Friday’s Men’s Basketball Results
Akron 92, Kent State 70
No. 21 Miami 69, Western Michigan 67
Recaps courtesy of MAC Athletic Communications Departments
Akron 92, Kent State 70
Box Score
KENT, Ohio -The Akron men's basketball team shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and 55 percent from the field on the way to a 92-70 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes on the road Friday.
Akron recorded a program record 14th consecutive conference victory while defeating rival Kent State for the seventh straight time.
The Zips (24-5, 15-1) had five players score in double figures, led by Shammah Scott, who had 23 points. Tavari Johnson added 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Sharron Young chipped in as well with 19 points from the bench. Evan Mahaffey scored 12 points while adding five assists and four rebounds, while Eric Mahaffey notched 11 points while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Akron shared the ball well in Friday's game, racking up 20 assists on 32 made field goals. Johnson's seven assists led the Zips and Evan Mahaffey also added five assists of his own.
Akron forced 14 Kent State turnovers. The Zips turned those takeaways into 25 points on the offensive end of the floor. Eric Mahaffey's three steals led the way for Akron.
After falling behind 8-5, Akron went on a 13-0 run with 15:24 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Young, to take an 18-8 lead. The Zips then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 47-37 advantage. Akron relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down nine shots to account for 27 of its 47 points.
Akron started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on a 10-0 run, finished off by Young's layup, to grow the lead to 57-37 with 16:12 to go in the contest. The Zips kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 92-70 win. Akron got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 22 of its 45 total points.
Akron travels to Central Michigan on Tuesday, March 3, for the final road contest of the regular season. The Zips and Chippewas will battle at 7 p.m.
No. 21 Miami 69, Western Michigan 67
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich.– Trey Perry's bucket with 0.4 seconds to play helped No. 21 Miami University close on a 16-6 run over the final 5:49 to complete a 69-67 comeback over Western Michigan on Friday night. Miami, who was competing without point guard Luke Skaljac, remains the only undefeated team in the country at 29-0 (16-0 MAC).
Peter Suder led the RedHawks with 18 points, while Almar Atlason (16), Perry (14), and Eian Elmer (10) all scored in double figures. Jayden Brewer had 19 points for the Broncos (10-19, 4-12 MAC).
Western Michigan opened the contest with an 8-2 lead before a pair of free throws from Elmer and a triple from Atlason brought Miami within striking distance at 8-7. A three from the top of the arc and a driving layup down the left lane from Perry made it 13-12 in favor of the RedHawks, Miami's first lead of the contest. A shot off the glass from Suder gave Miami a 17-15 edge over the Broncos with 9:22 to go in the first half.
The score was tied at 17 apiece for over three minutes when Western Michigan scored a layup and Brant Byers answered the next possession with a pair of free throws. The Red and White once again regained the lead, 24-23, when Perry stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a transition layup. The RedHawks entered the break trailing 30-26.
A layup and two free throws from Suder kept Miami in the fight coming out of halftime. A turnaround jumper on the left baseline and a layup through contact that led to a traditional three-point play from Woolfolk made it a one-possession game at 38-35. Suder continued to bully his way into the paint with two layups and Atlason put in a shot off the glass plus the foul at 47-44. Suder stole an inbounds pass from Western Michigan to even the score at 49-49 with 11:02 to go.
The RedHawks kept fighting at 61-56 after an inbounds pass to Elmer under the rim that led to a push shot and a Atlason three in the left corner. Atlason drove down the right lane and added four more points after knocking down a deep shot plus the foul, shrinking the Bronco lead to 63-62. A push shot in the paint from Elmer, as well as a hook shot from Woolfolk helped Miami reclaim the lead at 66-65 with 1:45 on the scoreboard. Elmer added a free throw with 37 seconds to play to claim a two-point lead, but WMU put back an offensive rebound to knot the game at 67 apiece with 12 seconds to play. With the clock ticking town, Perry dribbled behind his back, drove to his left and converted a layup off the glass for the game-winner.
Miami is 16-0 in conference play for the first time in program history.
The RedHawks extended their road winning streak to 14 overall games and to 13 games in a season (each are the best in program history).
Miami extended the program record for most wins in a season to 29 (previously: 25 last season). Perry made the first start of his collegiate career.
The Red and White recorded under 10 turnovers for the 12th time this season. Kirby led the RedHawks with eight rebounds.
With this win, Miami is just the fourth team (Division I) in the 21st century to enter March undefeated. The other teams included Wichita State (2013-14), Kentucky (2014-15) and Gonzaga (2020-21).
Miami returns home to host Toledo on Tuesday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
