Wednesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Bowling Green 81, VMI 48
Buffalo 73, Bucknell 71
Eastern Michigan 64, Cincinnati 56
Miami 82, UNC Greensboro 71
Belmont 87, Toledo 72
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Bowling Green 81, VMI 48
Box Score
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Bowling Green State University men's basketball team put on a defensive display against VMI Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 26) at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Capturing an 81-48 victory, the Falcons held the Keydets to just 20-percent shooting from the field with only 10 made field goals, both believed to be program records based on available statistics. Additionally, Mayar Wol totaled a team-high 21 points, his first 20-point game of the season. Sam Towns added the first BGSU double-double of the season, registering 12 points in addition to 18 rebounds, the most by a Falcon since 2020-21. The Falcons close out the Fort Myers Tip-Off with a 2-0 record and are now 5-2 on the season, the best start to a season since 2020-21.
Troy Glover II started the game strong with the first two baskets of the day for a 4-0 run on his own. VMI's first bucket came via three for a 4-3 tally, but Glover responded with another layup, scoring BGSU's first six points.
Sam Towns took over from there for the Falcons with a pair of layups, making it a 6-0 run for the Falcons and a 10-3 lead in the early going, forcing a VMI timeout. The same score carried to the first media timeout of the half.
After the media break, Javon Ruffin made two at the line for the Falcons. VMI added two of their own at the line, but the free throw trading continued with Towns making two for the Orange and Brown for a 14-5 score. Josiah Shackelford made the next field goal, going nearly coast-to-coast for a fast break layup off a Glover rebound and assist for a 16-5 BGSU lead at the under-12 media timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Ruffin sank the first BGSU three-pointer of the game. VMI made one at the line, but Shackelford followed with another three. Two sets of two free throws for the Keydets made it 22-10.
Towns worked for a tip-in layup for the Falcons before VMI made just their second field goal of the game, a layup in the paint to snap a drought from the field that spanned nine-and-a-half minutes of game action. The back-and-forth continued on the court with a layup from Glover and then a layup from VMI as well, bringing the score to 26-14 at the under-8 media timeout.
After the timeout, Glover sank one at the line followed by a fast break layup for Javontae Campbell. VMI made one at the line, but another Campbell layup pushed the score to 31-15 Falcons. Campbell kept it going with another fast break layup, this time off a Makhi leach steal. However, VMI answered with a second chance bucket, keeping the score at 33-17.
The Keydets made one at the line, but Mayar Wol and Makhi Leach each added two points to the BGSU effort, making it a 37-18 advantage at the final media timeout of the first half.
The first points after the stoppage came on a fast break for BGSU. Ruffin swiped a steal and found Wol for a massive dunk. Towns later added a free throw followed by a Wol three for a 10-0 BGSU run and 43-18 lead. VMI ended the run with a layup, but Wol matched the points with a jumper for the Orange and Brown for a 45-20 halftime tally.
The first points of the second half came at the free throw line for VMI with one. Campbell tallied the first BGSU points with a layup. Ruffin followed with a three from the corner. VMI made two at the line to end the BGSU burst with a 50-23 score at the first media timeout of the second half.
After the timeout, Shackelford made a three for the Falcons. A free throw and dunk for VMI matched the points, but Wol quickly answered with another three for BGSU with the score 56-26. The Falcons kept it going with Wol finding Glover underneath the basket for a dunk. Wol then hit a three, creating an 8-0 BGSU run to push the lead to 61-26. A layup for VMI ended the run. They later added a three for a 5-0 burst of their own, bringing the score to 61-31 at the under-12 media timeout.
The first points out of the break came at the line for BGSU with Camden Karel making three across two trips. Towns kept it going with a three, but VMI matched for a 67-34 score at the under-8 break.
A layup for VMI restarted the scoring after the timeout, but a three from Wol more than matched the points for the Falcons. The back-and-forth continued with Shackelford making two at the line, bookended by two sets of free throws for VMI, resulting in a 72-40 score.
Wol connected on another three-pointer, pushing him past the 20-point mark for the game and increasing the lead to 75-40 at the under-4 media timeout.
VMI made two at the line after the stoppage, but Shackelford responded with a jumper. Leach followed with a floater of his own. The back-and-forth continued with two at the line for VMI. They later added four more for a 79-48 score. Down the stretch, Christian Dedivanaj got a layup to fall for the Falcons for the 81-48 final score.
The Falcons will continue their time on the road, heading west for their next game. Bowling Green will take on Kansas State on Monday (Dec. 1) with an 8 p.m. EST tip.
Buffalo 73, Bucknell 71
Box Score
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sophomore guard Daniel Freitag sealed the game at the buzzer as the University at Buffalo men's basketball team (7-0, 0-0 MAC) defeated the Bucknell Bison (2-6, 0-0 Patriot) in the final game of the Skechers Fort Myers Tip-Off, 73-71. This is just the second time in their Division I era that Buffalo has started the season 7-0, the first came in 2018-19.
Angelo Brizzi had, yet again, a career day as he scored a career-high 25 points including making all 10 of his free throw attempts. The reigning MAC Player of the Week in Freitag scored 18 points with a career-high nine boards, all of which came on the defensive end.
Noah Batchelor added 11 points as he was 3-for-6 from three-point land.
It was a battle on both ends of the floor to start the game. The Bison led for 6:03 to Buffalo's 11:16, but neither team pulled away. At the under-4 media timeout, the Bulls led, 33-31, but their lead would increase. To close the end of the half, the Bulls' defense clamped down on the Bison's offensive attack. Bucknell was held scoreless in the final 3:47 as they turned the ball over five times. In that span, the Bison were 0-for-8 from the field. Buffalo capitalized on this as they went on a 17-1 run over the last 5:37, including draining 5-of-7 from the floor. Bucknell started the half 5-for-8 from three-point range, just under eight minutes into the contest, but failed on their next six attempts. The Bulls went to the locker room at the half leading, 45-32.
Out of the half, the tides turned as Bucknell started the half 6-for-6 from the field to cut Buffalo's lead to 54-49. Out of the under-12 media timeout, the Bison tied the game at 54 and managed to go up by four points four different times. Buffalo went scoreless from the floor for over seven minutes, but free throws kept them in the game. They went 10-for-15 from the charity stripe. The Bulls took a 71-69 lead with 19-seconds remaining off a driving layup courtesy of Brizzi. With Bucknell in possession of the ball, they drew a foul on a layup with 5.5-seconds to go. After making both free throws to tie the game at 71, the Bulls called a timeout to draw up their final possession. Batchelor inbounded to Ezra McKenna who found Freitag streaking up the sideline. Freitag took the ball all the way up the court before banking in a layup to give the Bulls the 73-71 victory.
The Bulls are back in action on Saturday at 6 p.m. as they'll play the Canisius Golden Griffins (4-3, 0-0 MAAC) on the road.
Eastern Michigan 64, Cincinnati 56
Box Score
CINCINNATI, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team topped the University of Cincinnati, 64-56, Wednesday, Nov. 26, at Fifth Third Arena, marking EMU's first win over a Power Conference foe since beating the University of Michigan in 2014.
Eastern controlled the entirety of the game, never trailing, and building a lead as large as 17 in the first half.
Carlos Hart (Miami, Fla./North Miami/Valdosta State) led the Eagles with 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Mohammad Habhab (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn/Central Michigan) added 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, a career-high four steals, and one blocked shot.
Eastern scored the game's first eight points before Cincinnati battled back, cutting the deficit to one at 10-9.
Helped by a trio of three-pointers, two of which came from Mak Manciel (Detroit, Mich./Stevenson/Detroit Mercy), the Eagles launched a 17-1 run, holding the Bearcats without a made field goal for 10:01 of gametime.
EMU conceded the next nine points, but a 7-1 spurt to close the half provided the Green and White with a 36-23 halftime advantage.
Eastern's lead expanded to 14 on a Hart free throw with 9:11 left but the Bearcats would not go down quietly, using a 15-2 run to cut the EMU lead to 48-47 with 5:03 to go.
Despite the flip in momentum, Eastern stayed strong, scoring the game's next seven points, including a dagger three by Hart at the 3:01 mark.
The Eagles held the Bearcats to just one made field goal in the final 5:02, as Eastern put in seven free throws in the final 1:14 to secure the victory.
Eastern jumps to 4-3 overall while Cincinnati moves to 5-2 overall. Eastern was 19-of-44 (43.2%) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from the three-point line, while Cincinnati was 19-of-56 (33.9%) from the floor and 7-of-29 (24.1%) from three-point range.
EMU controlled the glass, 36-29, led by nine rebounds from Addison Patterson (Mississauga, Ontario/Bella Vista/Northwestern State). Mohammad Habhab equaled his career high with four steals, matching his mark of set at Louisville, Nov. 26.
Eastern hosts the New Jersey Institute of Technology Friday, Nov. 28, at 4 p.m. inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. Tickets are available here.
Miami 82, UNC Greensboro 71
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Miami University men's basketball team (6-0) secured a 82-71 comeback win over UNC Greensboro (1-7) at Adams-Jenkins Complex on Wednesday afternoon in the Riley Decker Showcase Game.
Peter Suder totaled a game-high 20 points, while Almar Atlason (18) and Brant Byers (11) added double figures in scoring. Suder also set the tone for the RedHawks with a season-high in rebounds (seven) and steals (four). KJ Younger led the Spartans with 14 points. Suder was named the Riley Decker Showcase Game MVP for his performance.
Eian Elmer put in a triple and layup in the first five minutes of action to give the RedHawks an early 10-8 advantage. Two layups and a jumper from Suder kept the RedHawks above the Spartans at 16-15 with 12 minutes until halftime. A pair of threes from Elmer and Tyler Robbins kept the Red and White in control at 24-17.
Evan Ipsaro got to the free-throw line to put the score at 28-23, when UNCG found its rhythm and went on a scoring run to take a 39-28 lead. In the final two minutes of the half, a jumper and a pair of free throws from Atlason, as well as an Antwone Woolfolk layup, sent Miami into the intermission trailing 42-34.
Woolfolk opened the second half with a steal that eventually led to him putting in a layup on the other end of the court. Ipsaro found Atlason from deep to keep the RedHawks within striking distance at 51-45. With UNCG leading 58-51, the RedHawks went on a 13-4 run, fueled by a flurry of shots from beyond the arc by Byers and Suder.
Leading 64-62, Luke Skaljac found Atlason skying to the rim with an alley-oop pass for a throw-in shot, and Atlason added a layup shortly after as well. Miami did not slow down; with under six minutes to play, Byers, Atlason and Ipsaro sunk shots from behind the arc to stretch their advantage to 77-69 with 2:51 remaining. The RedHawks did not look back, as they secured an 82-71 comeback victory.
Miami hosts Indiana East on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
