Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Buffalo 86, UMass 82 (OT)
Central Michigan 83, Western Michigan 70
Ohio 74, Northern Illinois 66
Toledo 94, Eastern Michigan 75

Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments

Buffalo 86, UMass 82 (OT)
Box Score
Recap coming soon…

Central Michigan 83, Western Michigan 70
Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Seniors Tamario Adley scored a game and career-high 25 points and Nathan Claerbaut registered a double-double with 12 points and a school-record 11 blocked shots as Central Michigan rolled to an 83-70 men's basketball victory over rival Western Michigan Saturday before 2,888 fans at McGuirk Arena.

Adley and Claerbaut, along with Logan McIntire and Nick Mullen are part of Central Michigan's four-member senior class that was honored in a pre-game ceremony. The victory gave Central Michigan its fifth straight win over Western Michigan at home. The Chippewas have now claimed five of the last six overall meetings vs. Western Michigan. With the win, CMU evened its series with Western Michigan as the Broncos claimed the two schools' first meeting, 77-65, on Jan. 24.

Adley's 25-point performance marked a season-high and his fifth 20-point performance of the year. He also set career-highs for free throws made (10), free throw attempts (14), grabbed six rebounds, and finished with a team-high four steals. His dunk on a steal off an alley-oop pass from Jaxson Whitaker sealed the game for Central Michigan.

Claerbaut set a school and McGuirk Arena record for blocked shots in a game with 11. With eight blocks, he had already tied the school record at halftime. The previous school record for blocked shots was eight held by two players, Dan Roundfield vs. Bowling Green on March 8, 1975 and Chris Kaman vs. Toledo, Jan. 22, 2003. He also set a McGuirk Arena record. The 11 blocks also tie for the most blocked shots in the game at the NCAA Division I level this year, tying Brown's N'famara Dabo (11). To put the achievement in perspective, Claerbaut ended up blocking 11 of Western Michigan's 60 field goal attempts and an incredible eight out of 35 field goal attempts in the first half (23 percent). It marked Claerbaut's fourth double-double of the season.

Claerbaut entered the game as the Mid-American Conference's blocks and blocked shots leader. He ranked No. 41 in the nation in both blocks and blocked shots per game.

Phat Phat Brooks also had an outstanding game as he scored 19 points, converted 9-10 free throws, and dished out a game-high five assists.

Bronkema also spoke about the performance of his two point guards, Adley and Brooks, who combined for 44 points, 12-20 shooting, 10 rebounds, 19-24 free throws, 14 fouls drawn, and seven steals.

Claerbaut (10 points and eight blocks) and Brooks (10 points), sparked the Chippewas in the first half as they built a 40-33 halftime lead. Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to take a 17-10 lead at the 11:01 mark. Adley scored on a layup, Mullen converted a fast break layup, a Brooks steal led to a layup, and Mullen banked in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.

Another 6-0 run fueled by a Claerbaut block pushed the Chippewas' lead to nine points, 23-14 at the 8:55 mark. Minutes later, an Adley 3-pointer gave CMU a 28-18 lead with 6:52 to play in the first half.

Western scored the last five points of the first half to cut CMU's lead down to seven points at the break.

In the second half, the Broncos cut the lead down to three points, but Central Michigan answered with a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 13 points (55-42) with 13:38 to play. Adley registered a steal, passed to Whitaker, who lobbed Adley a pass in the air for an alley-oop dunk. Brooks started the rally with a layup, followed by a Jalen Kampen 3-pointer, two Whitaker free throws, an Adley free throw and then the alley-oop dunk.

Adley snuck around the back and stole the ball, dribbled in to give CMU a 69-55 commanding lead with 6:14 to play. Two Keenan Garner free throws gave CMU its largest lead of the game, 16 points (79-63) with 1:29 to go.

As a team, the Chippewas finished the game with 12 blocked shots. The school record remains 13 set vs. UM-Dearborn on Dec. 9, 1995.

Four regular season games remain for Central Michigan (9-18, 5-9 MAC), including three on the road: at Kent State (Tuesday, 7 p.m.), at Buffalo (Saturday, Feb. 28, 2 p.m.), Akron (Tuesday, March 3), and at Ball State (Friday, March 6, 7 p.m.).

Ohio 74, Northern Illinois 66
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – The Ohio men's basketball team (15-13, 9-6 MAC) returned to action on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 21), defeating Northern Illinois (9-17, 4-10 MAC), 74-66, inside NIU Convocation Center. With the win, the Bobcats clinched a spot in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland.

Overall, Ohio shot 46.1 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three and were 16-of-24 from the line, while NIU shot 50 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from three and were 6-of-12 from the line. Ohio outrebounded NIU, 31-30, while both teams dished out 16 assists each. Ohio also forced 14 NIU turnovers and scored 22 points off them.

Redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) scored a game-high 23 points, going 9-of-10 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior guard Jackson Paveletzke (Kimberly, Wis.) added 14 points, four rebounds and six assists, while senior forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) added 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Senior guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) added nine points, while freshman JJ Kelly (Chambersburg, Pa.) recorded five points and three rebounds.

Ohio won the tip and got on the board first with free throws from Paveletzke. After the teams traded baskets, a jumper from Paveletzke put the Bobcats up one, before a layup from NIU gave the Huskies a 9-8 lead going into the first media timeout. Out of the break, a three from redshirt sophomore guard Jesse Burris (Delaware, Ohio) and a jumper from Paveletzke gave the Bobcats a 13-9 lead with 11:51 remaining in the half. Ohio took a 16-9 lead before a three from NIU stopped the Bobcats run. Ohio responded with a dunk from Simmons, free throws from Burris and a layup from Hadaway gave Ohio 22-12 lead before another three from NIU cut into the Ohio lead. However, a layup from Simmons gave Ohio a 24-17 lead with 6:50 to go in the half.

Out of the break, a three-point play from Conner put Ohio up 10, before a three from Hadaway put the Bobcats up 30-17, forcing NIU to call a 30 second timeout. After NIU cut the lead to 30-20, a three from Sheldon gave the Bobcats a 33-20 lead entering the final media timeout. A layup from Simmons gave Ohio a 15-point lead, before the Huskies 5-0 cut the Ohio lead to 10. However, a Simmons with under a minute to go gave the Bobcats a 37-25 lead entering the break.

At the half, Ohio shot 48.1 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from three and were 8-of-10 from the line, while NIU shot 45.5 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three and were 1-of-2 from the line. Ohio outrebounded Ohio, 14-12, while the Bobcats forced 10 NIU turnovers and scored 12 points off them.

Simmons led Ohio with 14 points, followed by Paveletzke with seven.

NIU opened the second half on an 8-0 run to cut the Ohio lead to four, forcing an Ohio timeout with 17:18 left in the game. Out of the break, a three from Paveletzke stopped the NIU run. After the Huskies hit a free throw, another three from Sheldon put the Bobcats up 43-34 with 15:43 remaining. Out of the timeout another Sheldon three increased the Ohio lead, forcing a timeout from NIU with 14:48 remaining. Out of the timeout, NIU cut the Bobcats lead to seven, before a jumper from Hadaway and a layup from Simmons helped give Ohio a 52-44 lead at the under-12 media timeout.

Out of the break, a three-point play from Simmons gave Ohio a seven-point lead, a layup from Hadaway and a dunk from Kelly put the Bobcats up 60-49 with 8:30 remaining. However, NIU came out of the break on a 7-0 run, cutting the Ohio lead to four with 6:30 to go. After another NIU three cut the Ohio lead to 63-59, a three-point play from Simmons and a free throw from Paveletzke put the Bobcats back up 10 entering the final media timeout.

Out of the timeout, a jumper from Paveletzke and a dunk form Kelly gave the Bobcats a 14-point lead, before a layup from NIU stopped the Bobcats run. After a free throw from Paveletzke, NIU hit a layup to try and cut into the Ohio lead, but there was not enough time for the Huskies to complete the comeback, with the Bobcats winnings, 74-66.

Up next, the Bobcats have the midweek off and will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 28 when the Bobcats host Toledo. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. ET inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+. The game will also be Senior Night for the Bobcats.

Toledo 94, Eastern Michigan 75
Box Score
TOLEDO, Ohio — Six Rockets scored in double figures and the Toledo men's basketball team shot a blistering 67.3% to cruise past Eastern Michigan, 94–75, on Saturday night in Savage Arena. The Rockets improved to 14–13 overall and 8–6 in Mid-American Conference play with the victory, while the Eagles fell to 10–18 (4–11 MAC).

Freshman Leroy Blyden Jr. and senior Sonny Wilson each scored 15 points to pace the Rockets. Wilson finished 7-of-11 from the floor, while Blyden led UT with eight assists and six rebounds in a strong all-around performance.

Freshman Will James Jr. provided a major spark off the bench with a season-high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with senior Sean Craig also tallying 13 points and five boards. Junior Austin Parks and Kyler Vanderjagt each added 10 points, with Parks also contributing six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Eastern Michigan was led by Mohammad Habhab, who scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

The Rockets controlled the contest from the opening tip, scoring the first six points of the game and never looking back. UT led by as many as 25 points in the first half and carried a commanding 51–29 lead into the locker room after shooting 68.8%.

Toledo maintained a double-digit margin throughout the second half and led by at least 17 points in the final 20 minutes.

Toledo will host Northern Illinois (9-17, 4-10 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. before traveling to Athens, Ohio to face Ohio (15-13, 9-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4:00 p.m.