Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 77, Bowling Green 67
Miami 87, Toledo 73
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 77, Bowling Green 67
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Akron men's basketball team got a 38-point showing from the bench on the way to a 77-67 victory against the Bowling Green Falcons on the road Friday.
The Zips (12-4, 3-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Amani Lyles, who put together a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Bowen Hardman added 15 points off of the bench, Eric Mahaffey helped out with 14 points and seven rebounds while Sharron Young added 10 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Akron utilized fantastic ball movement in Friday's game, piling up 19 assists on 26 made field goals. Individually, Tavari Johnson lent a helping hand the most for the Zips with seven assists.
The Akron defense caused its share of mistakes in Friday's game, forcing 15 Bowling Green turnovers while committing 14. Those takeaways turned into 20 points on the other end of the floor. Evan Mahaffey's four steals led the way individually for the Zips.
After jumping out to a 5-2 advantage, Akron went on an 8-0 run with 17:16 left in the first half to increase its lead to 13-2. The Zips then added five points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 43-27 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down eight shots to account for 24 of its 43 points.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Evan Mahaffey's layup, to grow the lead to 71-61 with 1:57 to go in the contest. The Zips held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 77-67 win. Akron capitalized on seven Bowling Green turnovers in the period, collecting 10 points off those turnovers.
Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena to host Ball State on Tuesday, January 13 for a 7 p.m. start.
Miami 87, Toledo 73
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team (17-0, 5-0 MAC) flew past Toledo (9-7, 3-1 MAC) for an 87-73 win at Savage Arena on Friday evening. Antwone Woolfolk led all players with 21 points, while Brant Byers poured in 20 points and Eian Elmer added 16 of his own. Sonny Wilson led the Rockets with 20 points. With tonight's win, the Red and White secured its first victory since Feb. 12, 2011 at Savage Arena.
A pair of triples from Elmer and Byers, as well as a driving layup down the left lane from Luke Skaljac, put the RedHawks ahead 8-5 at the start. Almar Atlason put in a three of his own, and Byers sank his second deep shot of the game at 16-7. An offensive rebound from Justin Kirby led to him scoring a layup and giving Miami its first double-digit lead at 20-9. The Rockets responded by cutting into the RedHawk lead at 21-15 with 12:47 on the scoreboard.
The Redhawks scored seven straight points behind a pair of jumpers from Skaljac, one behind the three-point line, to stretch their advantage to 28-15. Skaljac went on to find Elmer for a transition dunk at 32-18 to bring the RedHawk bench to life. Byers continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc, knocking down his third and fourth threes of the game to lead 42-23 with 7:48 before the break. A stepback jump shot from deep and a layup from Elmer kept Miami ahead 53-33 with just under two minutes before halftime. Peter Suder put in a three-point bank shot to send the Red and White into halftime 56-36.
Miami came out of the intermission on a 10-2 run thanks to a shot in the paint and two threes from Woolfolk that put the score at 66-38. Two shots from the free-throw line from Kirby and Atlason's second three of the evening made it a 75-48 ball game with 12:21 to play.
With under five minutes to play, the Rockets cut the lead under 20 points at 77-60. Woolfolk scored a tip-in shot, put in a post move in the paint for a shot off the glass and rolled the ball in the rim to keep control of the game, 83-65, with 2:47 remaining. Miami went on to seal an 87-73 victory over the Rockets.
Miami hosts the Central Michigan Chippewas at Millett Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
