Saturday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 88, Tulane 71
Kent State 111, Roberts Wesleyan 68
UMass 80, UMass Lowell 60
Miami 93, Maine 61
Ohio 88, Marshall 81
Western Michigan 83, SIU Edwardsville 73
Utah Valley 82, Bowling Green 71
St. Bonaventure 77, Buffalo 69
Bradley 84, Northern Illinois 55
Oakland 98, Toledo 97
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 88, Tulane 71
Box Score
NEW ORLEANS, LA - Shammah Scott scored 20 points to help lead the Akron men's basketball team over the Tulane Green Wave 88-71 on the road Saturday.
Scott's 20 point effort led the Zips (8-2). Eric Mahaffey helped out with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds and Tavari Johnson chipped in with 18 points and five assists.
Akron utilized fantastic ball movement in Saturday's game, piling up 17 assists on 31 made field goals. Johnson's five assists paced the Zips and Evan Mahaffey also added four assists of his own.
The Akron defense held Tulane shooters to only 38.7 percent from the field, including 21.2 percent from three-point range. The Green Wave did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only nine offensive rebounds and scored nine second chance points while Akron pulled down 32 defensive rebounds.
After playing to a 29-29 tie, Akron went on a 5-0 run with 5:31 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Eric Mahaffey, to take a 34-29 lead. The Zips then added three points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 42-34 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 42 points.
Following intermission, Akron kept widening that lead, expanding it to 77-66 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Scott's three, to grow the lead to 86-66 with 51 seconds to go in the contest. The Green Wave narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Zips still cruised the rest of the way for the 88-71 win. Akron shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 46 points.
The Zips travel to Henderson, Nev. to battle Murray State in the Jack Jones Classic on December 13.
Kent State 111, Roberts Wesleyan 68
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State Men's Basketball team (9-1) posted their ninth straight victory on Saturday afternoon besting Roberts Wesleyan University by a 111-68 final score. Four Flashes scored double-digits as Kent State dropped over 100 points for the fourth time this season.
14 Flashes saw the floor as Kent State took and extended a large lead early on and did not look back. KSU led 59-29 at halftime before outscoring the Redhawks 59-39 in the second half to tally their second highest point total of the season thus far. Four Flashes dropped double-digits including Morgan Safford who led the roster (22 points), Delrecco Gillespie (14 points), Magnus Entenmann (10 points), and Quinn Woidke (10 points). Strong performances also included Rayvon Griffith who led the Blue and Gold with eight rebounds while scoring nine points. Deandre Jones, Dezmon Briscoe and Rob Whaley Jr. also tallied nine points each. Brenden Moss made his first appearance for Kent State in two years playing 11 minutes and scoring five.
Kent State will travel to the University of Portland for their next game on Sunday, Dec. 14. Tip-off between the Golden Flashes and Pilots is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. eastern time. It will be KSU's first true road contest of the 2025-2026 season.
UMass 80, UMass Lowell 60
Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts basketball (6-3) posted a dominating 80-60 win against UMass Lowell (3-7) on Saturday afternoon at the Mullins Center.
The Minutemen were led by Jayden Ndjigue with 15 points going 5-for-8 from the field and perfect from the charity stripe (5-for-5). The junior recorded six rebounds, four assists and also added five steals. Ndjigue became the first Minutemen to swipe five steals in a game since Jaylen Curry against Northeastern (12/18/24).
Marcus Banks Jr. led the team in 17 points, adding three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Leonardo Bettiol scored 13 points going 3-for-3 from the free throw line, with six rebounds, an assist and a block. K'Jei Parker and Daniel Hankins-Sanford each contributed 12 points.
The Riverhawks were led by Darrel Yepdo who matched the game-high 17 points, going 6-of-11 from the field and recording four rebounds and two assists. After an early tie, six points Daniel Hankins-Sanford gave the Minutemen a 14-11 lead.
Yepdo's three-pointer gave UMass Lowell their first lead of the afternoon. The teams traded baskets and then back-to-back buckets from Parker, including a three, gave the Minutemen a 24-22 lead with 6:45 left in half.
Ndjigue's spin move opened a 6-0 run over nearly two minutes to extend the Massachusetts lead.
Banks Jr.'s three-pointer engineered a 7-0 run in less than a minute to take a 42-32 advantage into the halftime break. The Riverhawks opened the second half with a pair of baskets from Yepdo to cut their deficit to six.
Off of a Hankins-Sanford's block, Banks Jr.'s fast break layup brought the lead back to double-digits. After exchanging baskets, Dimitri Clerc's dunk capped a 7-1 Massachusetts run over two minutes.
Ndjigue tallied five straight points converting an and-one and adding two from the charity stripe for a 64-45 scoreline. Bettiol and Banks Jr. combined for seven points with 3:46 left on the clock to extend the Massachusetts lead.
For the remaining minutes, the Riverhawks outscored the Minutemen, 9-4, but the Maroon and White took an 80-60 victory.
The Minutemen face Boston College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10 in the Hall of Fame Classic at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Miami 93, Maine 61
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team dominated the Maine Black Bears by securing a 93-61 victory on Saturday afternoon at Millett Hall. Evan Ipsaro led the RedHawks (8-0) with a career-high 24 points, while Eian Elmer (16), Almar Atlason (10) and Trey Perry (10) scored double digits. Keelan Steele led the Black Bears (0-11) with 14 points.
Peter Suder found Ipsaro in the right corner for a three, and Antwone Woolfolk recorded an offensive rebound that turned into a layup to help the RedHawks open the game with a 5-0 advantage. Ipsaro, Atlason and Elmer all went on to knock down a triple to extend Miami's lead to 14-3. Leading 16-4, the RedHawks went on an 11-0 run, which was fueled by Ipsaro's third and fourth threes of the game to put the score at 27-4 with 11:01 to play in the first half.
Brant Byers found Elmer flying down the lane during a fast break with an alley-oop pass for a thunderous dunk to keep Miami in control at 30-9. The RedHawks did not slow down from behind the three-point line, as Ipsaro added two more triples, Byers added a three and Suder knocked down a shot from deep. Atlason ended the first half by getting to the free-throw line with one second left to send the Red and White into halftime with a 48-30 lead.
Ipsaro continued to show out in the second half, coming out of the intermission with a pair of layups and a mid-range jumper to push the score to 60-33. A shot from beyond the arc and a traditional three-point play from Elmer, along with a triple from Atlason, gave Miami its first 30-point lead of the day at 71-40.
A flurry of layups from Kyle Waltz, Luke Skaljac and Suder kept the RedHawks distanced from the Black Bears at 79-45 with eight minutes remaining. With just over five minutes to go, Trey Perry ended the game by scoring eight points to close a 93-61 win over Maine.
Miami begins a four-game road trip at UNC Asheville on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.
Ohio 88, Marshall 81
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (3-6) took on rival Marshall (5-4) at the Convocation Center Saturday afternoon (Dec. 3), picking up its second-straight win with an 88-81 victory over the Herd.
As a team, the Bobcats made a season-high 10 threes on 48.3% shooting from the field. On defense, Ohio recorded seven steals and two blocks while forcing Marshall into 12 turnovers. On the glass, the Bobcats grabbed 31 total rebounds, including 22 on defense.
The Bobcats were led by senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.), who logged his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) recorded a team-leading 22 points and three assists, while fellow senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) had a season-high 11 points and three threes. Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) and freshman guard JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) were among five Bobcats to also tally double-digit points, with Simmons going for 13 and Kelly going for 12.
Hadaway got the Ohio offense going early, scoring each of the team's first 10 points, including two threes to take a 10-6 lead after the first five minutes. Despite a hot start by Hadaway, the Bobcats weren't able to pull away from Marshall midway through the first half.
Ohio traded baskets with Marshall for a majority of the first half, with neither team leading by more than four until three-straight defensive stops for the Bobcats resulted in a five-point lead with six minutes to play.
The Bobcats would extend their lead later in the half with a 7-0 run that was started by a three-point basket by Paveletzke. Some good defense also contributed to the lead, including a steal by sophomore guard Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.) during the full-court press that led to a wide-open score. With under four minutes to play in the half, Simmons bullied his way beneath the basket for a score with the foul to give Ohio three points and a 38-26 lead, its largest of the game to that point.
Marshall found success on offense in the final three minutes of the half, but Ohio still led 40-34 going into the halftime break.
Similar to the start of the first half, Hadaway was on fire to begin the second for the Bobcats. The senior forward knocked down two threes and scored eight points in the opening two minutes of the second half.
Like he has all season, Kelly made another highlight play in the second half when he threw down a highlight dunk while being fouled to convert a three-point play and extend the Ohio lead.
Marshall would cut the lead to as few as three points midway through the second half, but Ohio was able to limit any possible comeback attempt. Back-to-back Sheldon threes with under eight minutes to play put the Bobcats firmly back in the lead at 76-65.
The Bobcats pulled away down the stretch, extending their lead to as many as 16 after a steal on defense resulted in points from Hadaway and an 86-70 lead with just under three minutes to play.
Ohio would continue its dominance down the stretch to secure an 88-81 victory.
The Bobcats will be back in action next Saturday, Dec. 13, when they take on St. Bonaventure as a part of the Cleveland Hoops Showdown at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. and can be seen on PassThaBallLive.
Western Michigan 83, SIU Edwardsville 73
Box Score
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Jalen Griffith had 28 points and 10 assists and EJ Ryans netted a career-high 20 points to lead the Western Michigan men's basketball team to an 83-73 win at SIUE on Saturday.
Griffith's 28 points came on 8-of-12 shooting, with the junior also going a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line. He also added a career-high 10 assists for his first career double-double. Ryans went 6-of-8 from the field, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, to net his career-high 20 points. Trey Lewis was in double-figures off of the bench for the third straight game with 14 points. Jayden Brewer and Hudson Ward paced WMU on the glass with seven boards apiece.
Western Michigan (5-5) hit its first three, three-point tries of the afternoon on its way to a 21-14 advantage. An 11-3 burst, which included Ryans' first two triples of the contest, helped the Broncos extend the margin to 12, 34-22, their largest lead of the opening stanza. SIUE (6-4) closed the gap to 36-28 heading into the break.
Western Michigan built its advantage as high as 15, 54-39, in the opening minutes of the second half. The Cougars then rattled off 10 in a row as part of a 14-3 surge which closed the gap to 57-53. The Broncos immediately answered with 10 straight points of their own. Griffith went to the basket for an old-fashioned, three-point play, and Ryans canned a pair of triples, including getting fouled on one for a four-point play, which extended the lead back to 67-53 with eight minutes remaining.
SIUE fought back again in the final few minutes, working its way back to within five, 71-66, with three minutes on the clock. Five was as close as the Cougars got, with Griffith hitting a couple of jumpers to hold off the home team and the Broncos going a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line in the final minute to put the game away.
The Brown and Gold shot a season-best 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from the field, and made a season-high 12 three-pointers at a season-best 60.0 percent rate (12-of-20). Western Michigan also made a season-best 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the charity stripe. SIUE connected on 43.8 percent (28-of-64) of its field goals. The Broncos were plus-13 on the glass, owning a 36-23 edge.
Western Michigan takes the next week off for finals, then heads back out on the road next Sunday, Dec. 14, to visit Iowa. Tip is scheduled for 3 pm on Big Ten Network.
