Tuesday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 82, Central Michigan 69
Eastern Michigan 74, Ball State 52
Kent State 96, Bowling Green 93
Miami 87, Western Michigan 76
Ohio 86, UMass 83
Toledo 75, Northern Illinois 61
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 82, Central Michigan 69
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio - Tavari Johnson cracked the top-10 for career assists after recording 10 against the Chippewas and became the eighth player in program history to record 1,000 points and 300 assists as the Blue and Gold took down Central Michigan 82-69 at James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday.
Johnson surpassed Joe Jakubick (1980-84) to rank 10th all-time in career assists with 305. Steve McNees (2007-11) is 9th all-time with 318 assists.
The Zips (11-4, 2-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Johnson, who recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists. Shammah Scott added 19 points off the bench and Amani Lyles helped out with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Evan Mahaffey rounded out the list with 10 points while adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Akron recorded its 24th consecutive home win after defeating CMU.
Led by Eric Mahaffey's three offensive rebounds, Akron did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in 14 second chance points.
The Akron defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Tuesday's game, forcing 17 Central Michigan turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 24 points on the other end of the floor. Lyles' four steals led the way individually for the Zips.
After jumping out to a 24-22 advantage, Akron went on an 8-0 run with 7:48 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Scott, to increase its lead to 32-22. The Zips then added three points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 43-30 advantage. Akron did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 28 of its 43 points close to the basket.
Akron kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Johnson's three, to grow the lead to 67-49 with 8:37 to go in the contest. The Chippewas narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Zips still cruised the rest of the way for the 82-69 win. Akron shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 39 points.
Akron hits the road to battle Bowling Green on Friday, January 9 for an 8 p.m. start. Akron and Bowling Green will be featured on CBS Sports Network.
Eastern Michigan 74, Ball State 52
Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team recorded a dominating 74-52 win at Ball State University Tuesday, Jan. 6, inside Worthen Arena, its largest in Mid-American Conference play on the road since 2019.
Carlos Hart (Miami, Fla./North Miami/Valdosta State) led the way with 18 points, as Eastern put together a powerful 48-12 run from the 10:33 mark of the first half through the 7:53 mark of the second to take complete control of the contest.
Addison Patterson (Mississauga, Ontario/Bella Vista College Prep/ Northwestern State) added 12 points while Mohammad Habhab (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn/Central Michigan) chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.
All 14 Eagles got in the game with 11 different players scoring, all of whom made at least one shot from the field.
Eastern took an early 5-2 lead before Ball State used a 9-0 spurt to lead 11-5, eventually taking a 20-14 advantage through nine minutes.
EMU dominated the remainder of the half, limiting BSU to just five points in the half's final 11:15 and closing the half on an impressive 25-5 run to lead 39-24 at halftime.
Eastern's success continued in the next half as the Eagles opened the half with a 22-7 run to build a 62-32 lead with 7:53 left.
Ball State scored the following seven points before EMU's lead ballooned to 31, its largest of the contest with 2:29 to go.
The Cardinals cut the 74-43 deficit to 22 with a 9-0 run to close the game. Eastern won, 74-52.
Eastern travels to Western Michigan University for a Saturday game, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. The game is on ESPN+ and will be held in Kalamazoo, Mich., inside University Arena.
Kent State 96, Bowling Green 93
Box Score
KENT – Kent State Men's Basketball (12-3) moved to 3-0 in Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday night defeating the Bowling Green Falcons by a final score of 96-93. With the victory, Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff tallied his 300th at the helm of the Golden Flashes men's basketball program. Five Flashes scored double-digits, and a pair of Flashes tallied double-doubles in a fast paced 40-minute thriller.
The game was close from the jump with the teams trading the lead in the opening five minutes the game was fast and high scoring with Kent State leading 20-18 with just over 12 minutes left in the first. Following a 22-22 tie Kent State regained the lead with a Morgan Safford three and Rob Whaley Jr. layup. Bowling Green responded with a fast pace 6-2 run over the next three and half minutes to take a lead of their own. Both squads continued to push the pace into the break with Delrecco Gillespie and Safford combining buckets to tie the game for Kent State at 45. The Golden Flashes opened the second half on a 14 to 9 run to push the lead back to as high as nine points. Neither team refused to go away with BGSU taking the lead back 68-66 at the 9:51 mark, and Kent State responding back to a 72-72 tie. Neither team backed down over the final five minutes. Kent State trailed 93-90 with 1:28 when Gillespie scored six unanswered points to snatch the lead and the win in the closing seconds.
As of this win Coach Senderoff has an overall record of 300 wins and 179 losses as Kent State's Head Men's Basketball Coach. He remains the winningest coach in the history of the KSU program. Gillespie notched double-double number 13 in 15 games which continues to lead the nation (32 points, 10 boards). His 32 points mark a new career high for the senior forward. Cian Medley scored 11 points while dishing out 10 assists for his second career double-double and his first of the 2025-2026 season. Safford went 7-13 including a roster leading five threes to score 22 points for KSU. It was his 10th double-digit game of the season. Not to be outdone, Rob Whaley Jr. and Jahari Williamson each tallied 11 points for their eighth and seventh double-digit performances respectively.
The Golden Flashes will be back in action weekend on the road against the Central Michigan University Chippewas. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Mount Pleasant.
Miami 87, Western Michigan 76
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University men's basketball team (16-0, 4-0 MAC) fended off Western Michigan (6-9, 0-3 MAC) for an 87-76 win at Millett Hall on Tuesday night. Almar Atlason led all players with 21 points, while Antwone Woolfolk (13), Luke Skaljac (12), Peter Suder (12) and Justin Kirby (10) added double figures. Jayden Brewer led the Broncos with 19 points. With today's win, the Red and White extended its home win streak to 24 games, surpassing the previous record of 23 straight home wins (1996-1998).
The Red and White got off to an 11-4 start thanks to seven early points from Skaljac, which included a pair of midrange jumpers and a triple. Suder found Kyle Waltz cutting to the rim for a two-handed dunk, and Atlason went on to bury a deep three to remain ahead 16-10 with 12:09 on the scoreboard. A steal from Skaljac led to him taking it coast-to-coast for a layup at 19-15 with just over nine minutes to play before the intermission.
Skaljac found Kirby at midcourt, who then flew down the lane for a layup plus the foul to push the score to 25-19. The Broncos closed within one point at 25-24 before a tip-in shot from Byers, and a pair of interior shots from the RedHawks put the score at 33-26 in favor of the RedHawks. Suder and Tyler Robbins each put in a layup to enter halftime ahead 39-35.
The Broncos came out of the break strong, as they grabbed their first lead of the game at 43-41. Atlason sparked the RedHawk offense with two threes, a one-handed dunk over a Western Michigan defender and a shot off the glass to put the score at 55-47 with 11:45 to play. Suder went on to attack the Western Michigan defense, as he connected on five free throws and a layup to help Miami to a double-digit lead at 64-53.
With under eight minutes remaining, Woolfolk went to work in the paint, backing down his defender on back-to-back possessions for a couple of shots off the glass, one of which led to a traditional three-point play at 69-56. Kirby got back into the action with a bank shot where he was also fouled while floating through the air to make it a 72-57 ball game. Miami closed out the game with a flurry of free throws and layups to stay on top 84-70 with 2:04 before the end of the game. Woolfolk knocked down a shot from behind the three-point line as the shot clock expired to score the final points of the night for the Red and White, helping seal an 87-76 victory over Western Michigan.
Miami heads to Toledo on Friday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. on CBSSN.
Ohio 86, UMass 83
Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (9-7, 4-1 MAC) returned to the Convocation Center Tuesday night (Jan. 6) for a matchup with Mid-American Conference opponent UMass (9-7, 0-4 MAC). A good shooting night led to the Bobcats' fourth-straight victory as they defeated the Minutemen, 86-83.
Ohio's offense was led by 12 total threes on 51.7 percent shooting from the field. 19 total assists set up a good shooting night, while a good defensive performance kept the Bobcats in the game with 11 steals and 12 total turnovers.
Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) led the Bobcats as he recorded a game-high 20 points, including his 1,000th career point. Simmons is the first Bobcat to achieve the 1,000-point mark since Jackson Paveletzke at the end of last season. Simmons also added five rebounds in the win.
Redshirt freshman guard Jesse Burris (Delaware, Ohio) had a career night, scoring a career-best 13 points thanks to three makes from beyond the arc in the first half. Freshman guard JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) scored 14 against UMass after a clutch 12 points in the second half. Senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) was the second Bobcat to make three three-pointers in the game as he recorded 13 points and two assists. Senior guard Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added a double double, scoring 10 points and dishing out 10 assists.
The Bobcats took their first lead of the game when senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) hit a three-pointer to put the Bobcats up 10-9. Coming off the bench, Burris was a big part of the early Ohio lead, making two threes in the game's first six minutes to take a 17-13 lead into the game's first media timeout.
Effective shooting, especially from three, remained a theme throughout the first half. Five of the team's first eight made field goals were from three, with three of them coming by way of Burris. With eight minutes to play in the half, the Bobcats were on top 26-20.
The Bobcats would extend their lead to double digits with, you guessed it, another three-point basket. From way beyond the arc, Sheldon hit a three to make the lead 33-23 with time winding down in the half.
Neither Burris nor Simmons could be slowed down in the game's first half. Burris would make his fifth field goal for a career-high 13 points after just 12 minutes of play. Simmons led the team with 16 points, making seven of his eight field goal attempts to take a lead into the locker room.
At halftime, the Bobcats led 48-41 after an offensive outburst.
Ohio's fast-paced offense didn't slow down to start the second half. The Bobcats made four of their first five baskets to start the period, with three of them coming off assists.
A UMass run to cut the Ohio led to just three points was stopped by a four-point play by senior guard Dior Conners (Columbus, Ohio) after a three and a foul to put the Bobcats back out in front by seven.
As the clock ticked under 10 minutes, the Minutemen retained the lead for the first time since the first half, when an extended run would put them in front 70-66.
Ohio fought down the stretch to eventually regain the lead when Kelly made a corner three with just over five minutes to play to put the Bobcats in front 73-72. On the next drive, Ohio would continue an impressive scoring run when Sheldon secured all three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc.
With under three to play, the Bobcats and Minutemen were in a tight contest with Ohio leading 80-78, setting up an exhilarating finish.
The teams would trade baskets until Pavaletzke converted two free throws to take an 84-82 lead with under a minute to play. A defensive stop on the following drive gave the Bobcats a chance to take a two-score lead at the free-throw line. Once again, Pavaletzke delivered, making both shots to give the Bobcats an 86-82 lead.
Good free-throw shooting in the game's final minute was enough for the Bobcats to leave the Convo with their fourth-straight win, an 86-83 victory to move to 3-1 in the MAC.
Ohio will return to action this Saturday, Jan. 10 when the Bobcats host Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+.
Toledo 75, Northern Illinois 61
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – Toledo extended its unbeaten start in Mid-American Conference action to 3-0 with a convincing 75-61 road victory over Northern Illinois on Tuesday night. The Rockets improved to 9-6 overall with their fourth straight win, while the Huskies fell to 5-10 (1-3 MAC).
Toledo controlled the game from the opening tip, building a 37-25 halftime lead behind efficient shooting and stifling defense. The Rockets shot 50% from the field and dominated the paint with 40 points inside, while scoring 26 points off turnovers.
Senior Kyler Vanderjagt led the way with 18 points on near-perfect shooting (5-of-6 FG, 2-of-2 3PT, 6-of-7 FT). Junior Sonny Wilson added 17 points, five assists and a career-high five steals, while junior Austin Parks chipped in 13 points and five rebounds. Wilson became the 54th Rocket in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau with his first basket of the night.
Freshman Leroy Blyden Jr. and senior Sean Craig each scored 10 to round out a balanced attack. Blyden also added five assists and four steals for the Rockets.
The Rockets' defense set the tone early, holding NIU to 34.6% shooting in the first half and forcing a season-high 21 turnovers overall. Toledo also pushed the pace, scoring 20 fast-break points compared to just four for the Huskies.
NIU was led by Dylan Ducommun's 17 points.
Toledo will return home to host Miami (16-0, 4-0 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 9. Tip-off time vs. the RedHawks is set for 6:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.
