois 74
Stories courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Miami 119, Wilberforce 69
Boxscore
OXFORD, Ohio — The Miami University men's basketball team rolled past Wilberforce 119-69 Friday night in non-conference action. Evan Ipsaro led Miami (6-6, 0-0 MAC) with 17 points, while six other RedHawks scored in double figures. Cali Davis scored 21 points to lead the Bulldogs (5-11, 1-0 CAC).
Darweshi Hunter scored the opening points of the night by going coast-to-coast for a layup to take a 2-0 lead. Mekhi Cooper dished the ball to Jaquel Morris in the paint on back-to-back plays to give Miami a 12-4 advantage. The RedHawks went on to stretch their lead to 30-11 with 9:27 before halftime. Kotecki knocked down a three-point field goal from the left corner to lead by 20 points at 39-19 with 6:18 on the game clock.
A collection of layups and a Bradley Dean shot from behind the three-point line extended Miami's lead to 48-26. Reece Potter closed out the final three minutes of the half, going 6-6 from the free-throw line. The Red and White entered the intermission with a 57-32 lead.
A no-look touch pass from Anderson Mirambeaux to Bryce Bultman resulted in a layup at 64-34. Eian Elmer made it 69-41 after grabbing an offensive rebound and put the ball in for a layup with 16:28 to play. The RedHawks took their first 40-point lead (85-44) with 11:57 on the game clock, thanks to a layup from Ipsaro.
7:45 remained when Morris put down a dunk to give Miami its 100th point of the night. Shortly after, Elmer stole the ball and put down a dunk to make it 111-52. With less than a minute remaining, Blake Anderson recorded the first points of his career with a three-point bucket. The Red and White closed the game out with a 119-69 victory.
Miami matched the second-most points scored in program history tonight. The last time Miami scored 119 points was against Wilberforce on Dec. 30, 2019.
This is the first time Miami has scored over 100 points since Nov. 13, 2021 against Lamar University (104-75).
Miami shot over 60% from the field for the first time since facing Ohio on Feb. 25, 2023. Cooper set a career-high in assists (eight) and rebounds (10). Potter had a career-high three blocked shots.
Miami had six or more double figure scorers in a game for the first time since Nov. 29, 2022. 13 different players scored for the Red and White.
The RedHawks begin conference play at home against Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan 127, Aquinas 71
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan men's basketball team set single-game program records for points (127), three-pointers (18) and assists (34) in a 127-71 victory over Aquinas College on Friday at University Arena.
All 10 Broncos who saw action on Friday contributed to the record-setting offensive performance, with each recording at least two points and nine of the 10 picking up at least one assist. Leading the way in scoring for Western Michigan (3-9) was Seth Hubbard, who made a career-high six three-pointers on the way to a career-best 27 points. The sophomore also notched a career-high six assists and equaled his career-best with five steals. B. Artis White hit 8-of-11 from the field, including 7-of-10 from downtown, for a career-high tying 23 points. The redshirt junior guard added a career-high eight assists and six rebounds. Javonte Brown went 9-of-11 from the floor for 20 points.
Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and made all six of his free throws to tally a season-high 17 points. Anthony Crump hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor on the way to a season-high 14 points, while JaVaughn Hannah rounded out WMU's double-digit scorers with 13.
The Broncos were out of the gates quickly, using a 15-0 run, which included four consecutive Hubbard three-pointers, to burst into a 20-7 lead in the opening five minutes. Aquinas chiseled its way to within six, 22-16, before WMU started to go inside, ripping off another 12 straight points during a run which included three dunks by Brown and one by Max Burton. Western Michigan had two more 8-0 spurts in the latter stages of the first half and took a 68-40 cushion into the locker room. In the opening period, the Brown and Gold had a season-high 68 points on 27-of-35 (77.1 percent) shooting, including making 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc.
The margin continued to grow in the second half, with a De La Cruz Monegro old-fashioned three-point play at the 11:06 mark bringing the Broncos over the century mark for the first time this season. The Brown and Gold put an exclamation point on the victory in the final minute, as White found Crump in transition for a slam which broke WMU's previous single-game record of 126 points, which came in an overtime game at Marshall on Dec. 20, 1999.
For the game, Western Michigan shot 70.0 percent (49-of-70), tied for the second-best single-game field goal percentage in program history. WMU's 49 made field goals tied for third-most in a game for the Brown and Gold. The record-setting 18 three-pointers made by the Broncos came on 30 attempts, for an even 60.0 percent clip.
In addition to obliterating the old single-game assists record (24), by handing out 34 helpers on Friday, Western Michigan also committed a season-low six turnovers, while forcing the Saints into 18 miscues, the most forced by the WMU defense so far this season. The Broncos enjoyed a 33-27 advantage on the glass to win the rebounding battle for the third consecutive game.
Western Michigan begins Mid-American Conference play with a pair of road games, starting on Tuesday, Jan. 2, with a trip to Oxford to take on Miami. Tip between the Broncos and RedHawks is set for 7 pm on ESPN+.
